3-2-1 st louis ribs let me down


 
ChuckO said:
I'm with Bob, foiling ribs is more for show than for backyard BBQ.
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I must admit that my higher degree BBQ learnin' was linked with competition. I no longer compete but habits are hard to die. Sometimes Comp technique can compliment a backyard situation, IMHO.

Mark
 
My temp were similar but the probe was on the lower grate ( for the butt that I'd still going, I suspect the upper grate could be hotter). I usually don't foil but tried it this time to try and get the timing right. I should have been more dilligent.
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Years ago, I always presumed that the lower rack in the smoker was the hotter rack. Then we started using oven thermometers on the two levels and I realized that the upper grate is always hotter. Just FYI.
 
The 3-2-1 method is specifically for those cooking at 225*. If you are cooking higher than that, then you have to cut back your times. I cook my St. Louis ribs at 275* and it takes about 4 hours total. I usually go 2 hours nekkid, pull them, wrap them and put them back on for the remainder of that next hour, pull them, go nekkid again, and put them back on for another 30 to 45 mins. So, if I start my ribs at noon, I pull them off at 2 pm. By the time I have wrapped them and get them back on, it is around 2:15 and I cook them wrapped until 3. Then I unwrap them and put them back on until they pass the bend test and a toothpick slides easily into the meat between the bones.
 
THoey said:
The 3-2-1 method is specifically for those cooking at 225*. If you are cooking higher than that, then you have to cut back your times. I cook my St. Louis ribs at 275* and it takes about 4 hours total. I usually go 2 hours nekkid, pull them, wrap them and put them back on for the remainder of that next hour, pull them, go nekkid again, and put them back on for another 30 to 45 mins. So, if I start my ribs at noon, I pull them off at 2 pm. By the time I have wrapped them and get them back on, it is around 2:15 and I cook them wrapped until 3. Then I unwrap them and put them back on until they pass the bend test and a toothpick slides easily into the meat between the bones.
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I think this is what has been lost over the years since this method was introduced. 3-2-1 is specifically for cooking at 225°. If cooking hotter then the 2 and the 1 need to be reduced.
 
Stephen Hammond said:
We have shortened our foil time. We have reduced the amount of apple juice in the foil, too much and it steams them to mush!
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Agree. About a tablespoon is plenty. IMHO, foiling is meant to soften the bark and to melt the brown sugar without burning it. That takes as little as 15 minutes in foil to achieve.
 
Like many on here, I started out trying spares with 3-2-1 in the 225 - 250 range and got mush. I eventually found that 3-1-1 (w/ the last 1 usually closer to 45 minutes) worked well. Since then, I tried doing them without foil, like them better that way, so don't foil anymore.
 
Agreed! Did ribs on my new mini yesterday. 270 F +- for 3 hrs 15 min. Turned out great! Pic to follow, once I get it together.
Happy Sunday.

Mark
 
I do 3-.75 method haha smoke at 250 3 hours foil for 45 ends up great if real fat spares I'll foil for a whole hour ... But 3-2-1 is a joke but then again so are the bbq sauce bathed ribs
 
J. Wilson said:
. No foil for me either....don't like the texture
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I don't foil, spritz, slather with margerine, syrup, sugar, none of that stuff. With spares at 250*, the lid goes on and doesn't come off for at least five hours. With baby backs, 4 hours for the tenderness test. I certainly can see the advantages of a short foiling time, but I don't like going through all that trouble when I can get ribs just the way I and the wife like them without it.
 
I cook full spares with the flap meat trimmed on my offset at around 250-275. I always spritz with apple juice periodically and foil at the three hour mark. But like some of you guys, I do 3-1-.5 and find them a little too soft for my liking but family and friends think they are great. I'm doing 12 racks of spares for July 4th, and I am debating going foiless but it kind of feels like walking out to the mailbox naked !
 
Matt_B said:
I cook full spares with the flap meat trimmed on my offset at around 250-275. I always spritz with apple juice periodically and foil at the three hour mark. But like some of you guys, I do 3-1-.5 and find them a little too soft for my liking but family and friends think they are great. I'm doing 12 racks of spares for July 4th, and I am debating going foiless but it kind of feels like walking out to the mailbox naked !
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I concur on your foiling method for the offset, but on the wsm I usually just smoke with water in the pan till they're tender.
 
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