Advice please for my next rib session on my mini


 

Rich Dahl

TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
Sorry for the novel below but wanted to give as much information as possible.

Sunday I did my second rack of Saint Louis style ribs which is also the second time I’ve used the mini. They came out fairly well, they passed the toothpick test, but a little tuff on the tear test.

I would really appreciate any suggestions or tips on how I could improve for my next session of ribs

Here’s what I used:

Rub: brown sugar, paprika, course salt, black pepper, onion powder, cayenne pepper
The rub is applied the night before and the ribs are wrapped tightly in tin foil and refrigerated.

Mini is started using Minion start, enough KBB charcoal for a seven hour burn. Three large chunks of apple wood staggered from center to rim so one lights after the previous one goes out. Good for about 4-5 hours of smoke.

Ribs brought to room temperature.

Mini dialed in at 235 (it just seems to settle in there) bottom vent 20-25% open, top fully open. Place ribs on the top and bottom racks. Diffuser is 9 ½”cake pan with a 9” foil wrapped terracotta pot saucer.

At the second 2 hours the ribs were wrapped in HD tin foil and a 50-50 mixture of ASV & AJ with a table spoon of the rub mixed in was added, about a ¼ of a cup to each.
The last 30 minuets unwrapped with a small amount of my home made vinegar based BBQ sauce.

My first cook was 3-2-1 and that was a little to much for ribs I think. This time I did 2-2-1/2 much better very tasty but needs a little more smoke flavor and maybe a little more cook time or higher temperature maybe. The texture is what has me concerned this cook was a little tuff, the first one was tender but dry. Fall off the bone is fine with me I’m not interested in competition type ribs but don’t want them dry.

Don’t know if this would make a difference but we live at an altitude of 5300 feet
 
Harry Soo says pork renders fat better at 275 and that's what he does in competitions. I've been doing my ribs at 275 and they turn out better than my 225 ribs. I still do the 3 hours to begin with, but back off on the 2 hours in the foil. Check em after an hour and see if if you want to continue in foil or move to the sauce & set stage.

Experiment - that's the best way to see what works for you and what doesn't. :D
 
Harry Soo says pork renders fat better at 275 and that's what he does in competitions. I've been doing my ribs at 275 and they turn out better than my 225 ribs. I still do the 3 hours to begin with, but back off on the 2 hours in the foil. Check em after an hour and see if if you want to continue in foil or move to the sauce & set stage.

Experiment - that's the best way to see what works for you and what doesn't. :D

Thanks Chad, I was wondering if a little more heat would help. I was thinking more about time than temp.
 

 

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