Coiled Ribs and Foiling


 
M

Matt J. (Mattski)

New member
Hey guys,
Did another smoke this weekend. Had 3 baby back racks, 3 beef racks, and 2 spare racks. In order to fit all 8 on my 18.5 WSM, I coiled them and used skewers to hold them together. Got the rub on, put them on the grill, then let them sit for 3 hours at around 280. Then I foiled the coils (clipped the skewer parts that were sticking out and wrapped the whole coil in foil without changing the configuration)and added some apple juice/vinegar to each packet, put them back on, and left them for another hour at around 300.

De-foiled, sauced, let carmalize for about another hour.

The ribs had great flavor, may have been a touch on the dry side, but the big thing was that they just weren't tender at all. I have done foiling on non-coiled racks before and man the bones almost slide out of the meat after an hour or so.

I'm perplexed. Was it the coiling and extra air in each foiled "packet", or was it the fact that I had 8 racks packed in? Help!

-Matt
 
If they weren't tender they were undercooked. The issue there: Stop cooking by time. Cook till the ribs are tender. A probe inserted between the bones will go in effortlessly. I don't care for ribs sauced while cooking myself, but if you prefer that route wait to sauce till the ribs are just getting toward tender.

Me, if I foil, I cook till the ribs are nicely, deeply colored, then cook till tender while still in the foil. When tender the get returned to the cooker unfoiled, for just long enough to firm the bark.

If I coil ribs I uncoil for foiling. Meat side down, splash of reduced juices, crimp to seal. They go in flat, meat down.
 
Thanks Kevin. I should have definitely foiled them uncoiled.

I agree that you ought to cook by tenderness, but in reality, when you have a variety of other dishes that you are doing, you need to start and stop on some schedule, so you can say, throw the potatoes on an hour in advance, etc. That was the problem I had this time. Too much other stuff going on.
 
Matt, when I cook ribs for the main entrée, i make certain they are well on their way "coasting" to the finish line while my other sides are groovin' along as well.
If the ribs finish first, all the better, they reheat very simply. If you have a warming tray in your oven, even nicer.
The thing is, you want your ribs done. Removing them early upsets the cook, sometimes quietly, butt still upsets the cook.

In a pinch, foil flat and finish the ribs in the oven at a higher temp. It's not a crime and the smoke is still in the meat.
 
Well, the only way to know that the ribs are done - tender/juicy - is to feel them. Time won't tell you that.

Yes, having a lot of things going on often means ballparking the time.Fine. But the ribs will hold fine if other things haven't quite finished. Ballpark the time on the ribs to set your targets for starting your other things (or, alternatively, make sides that don't need targeted start times), then go from there.

I think starting on schedule is one thing. Stopping has to be when the meat is done.

If you foil flat you can simply stack the ribs on atop the other, if you have several racks to deal with.
 
Matt when foiling ribs place the rack meat side down in the foil so the meat is braising instantly, cuts the cooking time in the foil.
Matt also if space is limited stack the ribs, if cooking 6 racks of baby backs have 2 stacks of 3 each, every 30-45 mins take the bottom rib and move to the top, keep shuffling the ribs till done. The ribs baste themselves also, have done ribs this way several times with excellent results.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by K Kruger:
If you foil flat you can simply stack the ribs on atop the other, if you have several racks to deal with. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Kevin are you referring to stacking in one package or separate packages for each rack?
 
Separate packages, 1 rack of ribs each. They can then be stacked, if necessary, one atop the other, depending on how many you're doing.
 
Here's the funny part of this saga - I wanted to reheat the ribs last night (smoked them Sunday), so I figured I do the proper foiling this time. Wrapped the ribs flat (meat side down) in foil, in the oven @ 350 for a little more than an hour.

Sure enough, they came out as I thought they would on sunday (but they were coiled in the foil). Nice and tender, moist, great stuff.

Lesson learned. On to the next challenge!
 
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