1st attempt at spares.......sort of successful...questions?


 
dwayne e

dwayne e

TVWBB Super Fan
I tried my hand at spares for the first time over the weekend using the following method:

I started with three racks of standard ribs, partially trimmed, not quite St. Louis style. I rubbed them with a home made rub, K salt garlic, paprika, brown sugar/sugar and some cumin.

Cooked them (WSM 22 top rack)using the following technique.....minion method (225-250). About two hours with no foil (turning about half way through and basting with apple juice)......then another hour or so wrapped in foil......then basted with sauce and put back on for an hour or so unfoiled. The total cook time was between 4 and 4 1/2 hours.

Overall, I was pleased with the results. However, they were a bit salty and I think I can deal with the rub to correct that.

However, I really thought they were a bit overdone......ends were a little tough, middle ribs were just on the dry side of perfect.

The cooker spiked a couple of times to around 300; however, I was home watching the game and was monitoring closely and was pretty successful at keeping it below 250.

I'm looking for melt in your mouth, fall off the bone ribs.

I think I could've achieved it much sooner. I think I could've taken them off directly out of the foil or just a few minutes of putting them back on unfoiled.

Any thoughts.....am I on the right track?

I think I just missed getting it right.

As always thanks......this place rocks.
 
As to salt, were the ribs enhanced with any solution? If you're gonna use enhanced ribs, make sure they're no phosphates listed on the package. You end up with a rib that tastes as much like ham.

You say the ends were a little tough. Tough as in overcooked hard or was the meat still clinging to the bone? I'm not sure how far you took them from your description, so I won't try to suggest any changes to your particular cook.

Going by what you said you're looking for, I'd start off at 275-300 and cook til they're the color you want. Next, foil and cook til tender. Open the foil and check 'em after about 45 minutes, and don't waste time checking for tenderness unless they have pulled back some and the bones are potruding some. (They'll cook very fast in the foil, especially at over 300.) Lastly, pull out of the foil and glaze if desired. I'd watch the cooker temp at the end as it's easy to overcook the ribs when glazing if they're already tender, especially at higher temps. Personally, I'd start lowering the temp after you foil so that your glaze finishes at a lower temp at the end, but that's what I've found helps me not to overcook. Use smaller wood chunks so you don't have big temp spikes and lots of nasty smoke when tending to the ribs.
 
Dwayne,
Hi! I find that 275° works best for my 18.5" WSM when cooking ribs.
If I'm doing the 3-2-1 method, I cook about 3 hours, or until they get some good color, then foil with about 1/4 cup Grape Juice and a Tablespoon or so of Brown Sugar for an hour. Then, out of the foil and back on till just right, but I don't sauce...ever. Sauce is a side dish around here.

I typically look for "Competition" style tenderness, that is, when you take a bite, only the part that you bite comes away from the bone. In competitions, "fall off the bone" is considered over done.

HTH
icon_smile.gif
 
Agree with Dave about the salt and 'enhanced ribs'.

And I too prefer slightly higher temps around 275º.

As to your method, I think you're on the right track.

The 3-2-1 method should probably be called the out-in-out method as many find variations on time better suit their taste (3-2-1, 2-1-1, 2.5-1.5-.5, etc). That and which liquids (if any) are added to the in-foil part. You just need to experiment to find your preference.
 
Originally posted by TravisH:
...And I too prefer slightly higher temps around 275º...The 3-2-1 method should probably be called the out-in-out method as many find variations on time better suit their taste (3-2-1, 2-1-1, 2.5-1.5-.5, etc)...
Click to expand...

Couldn't agree more. It would be helpful for us to remember that there's lots of folks that don't know that the 3-2-1 method was developed for cooking ribs at 225, not 275. Besides, I've heard more than once from bbq experts that the biggest mistake in cooking ribs is overcooking. I also understand that the key with this "out-n-out" method is to pull 'em out of the foil once you've got some "pull back", not just going by two hours in foil, even if cooking at the prescribed 225.
 
(Sigh...) All this talk about ribs...
Went to the store earlier, got 2 rack of Baby Backs. Got 'em on now, with Slaw and Fries on the menu.
 
Charles u cook them the same way i do between 275-300 seems to work best for me also.

Dwayne u r on the rite track, the only problem i see is u r not cooking them long enough before foiling, also flipping them half way to me is a no no i think that was ur biggest mistake. Try like Charles says and tweak from there. IMO u want tender ribs with texture not fall off the bone, i find fall off the bone to hammy. Better luck next time, i think u will have awesome results next time u cook Spares.
 
..ends were a little tough, middle ribs were just on the dry side of perfect.
Click to expand...
Based on this and the cook time in the OP I'm thinking the ribs were likely undercooked.
 
Originally posted by K Kruger:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">..ends were a little tough, middle ribs were just on the dry side of perfect.
Click to expand...
Based on this and the cook time in the OP I'm thinking the ribs were likely undercooked. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I think so too, especially since OP never mentioned anything about testing for doneness.

