What did I do wrong? Ribs were black


 

Chris Kug

TVWBB Fan
I am not sure where I screwed up, and maybe its in a few spots.
I cooked some ribs on Sunday, 3 racks of back ribs. 1 bigger one at 2.8lbs and 2 smaller ones at 2.3 lbs. I prepped them in the AM. pulled off the membrane, rubbed them, everything is all good.

I set up my WSM 18" with the minion method, fired off a chimney, waited for them to ash over, and dumped them in the middle and had about 4 chunks of apple wood.

I filled the water bowl, not exactly how much, but about 2 pitchers full of HOT water out of the tap.

Put 3 racks of ribs on the top grate, closed it up and let it cook.

Since the probe thermometers don't really work well for ribs, I skipped using my Smoke.. However, the lid thermo had me dialed in at 250. (I'm thinking first mistake, I don't really know grate temp).

I was planning on doing the 3 -2 -1 method. I've done it before and its turned out great.
dome temp was always around 250. I was running the top open and the bottoms 3/4 open.

I checked the ribs at 2.5 hours and there was a lot of black. The big rack was fine for the most part, but still past brown in a lot of spots. I probably lost 1/3 of 2 of the small racks to being just too blackened/overdone to eat. I did wrap for about 1.5-2 hrs and then sauce and had on for another small bit. They were definitely done by the time they came out of the wrapping, probably earlier.

The big rack tasted good, and the meat was decently moist for the most part. The smaller ones had parts that were dried out and black and the salvageable stuff wasn't fantastic, but OK.

I'm trying to figure out what I did wrong besides getting too cocky here. I honestly thought I was golden temp wise and that I shouldn't be opening up.

Did I use too much sugar in my rub?
is 3 hours really too long before foiling?
was temp probably too hot?


The friends I had over told me it tasted great. They had the big one and some of a small one. So some of that is believable, but I definitely felt bad.
 
My guess would be your temp was to high. I always use my Smoke at least to monitor the chamber temp. If your rub had a high ratio of sugar that could factor inas well. I'm sure some of the more seasoned veterans here can offer more insight than I.
 
Brown sugar will burn, so if you heavy on the sugar that might be what burned. I use brown sugar in my mop, not my rub for that reason
 
B.B. usually 2-2-1 and S.R. 3-2-1. Temps might be high if u went only by dome (only u know if it's accurate and if high compared to time, they were in too long. Excess sugar may cause that especially if the temps were too high.

Really, we're just guessing here.
 
I'm going to guess that your dome therm is about 25 degrees higher than it reads. Mine does that's why I ignore it and use a digi/probe.
 
You said you used water, Hot water to be exact. That's fine for when it's super cold outside, but for these moderate temps use cold.
After 2.5 hrs the ribs looked black, did the water boil off? cause something ain't making sense here> lid temp vs the amount of water you used.
You have a smoke right? Dangle that pit probe down the top vent next time and you'll get a better reading then the built in therm.
Top vent usually runs 12-15 deg hotter then grate regardless of the mass of cold meat you use or your choice of a sink.
I do most of my cooks 275 or higher so you just have to learn how your WSM runs and go with it:wsm:
Tim
 
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B.B. usually 2-2-1 and S.R. 3-2-1. Temps might be high if u went only by dome (only u know if it's accurate and if high compared to time, they were in too long. Excess sugar may cause that especially if the temps were too high.

Really, we're just guessing here.
I understand we're guessing I'm trying to figure out what to change for the next time to have better results.

This is the rub I made.
http://amazingribs.com/recipes/rubs_pastes_marinades_and_brines/meatheads_memphis_dust.html

Next time I will definitely use the Smoke. Maybe my temp was high. I had the vents more open then I thought they should be, but the temp was holding, so I left it.

Water didn't boil off. Some evaporated sure, but there was plenty in the bowl when I dumped it later.

It does seem that I should be in the 2-2-1 range or 2-1-1 I didn't realize I should be adjusting for the baby back. I honestly was doing that off memory without looking again.

So for next time, Smoke, 2-1-1 or 2-2-1, maybe find a rub that uses less sugar.
 

I've got Meathead's recipe for that but haven't used it (fav is BRITU found on this site). He says to use 2 tablespoons for one LARGE rack. How much did you use?

I would have gone with the 2T on your big rack and maybe 1.5T each on the smaller ones. More is not necessariy better ;)

We (well, some of us) usually complain about the amount of SALT in some recipes as opposed to sugar. That's why I prefer making my own (as you did).
 
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I've got Meathead's recipe for that but haven't used it (fav is BRITU found on this site). He says to use 2 tablespoons for one LARGE rack. How much did you use?

I would have gone with the 2T on your big rack and maybe 1.5T each on the smaller ones. More is not necessariy better ;)

We (well, some of us) usually complain about the amount of SALT in some recipes as opposed to sugar. That's why I prefer making my own (as you did).

