Baby Back ribs??

[Tim M in FL]

So I cooked some baby back ribs the other night for around 3.5 hours... My question is this... if I cook them longer like to 4 or 5 hours would they end up being over cooked?

I had a temp probe in one end that was about 3" thick and took em off when they where around 170 degrees.

Some feedback on this would be much appreciated.

 

[Craig O'riley]

when it comes to ribs i don't go by temp of the meat. I keep the pit temp at a constant 230 deg I don't even peek before 3 hrs. At the 3 hr mark First I look for pull back of the meat from the end of the bones, then I take my tongs grab the slab in the middle and pick it up if it bends in half and looks like an upside down "U" there are done. if they fail the bend test I give them another 40 min then I do the bend test again if they pass that then the final test is grabbing two bones and see if the meat will tear easily. I'm a dry rib guy I don't baste glaze slather or sauce. If the pass those tests I pull them and rest on the cutting board 20 min slice and put on a feeding frenzie

 

[Tim M in FL]

Craig, thanks for the info... I am still new to smoking so trying to learn the in's and out's of smoking different meats...

Most all the styles of meats go by temp so getting that out of my brain for ribs is good to know.

 

[Joe Abad]

I do spares and very seldom do baby backs. I cook ribs around the same temp as Craig so for ribs I do the "exposed bone" and the "bend" tests. These visuals are pretty accurate for ribs, for other meats from chicken parts to whole hogs, I use my trusty instant read thermometer.

 

[K Kruger]

Most all the styles of meats go by temp

Not really - not for barbecue. Any of the Q'd meats - brisket, chuck cuts, pork shoulder, spareribs, back ribs - are done when they are tender, not when they hit a certain temp. Temps might correlate with tender but are neither causative nor necessarily indicative.