Baby backs dry, salty, and generally less than great..

[Sameer Wahid]

So I tried my third attempt of ribs on the smokenator + 22.5 OTS, and I've had my third failure. I don't remember much about the first two trials (it was two years ago), but I took some notes this time and could sure use some guidance from y'all.

I was following a recipe in Ron Shewchuk's Barbecue Secrets book:

Bought two racks of ribs from Whole Foods - they had already been trimmed with the membrane removed. I don't know if they were 'enhanced' with salt - there was no mention on the price tag at the counter but I intend to find out tomorrow for sure.

Coated the ribs with light coating of mustard, granulated garlic, a medium coat of a rub that's 1/3 sugar, 1/3 salts (garlic, celery, seasoning), 1/3 spices (chili powder, pepper, paprika). Let sit fifteen minutes then put in hot smoker (250F), concave side down on the grate.

The grate temps were a bit high (250-260F) for the first 2.5 hours, then I managed to keep within the 225-240F range for the rest of the cook. I didn't measure dome temps.

After 3 hours I sprayed them with apple juice. At the 4 hour mark I coated them with BBQ sauce (store bought stuff), then I recoated them three more times in 40 minute intervals. Finally, after 6 hours, the ribs couldn't be pulled apart easily, but I figured they had to be done. Foiled them, let them sit in the smoker 30 minutes then on the counter 30 minutes, then served. The ribs were 165-170F when I removed them. They were terribly dry, and quite salty (compared to ribs at a restaurant like Swiss Chalet, Tony Roma's, Baton Rouge, etc.).

I tried the pull test a couple of times and kept watching for the ribs to recede from the bone, but the pull test never came through and the ribs never really receded (a few were at the 1/4 inch mark, but not many). Worse yet, wrapping in foil seems to have "peeled" away some of the BBQ sauce crust.

I'm thinking of cutting out the salt from the rub, and only coating the ribs with the BBQ sauce twice: once 4.5 hours in, and again before foiling them. Any and all help would be greatly appreciated - I'm at a loss and don't want to turn $25 of ribs into jerky again. :-(

Thanks,
Sameer

 

[Matt B.]

Sameer, sorry you had a rough time. I know how it is to spend all that time just to come out with bad ribs.

I suggest you start with a proven method and recipe. For instance, look up the BRITU recipe on the cooking topics section and try that. It will take a little modification to fit your equipment, but you should do fine. From there, you can start to experiment.

 

[Tim Maybury]

Thats too bad that they didn't work out. Just a couple points that might help you next time. Don't cut out the salt, just reduce it. Don't sauce the ribs till they are almost done, like the last 30 minutes. Any sooner the sugars will just burn. Don't put the meat on if your not at the right temperature. Try cooking at 225 plus or minus 10 degrees. I can't believe it took 6 hours to get to temp. Is your thermometer digital? Maybe check its calibration by submerging it in boiling water, it should read 100 degrees Celsius or 212 degrees Fahrenheit. Next time don't wrap them in foil, just tent the foil over top. Good luck and keep trying!

Tim

 

[PeterD]

I'll agree with Tim on this one. I have great success with a very simple process. I start with Costco non-enhanced loin backs in the 2.5 pound range (just a tad north of 1kg).

De-membrane and coat in a modest dusting of any rub whose flavours you like. I've used BRITU in the past but I'm a little tired of it; try Chris Lilly's or Meathead's Magic Dust or formulate your own with similar proportions. A bit of salt and brown sugar in the rub are good.

Put 'em on the smoker and go for about 4 hours at 225 to 240 grate temps. Do NOTHING to them in that time. Leave the lid closed. No peeking!

After 4 hours, if you want, give 'em 45 minutes in foil with a bit of apple juice (one slab per foil pouch). When you take them out of the foil, goose the temps up to 275 or so, paint on a thin even coating of your favourite sauce and let it carmelize. After about 30-45 minutes they should be pretty close to perfect.

IMHO, the more you mess with them on the smoker the poorer the results. Slap 'em in and leave 'em on and you should be good to go.

 

[Thom E]

Hello Sameer,

6 hours is for spare ribs, 3-4hrs is how long I cook Baby back.

I use this rub

The temperature should be 220-250 through out the whole cook time.

1 and half hour (with two fist size apple wood)

40 minutes wrapped in foil (called Texas Crutch) w/a half cup of apple juice. Oh, I also drizzle honey on top of the ribs too.

1 hour out of the foil

then put on a base coat of bbq sauce, 15 minutes later, another coat of bbq sauce.

Good luck

 

[K Kruger]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I tried the pull test a couple of times and kept watching for the ribs to recede from the bone, but the pull test never came through and the ribs never really receded (a few were at the 1/4 inch mark, but not many). </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
They were likely underdone.

Me, I never sauce ribs while they are on grate, only serve sauce on the side, but if you want to sauce all you really need is a short period of time for the sauce to seize and set. Lengthy time will turn the sauce black as the sugars over-caramelize and the smoke particulates stick to the sauce.

I would also agree with the above to reduce the salt rather than cut it out and, frankly, I'd suggest a sugar reduction since you are saucing to finish.

 

[Russ Sylvester]

I'm with Kevin. If you absolutely want to sauce the ribs while in the cooker, then do it about 15-20 minutes before pulling them out. Just long enough to 'set' the sauce.

Try following the BRITU to the letter once or twice and then branching out from there.

One quick way that I use to check for doneness is to grab the slab in the middle with a pair of tongs and pick it up. If the ends droop down to about 45 degrees from level then they are essentially done. If you pick it up and the rack stays virtually flat, then they are NOT done. I've never had much luck trying to probe the temperature between the bones.

I will say that every rack of ribs is different. I've had racks cooked side by side and finish far apart. Like a butt, they'll finish when they're ready.

Russ

 

[r benash]

IMHO undercooked. Also leave the sauce off until the very end. Thing is that you want to cook till "done". I.E. - until you can pass a skewer or butter knife through the space between two bones without resistance. That's the key with baby backs or spares for that matter.

When you decide to apply sauce too early (which a lot of recipes tell you to do) you end up looking at a coating that's turning black due to the sugar going past caramelize state and that in itself will make you want to pull too soon before done. Because, well they are turning black

Others have covered the salt issue. I have taken to leaving salt out of my rubs. Lots of posts on this. But in the end that was not the major issue with this cook IMHO so won't labor on that.

Spraying/Mopping - not necessary. And in this case I think could have lowered temps and lengthened the cooking time. I.E. - opening that lid to spray dropped the overall temp so slowed the cook way down and you went under done because you saw the sauce turning black.

My overall recommendation - leave the sauce and mopping out to keep things simple for your next cook. Concentrate on controlling temps within 25 - 35 degrees. Don't even need to worry about foiling just watch for done as mentioned above.

That will help you to quickly hone technique and become confident. Lack of flavor notes can be corrected with an application of your favorite sauce on the side for now until you get to understand what "done" is and then the proper timing for sauce and/or glazing technique.

Keeping it simple will allow you to progress in a couple stages if you will. After you get the fire control, timing, and knowing when they are "done" covered you will be good to go. Couple more cooks is all that it will take. Hang in there and don't get discouraged.