advice for next cook


 
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David Prince

TVWBB Fan
Just got back from warehouse store with 3 racks of baby backs, 2 butts, and 6 bags of Kingsford.

What rib advice can you guys give for very tender ribs. I want them on the bone but just barely. (total weight for 3 racks is 7lbs)

I cooked baby backs my first cook using BRITU and a 6 hour cook and the were indeed excellent. I simply want to tweek a little to get more tender. As always thanks in advance/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif
DP
 
Btw, didnt have the guts to buy the spares..the thought of the trimming intimidated me somewhat, but someday soon/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif
 
Hi David!

Sounds like you got the 2 1/4 lb. BB's.

Here is how I do them........

Rub the night before.
Fire up the WSM and immediately put your ribs on.
Stabilize fire at 225? grate level.
Let cook for 2 hours, then mop(your choice)...I use juice, vinegar and oil.
Let cook another hour.
At the 3 hour mark, foil. Before foiling, mop again and add some brown sugar on the ribs.
Back into smoker..still at 225?.
Don't touch anything for the next 2 1/2 hrs.
At the 5 1/2 hr. mark, remove from foil and apply sauce.
Back into the smoker for 30 minutes.

This takes a total of 6 hours...BUTTT.....it takes about 30-45 min. for the smoker to get to temp at the start of cooking.

You may have to experiment with the timing. The biggest risk is overcooking and all the meat falls off the bone. However, I have been cooking these same BB's for many years and they turn out perfect every time. Just keep that temp at 225?.

Good luck and let us know how they turn out!
 
Kinda hard to improve on Stogie's methods. /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

And I'll add a "second" to using foil. Figure out the variation of the 3-2-1 method that works for you; it helps crank out tender ribs.
 
Frank.....

Tenderizing and moisturizing...with the latter being more pronounced. It steams the meat, but it steams the meat while in it's own juices and rub.

Foil is still controversial, but becoming less so every year.

Try it out and......if you like it, great! If not, great!
 
I have tried Stogie's method above and it works great. I have experimented around with shorter times in the foil, but in the end I prefer Stogie's foil time.
 
Thanks Stogie.

When you foil, do you do anything more than just wrap them up in a single layer? And I assume you wrap them individually?
 
Frank...I just mop them and sprinkle some brown sugar on top of them. You could use the rub you used the night before as well.

Lay them flat and wrap individually. Now, you can stack them on top of each other once they are foiled. It makes NO difference in cooking times.

Also, if you use a rib rack, I simply re-join the 2 pieces and place inside the foil...that will cut down on the labor.

Again, you may need to experiment, especially if your slabs of ribs weigh different. Just stick with it until you find the ideal doneness!

Good luck!
 
Stogie,

So I take it that there is no problem with the ribs being too salty even with rubbing them the nght before? What is it in your method that keeps the ribs from being too salty? Is it the brown sugar while they are foiled?

Jon
 
I've never foiled my ribs while in the smoker and they have always turned out great. I've done ribs about 5 times now on the WSM and have not had a bad product yet. I just cook them on a rib rack with the dome temp at about 240 and mop them about every hour or so. When they have pulled away from the bone 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch and they pull apart easily then I take them off wrap them in foil and let them sit for 30 minutes to an hour. Good eatin /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif
 
Jon.....

If anything, I always need to add salt to my final product. My rubs are pretty low in salt I guess, plus I never, ever use injected meat.

Funny thing...early on when I was competing, I wasn't doing as well as I thought I should be. Then I asked one of the veterans to taste my stuff.....sure enough...not enough salt! Now, I find myself adding salt at the end of every cook, just before serving.

I have never been a big fan of BRITU, so have never been "burned" by too much salt.
 
I have a rub that I use on everything. It's a modified version of a rub that I took out of a cooking magazine. It's about 50% salts and 50% sugars. It's also got pepper, dry mustard, and a couple of other things. It works great and the sugars offset the salt so it's not too salty or too sweet. I haven't had to add any salt to anything since I started using it.
 
Stogie,

I apprciate the feedback. I used the BRITU for the only time I did ribs and was so worried about being salty, I don't think it had that much taste. Next time I try ribs, I will try a different rub.

Have you posted your rub on this site before? If not, I understand since rubs can top secret. If so, I would love to try it.

Thanks,
Jon
 
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