Compitition rib question???


 
J

jake dorning

New member
i'm trying to figure out what i'm doing wrong! first of all the ribs taste really good but my problem is i can not cut them for a presentation neatly. tried several different way like for instance tonight i smoked them at 250 for 2 1/2 hours and foiled them for 1 and they just fell apart. i guess to tender is a good problem to have but i'm practicing for comp. this year so i need to figure out what i'm doing wrong. oh yea i've always cooked BB on a 22.5 WSM. thanks in advance for any advice...
 
Maybe try cutting them before cooking them? Cut right up against every other rib discarding the ribs with no meat so you have extra meaty individual ribs. I've not competed but if u like your tender texture its an idea for you. This also gives you more surface area for your rub, smoke, and sauce to stick too.
 
Originally posted by jake dorning:
for instance tonight i smoked them at 250 for 2 1/2 hours and foiled them for 1 and they just fell apart. i guess to tender is a good problem to have <snip>
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An hour in foil is too long IMHO. If you have to use foil (I do sometimes) my experience is that 45 minutes is more than enough. If you're doing comp practice, then I assume you're doing St. Louis cut spares and not loin-backs. Although I've never done a comp, my best results come after roughly 5 - 5.5 hours. 4 hours at 225-240, 45 minutes in foil with apple juice, then apply sauce and kick the temps up high and let 'em set until done.

For baby backs (assuming average Costco-sized racks), my usual is 4-1/2 hours total. 3 hours at 225-240, 45 minutes in foil and 45 minutes at 260-275 to set the sauce. I've gone for the same time or a tad longer with no foil, but kicking the temps up to 275 for the last half-hour or so and have had excellent results there too.

Too tender IS a problem, and if you're in competition, I'm guessing you would lose a lot of points. Fall-off-the-bone is fine for aunt Mildred and uncle Harry if that's what they're used to, but it really isn't good Q (again, IMHO as a non-competitor). Just my 2 cents.
 
Maybe go a bit lower on the temps.

During foiling, pull them off the smoker and get them in a dry cooler before they are all the way to tender. Get them out of foil and back on the smoker 45-60 before turn-in, that way you can restore the bark and bake on your glaze. It'll give you a bit more time if the rest didn't get them all the way to tender.

as far as cutting, make sure you have a sharp knife. The only reliable way to cut ribs is to stand them up on edge and cut down between the bones. When the bones aren't straight, its next to impossible to get a good cut without hitting a bone.
 
Practice, practice, practice

If they are falling apart then likely too long in the foil. Also keep in mind a team may cook several racks to get 6 good ones for tune ins.

John
 
Are you marinating them or something? Cooking at 250 for 3 1/2 hours and getting falling off the bone ribs should be impossible. Foiling for an hour is too long but not long enough to do that.

Are you sure the ribs are too tender or possibly your knife isn't sharp enough? I find it takes an insane razor sharp knife to get a super clean cut. Some teams use an electric knife.

If your having problems cutting past the knuckle, then do a short (~1-2 inch) pre-cut from the inside out before cooking. That way you don't have to mangle up the meat trying to get through.

BTW, if your competing in FBA don't do the 'Hollywood' or 'Competition' cut. We see them every so often and nobody is impressed. Besides, one of the main things I want to see is how the meat pulls away from the bone. Doing a Comp cut just makes for more meat to get through to get to the bone.

Russ
 
Are you cutting through from the bone side or meat side? To get good slices need to cut from the bone side.
 
Originally posted by J Reyes:
Practice, practice, practice

If they are falling apart then likely too long in the foil. Also keep in mind a team may cook several racks to get 6 good ones for tune ins.

John
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Bingo.

My most recent cookoff was at a local restaurant charity rib cookoff. They provided the ribs and simply wanted folks to bring their smokers and cook them to be judged and sold.

They gave everybody 8 racks to cook. It took just about all 8 racks for me to come up with enough rib bones that I was proud of.

Regarding the cook times listed by jake... Nothing seems wrong with what you did. You simply have to cook enough ribs to know when they are done (recipes are merely approximations and suggestions). Who knows, next time they might be under-done if you cook them that way.

Lastly. I like to put more than 6 bones in the turn in box, otherwise the last judge is sure to always get the worst rib in the box.
 
Great advice from the veterns here! As a rookie myself wanting to start competition. I've had these same problems. I'm glad Jake asked...
 
Originally posted by Russ Sylvester:
...Cooking at 250 for 3 1/2 hours and getting falling off the bone ribs should be impossible. Foiling for an hour is too long but not long enough to do that. Russ
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That's what I thought.
 
If the meat is falling off the bone then they are over cooked. I have ruined ribs because of foil. We do use foil to keep our Q from turning black. I cant find any other way to do that. I have tried many ways, temps, ect but foil is all I got right now. Black meat most likely will not score very well. My opinion is black bbq is not very appetizing anyhow. I have thought this even before I started competing so I will try anything to keep that from happening.

We use an electric knife to cut our ribs probably 80% of the time. It matters how well the ribs turned out. Too soft and as you know, it is a problem. We just deal with it the best we can. Cooked right and we can cut bone side up, no problem.

Because the ribs have to be turned in at a certain time, for us it is always a crap shoot. Ribs are our nemesis.
 
We do use foil to keep our Q from turning black. I cant find any other way to do that.
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I've done rubs for several teams in this regard. Virtually all light ingredients helps a lot.
 
russ and dave, i have no reason to lie to ya'll i'm married! thank you to everyone for the advice and cutting from the bone side was definintly a step in the right direction! there getting better and better! love this site!!
 
For cutting I use a sharp, serrated knife. I flip the rib over (meaty side down) so I can see the bones clearly. I use a sawing motion letting the weight of the blade do the work. I don't push down at all. This allows the knife to slice through the meat.

Anytime I've ever tried to take a sharp knife and just push down on the meat it always ends up smashed and messy. Going back and forth and letting the knife do it's job of slicing makes the presentation work a lot better.

As far as foil, if I ever let them sit in foil for an hour I'm always in danger of overcooking it. I'd say 45 minutes tops. At least that's been my experience.
 
Originally posted by j biesinger:
I got a question for those of you who cut with the bone side up:

How do you not jack up your glaze?
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This is a good question because I think KCBS rules forbid you to remove meat from the cooker and cut it and then put it back on, so you couldn't re-set your glaze that way.
 
I don't usually have much of a glaze on it when I cut it. After I cut it, I usually take each piece and paint it the way I want. This helps touch up any spots messed up by flipping it over.
 
Originally posted by Dave from Denver:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by j biesinger:
I got a question for those of you who cut with the bone side up:

How do you not jack up your glaze?
Click to expand...

This is a good question because I think KCBS rules forbid you to remove meat from the cooker and cut it and then put it back on, so you couldn't re-set your glaze that way. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Dave, it is my understanding that only pork butt or shoulder can not be put back on the heat after "parting" I do not believe this applies to ribs. see here a discusion of this rule with Kelly a KCBS rep as presented in the CBBQA forum.

"It is in the rules (although it's easily missed). Rule #10 that states "Pork shall be cooked (bone in or bone out) and shall not be parted". This is in addition to the 5 pound minimum requirement for pork in rule #10.
In August, the KCBS BoD issued the following statement and requested all Contest Reps to advise teams to follow the following guideline:

"Once pork has been cooked, and the cook "prepares the pork" (sliced, pulled,
parted etc.) the Pork product is "parted pork" and cannot be placed back in the
smoker to re-heat or cook".

This is why I gave that instruction at the Clear Lake cook's meeting.
 
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