Baby Back Help

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My ribs need help. One batch I did, I used MM and sand. Also, used hickory, pecan and oak.
These ribs were a bit over smoked. Tough.

The last batch, I lit a full chimney of Kingsford and added a chimney on top. One chunk of apple, one of cherry. Sand. I let the fire burn for 30-35 minutes then assembled the smoker. Most all of the heavy smoke was gone. Averaged 235-260*. 3 hours naked, 2 hours foil and 1 hour to finnish. This batch was under smoked and tough. Used apple juice at 2hours,3,and after foil. The rubs were too light.

Ribs have a lot of surface area, is a standard start ( burning off heavy smoke ) better than a MM ?

I know I need more than 2 chunks-what is your favorite chunk and how many?

How do I solve the problem of the ribs being tough?

My wife complained about the glaze on the first batch and the lack of it on the second-answer is yes put a finnish sauce or glaze.

Does anyone marinate ribs? I have used Raichlen's apple juice and lemon with good result when I cooked on a gasser. Would the marinade help make the ribs less tough?
Last batch of ribs a 5 out of 10.

Thanks for the help!!!
 
I would suggest trying spare ribs instead of BB. More meat on the bones and gets a nice smoke ring. I've had very good ribs with oak chunks. Check out the "Texas sprinkle" ribs recipe on the site. It's pretty simple to follow and don't have to fiddle with a glaze. Good luck!
 
I am shocked that the ribs were not done at those temps and the time you cooked them. How was the quality of the meat? In my experience good quality meat is 90 percent of getting a good product. How big were the babys? The old saying in BBQ is that they are done when they are done. Usually if you have a tough product it has not been cooked long enough. When you open up the lid you need to add 15 minutes of time extra every time you do it. Baby backs take for me 4-5 hours but I get small ones at 2 lbs or less. If you get good quality meat and cook them until juicy you will have great results......
 
Steve,

I'm not doubting your results, all I can say is that if I cooked baby backs for 6 hours with two of those being in foil, I wouldn't be able to pick them up without the bones falling out of them.

Have you checked the accuracy of your thermometers lately? With regard to the smoke issue, your first batch it seems like you might have used too much of the strong flavor woods. On my ribs I usually use 1 chunk of hickory and either two chunks of apple or cherry, or just two large chunks of apple, and that is all the wood used for the whole cook. It depends on your preference for smoke flavor.

What kind of rub did you use and when and how did you apply it?

With regard to the start, I use the Minion Method, every time, on ribs, pork butt, brisket and chuck roll. As soon as I place the lit coals on the unlit charcoal chimney I assemble the cooker and add the meat and control the temps on the way up.

Where did you buy your ribs from and do you usually get meat from there, they might just have been a bad rack of baby backs. It happens.

I hope I have helped, if you have any further questions, post away.
 
I agree with Jeff. There is some x factors involved. Have you checked your therm? Sounds like either temp is off or just not enough time. From what you are saying those ribs should be tender with the amount of time you foiled them.
I also agree good ribs start with good raw ribs.
 
Gentlemen,
I beleive these were 'over cooked' tough-dried out. Some were falling apart-some just cooked too much. May need to rotate...I will recheck thermometer. I am glad you said you use MM-I hope I didnt offend Jim. It is my preferred way to cook. A little more info:

12.00 233*
12.30 232
12.45 219
1.00 230
1.30 251
2.00 258 AJ
2.30 259
3.00 261 AJ / Foil
3.30 267
5.00 261 Out of foil-some are falling apart-Light rub sprinkle
6.00 258 off wsm
Will check therm and rub info later.
 
The 3 woods you used first time around were all pretty strong woods (H, P, O). Baby backs to me taste best with a small amount of hickory, or alternately a medium amount of fruit wood such as apple or cherry. Not sure I'd mix hickory and oak with ribs.

By the way any reason you're using foil? I do just fine without and would only resort to the foil "crutch" if I had a problem that wasn't responding to more traditional methods.
 
Steve, I dont see foil as a crutch but as a tool. I cooked 6 racks of BBs last weekend and used 3 fist size chunks of hickory and thought it needed more smoke. That is the thing, everyone has different tastes so experiment till you find the taste that suits you. Try foil on some and some ribs without. You be the judge.
DP
 
Thats what I like...no one way to do it!
Checked ET-73,dead on...212-211.
Rubs: Cajun plus sugar:
2t sugar
1T salt
1T paprika
1t oinion powder
1t garlic powder
1/2t cayenne
1/2t black pepper
1/2t thyme
1/2t oregano
1/2t celery seed

Chris' Cooks Ill. Jamaican:
1T sugar
21/2t salt
21/2t coriander
11/2t ginger
11/2t garlic powder
3/4t allspice
3/4t black pepper
1/4t cayenne
1/4t nutmeg
1/4t cinnamon

The Jamaican Rub was very good...needed a heavier dose though.

One last thought, my rib rack is poor. Too wide and big to stack around it. The outside two inches of the racks are a little hot. Also the top and bottom racks must need to be rotated more. I did once.
Thanks for the help, I am learning.
 
I've snipped off the last few posts of this thread and thrown them in the bit bucket.

Let's talk about something other than foil. /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

Regards,
Chris
 
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