Internal Rib Temp


 
Another never. Just use the toothpick method or sometimes the bend method, rarely the tear method - don't want to ruin a good lookin' rack of ribs by tearin' it up.

P.S. I'm obsessed with ribs every day!
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Woohoo, nothin' like a nice rack o' ribs to sink your teeth into.
 
You'd have to have a Thermopen or similarly-fast thermometer to get a useful reading, but the other standard methods - the pull test, bend/break, toothpick, shrinkage off the bone-end - should prove more useful.
 
Alright gentleman here is the n00bie question. Is it the point that if you used a thermo that it would give you a false reading due to the relative heat of the bones in such close proximity to the probe or you guys are just old school. Either one is cool but I would like to know if it is viable to use a remote temp guage as I am a little paranoid about heat of the meat and doneness due to being a former EMS worker and having seen some wiked food poisening from undercooked pork.
 
Hey Eron, were just trying to make it simple for everybody. The pull test or picking up the slab in the middle are the easiest ways to do it. Or even inserting a toothpick will do the job just fine. With a little practice you will start to get the feel of when they are done!
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Windy City Smokers
 
Eron,

Honestly, I don't have a good reason to not use a temperature probe. I used to use the toothpick test, still do sometimes. When is glides through with little resistance, they are done. A thermapen could be used in place of the toothpick I suppose.

From a food safety standpoint, i'm going to have to defer to experts.

I think the most practical reason for not taking rib temps is its just inconvenient. How do you get the probe 1/4 of an inch into the meat, without getting to bone or all the way through?
 
I think you might be able to get it done with a therma pen. IMO its just to close to the bone to get an accurate reading. If I can push a thermo in they are probably done.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Eron "Coastie" Stoykovich:
Alright gentleman here is the n00bie question. Is it the point that if you used a thermo that it would give you a false reading due to the relative heat of the bones in such close proximity to the probe or you guys are just old school... </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Eron - unlike with most other cuts of meat (brisket, pork shoulder, poultry, etc.) thermometers aren't that effective with ribs. It's somewhat helpful when the thermometer is used at the end of an untrimmed rack of spares, where there's a large fat mass of meat. But in general, taking the temps between rib bones isn't helpful, since you'll often find the temperature reading you get won't correlate to doneness like it does with other meats. the issue isn't accuracy of temps, though without a thermapen, that can be a problem. The issue, I think (just opinion here) is just that ribs aren't as uniformly done at a temperature the way other bbq meats are. With a narrow bit of meat and lots of connective tissue, there's just a lot of variance between doneness levels, even within the same rack. So a temperature reading isn't very helpful. In fact, I've found relying on temps with ribs can often lead to bad results.

As others have said, using a few other tests will be more effective. The most effective, once you get the hang of it, will be simply visually, how does it look, and then when you grab them with the tongs, you'll just know. As others have said, the meat pulls away from the bones, but you'll just get a feel for the meat's flexibility when you handle it. You'll know when done is done...
 
I thought of Rick's question earlier when cooking b-backs (a rarity for me; I do spares 99% of the time). I usually test with a probe because it's handy and I'm used to the feel of 'done' when I use it. I have never checked rib temps--I just push through the meat--but tonight I did.

Possibly germane details: This was a high-heat cook. I Minioned the start, temps took a half hour to hit 250 lid then about 20 min to hit 300 and another 15-20 to hit 350. Cooked till nicely colored, about 90 min total, then foiled with juice/stock for 45 min when they were just tender. (Temps were 350-375 lid during the foil stage.)

Temps in the meat were 202-210.

I removed them from the foil, painted on a thin veneer of glaze and returned them to the cooker while I finished the side dish, about 7 min more (temps 350). Rested 5, sliced and served.

I'd have to do this at least a few more times to see if the temps were roughly the same cook to cook but it was interesting to note them. Not something I would rely on necessarily but experimentation--perhaps using a needle probe that could be left in--might prove useful.

It's worth noting, however, that 'done' is very much a product of time @ temp when cooking with high heat methods, not necessarily just reaching a particular number. But I see no reason why one couldn't make good use of the temp info (at worst), or use the temp info to actually determine the time to manually test for doneness (at best), so long as one understands the variables at play and structures cooks so that those variables are repeated. More than I want to do, but I can see where someone might want to experiment in this area, especially if competing.
 
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