2nd smoke, a bit disapointed


 
A

Andrew S. B.

TVWBB Member
Hi everyone, 2nd smoke today. Did i kansas city style pork rib.

A case for you BBQ detectives:

My ribs we not very tender after 6 hrs. I stayed at 250F thermometer temp (through the top vent). The thing is, the thermometer i used is 12 inches long, so it almost reaches the grate. I'm not sure what that would mean for my grate temp. Now it seems maybe that i undercooked the ribs since the meat had pulled up about 1/4" on some of the bones, but i thought 6hrs would be enough! The tenderness was like the pork chops my mom makes, not like the ribs i made last week that melted in your mouth! It took some muscle to pull the ribs from the bone. I basted the meat with 1 cup canola oil + 1 pint water + some vinegar and musatrd pretty often. The meat was by no means dry, i could eat them no problem, just not juicy or tender.

My question is, did i overcook or undercook the ribs? I need to know so i don't mess up on the 4th!

Many thanks!

Andrew
 
Undercooked.

6 hours is not enough time for spares. Don't go by time with barbecue. It's only a guide. Spares usually run me 7+ hours. If you really want to baste feel free. It will add to your cook time.
 
Yes under cooked. It's said that everytime you take off the lid it adds 15 min to your cooking time. Not sure if it adds that much.... but it does make a difference.
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Thanks guys, i figured they were undercooked, but the judges (my folks!) insisted that 6hrs is rediculously overcooked, but they've never BBQed!!!

I definatly opened the lid a LOT to baste twice an hour and check every 15 mins at the end. Probably what did it.

I went by Chris's spare rib cook that took 5:15, but i guess i'll be preparing for 7+ hrs on the 4th of july. Thanks Kevin and Braindead
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Andrew
 
Length of the cook will depend on size and thickness of the ribs, cooking temp, and how often you open the lid. Personally, I see no need to flip ribs so I don't, nor do I baste. If you decide to do neither of these things your cook might be shorter than 7+ hours; again, it will depend on several factors.

When the meat recedes as Chris describes in his recipe you're nearing the finish. You can insert a probe between the bones as a test. It will go in smoothly when the ribs are done, or you can do the tear test described in the recipe, or you can do both.

Have a great 4th.
 
Originally posted by Andrew S. B.:
Thanks guys, i figured they were undercooked, but the judges (my folks!) insisted that 6hrs is rediculously overcooked, but they've never BBQed!!!

Andrew
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Don't listen to people when it comes to time to cook things. I told my crew at work that I was going to bring in some pork, and they asked how long it takes to cook it. I had a 11.7# picnic cut and said it would be around 24 hours. They said "don't worry, we have pizza coupons". After they tried it, now they are all asking to "chip in" and pay me to smoke another.
LIke some people here say, "it's done when it's done"
 
Originally posted by Andrew S. B.:
i thought 6hrs would be enough!
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Andrew - if you want to finish your cook in 6 hours with spares, you probably need to use foil for a bit of the cook. Many, many posts about using foil for ribs. Not sure if you are averse to it, but it's worth looking into. I had a lot of trouble getting my spares as tender as I'd like without it.

When I foil, I smoke them for 4.5 hours, foil for 45 mins to 1 hour, them unwrap and put them back on the smoker for 30 minutes. Kruger's suggestion to use a toothpick or probe to test doneness is the best way to really know if they are done or not.

Good luck. Hope your smoke on the 4th turns out perfectly!
 
STOP opening the lid!!!

Every half hour, you'll never get those ribs cooked.

So they're supposed to take 7 hours (Disclaimer: never go by time-always go by condition of the meat), half an hour you open the lid-add 15 minutes. Seven hours of this (assuming ribs will be done in seven hours-never assume this) will stretch the finish time to 13 hours and 45 minutes, by my rudimentary calculations.

I put the ribs on and don't lift the lid or look at 'em for the first 3-4 hours. Then depending on how they look, I foil 'em for roughly 45 minutes with some apple juice in the foil, then depending on how they feel, take 'em back out of the foil and continue cooking, firm 'em up a bit, and add a glaze, if so inclined.
 
That sounds like some good advice, John - judging by my first couple of experiences. I did my first two lots of ribs judging by time alone; first time was similar to Andrew; second time I foiled for an hour and they almost disintegrated!

Since you're not going by time, what test do you use to check that they're done?
 
When I go to take 'em out of the foil, I pick 'em up with tongs run the length of the ribs to about the middle. If I lift and the other half bends down and cracks appear in the surface at the "fold" like it's almost gonna break in half, that's enough foil time, if not then back in the foil. I've never gone more than 45 minutes in foil. After that they're on the grate to "firm up" a bit (and to glaze, if I feel like glazing 'em), somewhere between 30-90 minutes. Then I just tear one of the end bones off to check how tender they are, or insert a toothpick between bones (should go through like the proverbial "hot knife through butter") if I don't want to ruin the appearance by ripping 'em apart.

Meat pulling back from the bone can be a guide, but I've had done ribs that didn't pull back and I've had ribs that pulled back and were still not done yet.
 
I laugh now whem I hear people talk about basting the meat every half-hour or so. I used to do it too and have since stopped. Basting may be great on an open grill, but for low and slow I don't believe it has much of an impact on the flavor imprint.

I spent several months trying out different techniques for basting and have found the basting 30-60 minutes before the cook is finished gives almost the same results as basting throughout the cook. It also shaves an hour or better from your cook time since you don't experience the constant heat loss.

I now put my meat on the cooker and open it again only to check for doneness. I sometimes brush a thin coating of watered-down bbq sauce on my ribs approx. 30 min before they come out of the smoker, but even that is on a rare occasion. My cooks go much smoother, temps remain far more stable, and the meat comes out just as moist and juicy as it can be.
 
This is all fantastic advice! No basting on monday then! I might even try foiling but i'm a bit afraid foiling for the first time while hungry people are depending on me. Also looks like i'm going to have to wake up an start quite early to get food ready by 1pm (It's summer break for me, so i'm used to wakeing up at noon
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Andrew
 
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