I cut the recipe amount from this and probably used about 2 heaping TBS per rack.

I was looking for something without chili powder or red pepper. My wife dislikes that stuff.
 
I cut the recipe amount from this and probably used about 2 heaping TBS per rack.

I was looking for something without chili powder or red pepper. My wife dislikes that stuff.

Without changing anything else (other than getting "grate" thermometer, cut back on the amount of rub you're using. Nothing wrong with M.H. rub.

I just think you may have used too much (although heat levels may have played a role here).
 
Yea, sugar doesn't turn black unless you run at 400ish, and I don't see that happening with water in the pan.
Like Len said too much rub, could have had a reaction with the paprika and smoke wood.
Keep experimenting :wsm:

Tim
 
Just offering yet another opinion.

I did St Louis ribs over Memorial Day; made my own rub with light brown sugar and 'other stuff'.

18.5 WSM; minion load, no water in the pan, top grate only, no therm probes, just the lid.

3 1/2 hrs on the WSM using KBB, hickory and apple chunks. I got to my target temp of 250F at the lid and just let them ride.

Meat side up the whole time, mopped with a bit of left over rub in some water & apple cider vinegar.

Pulled them off, double wrapped them with a slight drizzling of the left over mop in heavy foil and into the oven at 240F for 45 minutes.

They were right at the edge of being fall off the bone tender (cuz the family said that's what they like).

The outer ribs were drier, but the center pieces were bang on.

Here's what they looked like
St-Ribs-after.jpg


Did yours look like this?

There was no burnt taste to mine ''that ain't burnt...that's bark".
 
They should not even include therms on smokers/grills. They are as useless as hood ornaments . They typically aren't even reliably inaccurate. Buy a quality probe therm so you know what temp you are cooking at before making any other changes to what you did.
 
Just offering yet another opinion.

I did St Louis ribs over Memorial Day; made my own rub with light brown sugar and 'other stuff'.

18.5 WSM; minion load, no water in the pan, top grate only, no therm probes, just the lid.

3 1/2 hrs on the WSM using KBB, hickory and apple chunks. I got to my target temp of 250F at the lid and just let them ride.

Meat side up the whole time, mopped with a bit of left over rub in some water & apple cider vinegar.

Pulled them off, double wrapped them with a slight drizzling of the left over mop in heavy foil and into the oven at 240F for 45 minutes.

They were right at the edge of being fall off the bone tender (cuz the family said that's what they like).

The outer ribs were drier, but the center pieces were bang on.

Here's what they looked like
St-Ribs-after.jpg


Did yours look like this?

There was no burnt taste to mine ''that ain't burnt...that's bark".
The center of the rack looked like what you havve the outsides 1/4 on each were another stage of black
 
My first thought was along the lines of most with the sugar usage concern - another thought popped in, were some of the racks sitting on the edge of the grate, ie directly above heat as opposed to the center of the rack shielded from direct heat? Occasionally get that on a cook and it always causes a lot more blackening than the indirect heat.
 
My first thought was along the lines of most with the sugar usage concern - another thought popped in, were some of the racks sitting on the edge of the grate, ie directly above heat as opposed to the center of the rack shielded from direct heat? Occasionally get that on a cook and it always causes a lot more blackening than the indirect heat.

yes, these were to the edge all around. 3 racks flat on the 18.5. Sounds like I have a few things to work on here.
 
I always foil the edges of any meat I smoke if it goes to the edge of the smoker. Temps coming up the sides of the smoker can be much higher. Using the 3-2-1 method as a guide is ok. I now cook unwrapped for about two hours then start checking for color. When it's where I like it, then wrap. Start checking wrapped ribs after 1.5 hours. When they are toothpick tender, meaning it passes thru meat with little resistance. Remove and return to grill and start saucing. The sauce usually sets up in about thirty minutes. I no longer use water in the pan.
 
I always foil the edges of any meat I smoke if it goes to the edge of the smoker. Temps coming up the sides of the smoker can be much higher. Using the 3-2-1 method as a guide is ok. I now cook unwrapped for about two hours then start checking for color. When it's where I like it, then wrap. Start checking wrapped ribs after 1.5 hours. When they are toothpick tender, meaning it passes thru meat with little resistance. Remove and return to grill and start saucing. The sauce usually sets up in about thirty minutes. I no longer use water in the pan.

Rec this - I do similar for large cuts (like a brisket) or big slabs of ribs, 18.5 wsm and I find that a layer of foil under the exposed part above the coals to be a great way to protect the meat. For something like a brisket, you can eventually remove the edge foiling as the cut of meat shrinks due to moisture loss. Rib rack also works well if you want to cook a lot of ribs that otherwise won't fit on the grates.
 
Cook to the color you like not based on a time table. Wrap at that point. You've smoked the ribs, now get them tender
 

 

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