I finally figured out why my ribs kept coming out gray, and it was the charcoal chimney the whole time

William Singh · 2026-10-27T07:20:03.883154+00:00

I did 6 racks over Memorial Day weekend here in Fort Worth and every one had that dull gray bark even with good temps. My neighbor Dale, who has been running a stick burner for 20 years, watched me dump a full lit chimney on and said I was smothering the coal bed before the meat ever hit the smoke. Now I wait for the top coals to ash over thin and orange, not glowing red. Anyone else get burned by rushing the chimney, and how long do you let yours sit?

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I finally figured out why my ribs kept coming out gray, and it was the charcoal chimney the whole time | BBQ Pitmasters - Rigidtalk