Rolled Ribs done test?

Hello,

I after many tries finally got my ribs to my liking, which in turn means I am now cooking for a crowd this Saturday. Will be rolling 3-4 slabs per rack on 18.5. When rolled, what is best method of determining done time? Will the meat shrink back as normal? Skewer tender test? Obviously bend test will be out.

Thoughts? Experience?

Thanks

Don Flanigan said:

Hello, I after many tries finally got my ribs to my liking, which in turn means I am now cooking for a crowd this Saturday. Will be rolling 3-4 slabs per rack on 18.5. When rolled, what is best method of determining done time? Will the meat shrink back as normal? Skewer tender test? Obviously bend test will be out. Thoughts? Experience? Thanks

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Tooth pick test works for me. But don't just stab the top part of the rolled ribs, go in from the side (the part that would be flat if not rolled) when the tooth pick goes in effortlessly, it's time to eat. Good luck cooking for your crowd this Saturday, we'll be pulling for ya


https://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?70948-July-4th-BB-Ribs-on-the-SJ-Mini

Welcome to the forum. The meat will shrink back from the bones just as when they're lying flat. At least that's my experience.

If you're doing spares, you can get 3 slabs per grate. You can jam 4 on there, but they will be touching each other. I'd consider that a no-no. As ChuckO relates, the toothpick test will work with rolled ribs. I use the tear test, but that's me. Put the ribs breastbone side down on the grate and don't flip them. The meat will pull away from the bones, as Lew says. I roll them with the flexible end on the inside and secure them with two skewers each in an 'X' pattern as shown in the photo. Snip off the excess skewer and they'll be easier to handle. They should be pretty stable if you do the 'X' right, so you can rotate them around if you see fit. I cook them rolled, but lay them flat and foil them in a cooler for 30 minutes or so before serving. You can slather them with sauce and finish them on a kettle or gasser if you want to caramelize them.

I'm gettin' hungry writing this.

Ribs_of_the_Beast by Jeff Hasselberger, on Flickr

Thanks guys! In knew I could count on you. I never went away just not active poster.....I am getting baby backs "with loin", anything special there? More time? I'm gonna aim to be done an hour early given variables. We just moved and I have been talking up my ribs to neighbor's...hoping for success. 2 slabs with family no problem. 6-7 slabs with strangers more or less is stressful. You know the drill

6-7 slabs will take > 5 hours, probably close to an hour per slab. Don't rush ribs, never rush ribs. When they're done they're done.

Thanks Chuck. Interesting enough, last time I let the ribs go over 5 and they were perfect (2slabs) took years to "get it" assume they are done early. Double foil in cooler for hour? I'll plan on 7 hours

Don Flanigan said:

Thanks guys! In knew I could count on you. I never went away just not active poster.....I am getting baby backs "with loin", anything special there? More time? I'm gonna aim to be done an hour early given variables. We just moved and I have been talking up my ribs to neighbor's...hoping for success. 2 slabs with family no problem. 6-7 slabs with strangers more or less is stressful. You know the drill

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B.B. are FROM the loin (area) of the piggie. There will (obviously) be some loin meat attached because that's where they come from BUT the loin itself is not there. Sounds like an advertising gimmick. If you have the loin attached to the ribs, then you got a roast and you'll need to cut the loin away from the ribs.

You'd then have a boneless loin roast AND baby back ribs.

If you're smoking at temp for 5 hours, you do NOT want to foil them for hours after you're finished. They will literally fall apart when you try to cut them. If you're going to foil strictly for short (ie 1 hr) storage, take them off at 4 1/2 hr and foil/cooler for an hour. They'll still be too hot to hold after that time and they will finish cooking although the bark will be soft (because of the foil).

This shows where the various "parts" are:

The ribs are separated from the "Loin Meat" by cutting along the ribs (in the pic, where the "K" is in the word "Pork". Further to this, you'd find the 'tenderloin' (not shown) on the side where the "Baby Back Ribs" arrow is pointing. It is very loosely attached (by skin) to the inside curve of the ribs. You wouldn't even need a knife to separate it: just pull it away. You'd get all of these parts if you bought a "whole" pork loin.

Usually pretty cheap and a great bargain if you can find it.

Ok so I picked up the ribs from the Butcher and the loin meat is very thick, they said to take them off when the loin portion hits 155, for what its worth. They said could take 6 hours

And from what you describe, it could take 6 hr if you don't remove the excess b4 smoking. Gonna be hard to roll IMO if you leave that extra on. You're going to have to decide how you want to handle it and then gauge your cooking time accordingly.

I don't normally (well, never) use a thermo to check ribs for doneness. With the extra meat, it may be a good idea. Still, hard to roll it though.

MAYBE: don't do a tight roll. Rather, you may want to consider doing a spiral then attach one end of that rack to the beginning of the next, overlapping the ends enough to allow two wood skewers to hold shape. Then curl that second one and attach the third rack to that one.

Kinda like this but there will be a break where rack one ends and rack 2 begins.:

Never tried it but if you end up having a tough time getting them into individual spirals, one big spiral may work. Keep in mind: the individual racks will not touch each other. Only the skewers will connect them.

Hope this is clear as I can't find a pic of what I'm trying to describe.