OP: Next time, try grabbing two bones and pulling them apart. You should just get a little resistance as it starts and then it should tear the rest of the way with no effort. Or if you want them totally fall off the bone (overcooked by most standards) just take your tongs or whatever and lift the slab up from the center. If it doesn't fall apart on you it isn't done. Either way come back in a half hour if it's close or an hour if it doesn't.

I know it seems weird that they'll be dry and more cooking makes them moist, but it's not water moisture, it's gelatin that's form via chemical breakdown of the connective tissue.
 
Glad to read this thread. I had only done baby backs. Tried some untrimmed spares which were tasty but seemed very fatty. Did St Louis trim and they took 5+ hours and were tender but seemed a tiny bit dry. Cooker was very low in the beginning (205) and I went to a movie so I was surprised it hadn't risen. Thought I may have dried them out being in there so long and low but now I'm guessing they should have gone another 30 or 60 minutes and would have been better.

I've seen other comments that spares cook longer the baby backs too.

Learn stuff everyday.
 
I don't cook baby backs often enough to have a feeling for which takes longer, but I've had St. Louis trimmed spares take up to 6 hours.

One piece of advice I picked up here that was useful - if you're not sure if the ribs have peaked or not, just leave one slab on there for another half hour or hour or perhaps until you're done eating the rest - whatever works for you. Then sample one and if it was better, even though you've already eaten... guess what, you should have left it on later! Note the way it feels with the pull test or toothpick test or whatever you like and use that as your starting point next time.
 
Thanks for all of the advice guys.

The ends were definitely over done....charred and too hard.

I think I will try to dial down the temp a little and avoid the spikes; I think that's where I got in trouble. I like the idea of foiling sooner after I get the smoke and color I'm looking for.

I also believe the ribs were treated with a solution. I will probably eliminate salt from my rub.....they did taste a little "hammy"
icon_smile.gif


On another note, I deboned and chopped the leftovers, added them to caramelized onions with a little BBQ and Franks Hot Sauce and made some killer pulled pork (sort of) sandwiches.

I love this place!
 
Hard to say without seeing/tasting them, but note that while charring can certainly cause hardness it does not meat the meat inside was overcooked. Again, hard to say.

I routinely cook ribs 100?higher than you did. High temps do not cause toughness, dryness, etc.

Undercooked ribs can be tough and seem dry; overcooked ribs are usually dry, but the meat is stringy-ish, and usually comes off the bone fairly easily too.
 
Originally posted by dwayne e:
Thanks for all of the advice guys.

The ends were definitely over done....charred and too hard.

I think I will try to dial down the temp a little and avoid the spikes; I think that's where I got in trouble. I like the idea of foiling sooner after I get the smoke and color I'm looking for.

I also believe the ribs were treated with a solution. I will probably eliminate salt from my rub.....they did taste a little "hammy"
icon_smile.gif


On another note, I deboned and chopped the leftovers, added them to caramelized onions with a little BBQ and Franks Hot Sauce and made some killer pulled pork (sort of) sandwiches.

I love this place!
Click to expand...

Dewayne, on the wsm, your slab ends can end up like that before the majority of the rack gets tender, especially if cooking on the bottom rack. There are ways to get more even cooking, though. For instance, if cooking loinbacks or St. Louis ribs, rolling and skewering works great. As far as good sized untrimmed spares go, probably the best way to go is to cut the rack in half and turn the thicker parts toward the outside heat. I finally tried this on my last spare rib cook and found that the lighter half was done MUCH sooner. They turned out great, and were cooked MUCH more evenly.

For avoiding temp spikes, use smaller and fewer wood chunks for less btu's in case they catch fire when rib tending. I don't think your temps were any issue going by what you said, though. Just don't overcook. Good luck with it next time, and hope this helps.
 
Originally posted by Dave Russell:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by dwayne e:
Thanks for all of the advice guys.

The ends were definitely over done....charred and too hard.

I think I will try to dial down the temp a little and avoid the spikes; I think that's where I got in trouble. I like the idea of foiling sooner after I get the smoke and color I'm looking for.

I also believe the ribs were treated with a solution. I will probably eliminate salt from my rub.....they did taste a little "hammy"
icon_smile.gif


On another note, I deboned and chopped the leftovers, added them to caramelized onions with a little BBQ and Franks Hot Sauce and made some killer pulled pork (sort of) sandwiches.

I love this place!
Click to expand...

Dewayne, on the wsm, your slab ends can end up like that before the majority of the rack gets tender, especially if cooking on the bottom rack. There are ways to get more even cooking, though. For instance, if cooking loinbacks or St. Louis ribs, rolling and skewering works great. As far as good sized untrimmed spares go, probably the best way to go is to cut the rack in half and turn the thicker parts toward the outside heat. I finally tried this on my last spare rib cook and found that the lighter half was done MUCH sooner. They turned out great, and were cooked MUCH more evenly.

For avoiding temp spikes, use smaller and fewer wood chunks for less btu's in case they catch fire when rib tending. I don't think your temps were any issue going by what you said, though. Just don't overcook. Good luck with it next time, and hope this helps. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I like the idea of keeping the tips away from the edges of the WSM........I have some BBs in the freezer; I think I'm going to try the skewer and roll method next time.

thanks!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top