Cooking ribs evenly


 
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Ethan G

TVWBB Super Fan
I did two racks of spares yesterday. It was really windy so I had a hard time getting the temps up, but then they settled in at 275. The ribs tasted great and the ones in the middle were very tender, but the smaller ones on either end were crispy. I've had this happen with loin backs too, although not as badly as with the spares. Any recommendations? Should I go with a lower temp?

Crispy or not the bones were picked clean by yours truly. Just wondering how to keep the ends tender. Thanks.
 
Temps fine.

With spares, whether I trim them St Louis style or not, any notably smaller ones I trim off and cook separately as "samplers".
 
Ethan,you can roll your ribs and secure with skewers. This will give you more "mass" at the ends,and help them cook evenly.
Also,you said that your temps were a little high. While I've done fair ribs at higher temps,my best have been 225-250*. HTH
 
Listen to Phil.

The outside of the wsm is the "hot spot", so it stands to reason that you can get overcooked rack ends unless rolling, ESPECIALLY if cooking on the bottom rack.
 
I used to have the same issue. Over the past several batches of ribs I have begun to cut the racks in half. That way the thinner halves come off and the thicker halves stay on longer and everything is done perfectly at the end without overcooking or drying out.
 
Yeah, what Phil, Dave, and Jim say above. If you are laying the racks flat and whole the outside ends will/can get cooked more due to the nature of the heat flow up the sides.

Cutting the racks in half and using a rib rack will help that. I have done the roll method as well which works to the same result.

I have foiled the ends for about half the cook time which was succesful, but that's a PIA if you have more than 1 or two racks and the rib rack or rolling is the better solution.

St. Louis trim on spares is what I do 99% of the time now over the last couple years. And I have found that this issue no longer a problem even when just cooking them flat on the grate since the ends are now typically a decent distance from the edges. Cutting them in half if they are really big.

The trimmed pieces go on the lower rack and become the samplers and/or used for beans or "pulled rib" sammies.

I rarely cook back ribs, just my preference.
 
Trimmings should fit through the door and I don't have to take off the dome, but you don't get to admire all that bbq cooking in it's bbq glory, either.
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I did some spares the other day and was the victim of this phenomenon. When I bought the rack they were folded so I couldn't see the thickness of all of the ribs one end was very thick and meaty and the other was skinny minnie. The thin end was overcooked, glad my other half chose them. LOL
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by r benash:
Yeah, what Phil, Dave, and Jim say above. If you are laying the racks flat and whole the outside ends will/can get cooked more due to the nature of the heat flow up the sides.

Cutting the racks in half and using a rib rack will help that. I have done the roll method as well which works to the same result.

I have foiled the ends for about half the cook time which was succesful, but that's a PIA if you have more than 1 or two racks and the rib rack or rolling is the better solution.

St. Louis trim on spares is what I do 99% of the time now over the last couple years. And I have found that this issue no longer a problem even when just cooking them flat on the grate since the ends are now typically a decent distance from the edges. Cutting them in half if they are really big.

The trimmed pieces go on the lower rack and become the samplers and/or used for beans or "pulled rib" sammies.

I rarely cook back ribs, just my preference. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Good advice. I always put a little foil under any food that extends to the edge of the cooking grate. This happens a lot with brisket.
 
Thanks for the feedback everyone. I am going to try rolling them next time and see how that goes. Gives me an excuse to make more ribs, right?
 
I just curl them in, on a rack, like this:

IMG00550-20101006-1836.jpg


These are SLC spares, btw, I did last night. MM, took 30 min to get over 300. Nicely colored at 1:10 after start so I foiled. Temps to 375. Removed. Applied thin veneer of glaze (pom molasses with V8, a sliver of butter and a couple tsp of maple syrup). 4 min to set. Done. Total cooktime, about 2:10. Wonderfully moist and tender.
 
Not a great pic.
IMG00556-20101006-1951-1.jpg


Served with Kinda Carolina on the side. Under the ribs: garlic- and caramelized onion-wilted spinach stirred into macaroni, finished with a little of the leftover glaze and some of the foil juices; a little parm melted in at the end.
 
Not a great pic, my foot. Looks amazing Kev! btw, I like the crispy end ribs; also known as the chef's prerogative.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by K Kruger:
Not a great pic.
IMG00556-20101006-1951-1.jpg


Served with Kinda Carolina on the side. Under the ribs: garlic- and caramelized onion-wilted spinach stirred into macaroni, finished with a little of the leftover glaze and some of the foil juices; a little parm melted in at the end. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

A little parm melted into the spinach pasta not the ribs, right?
 
Shame there's no ring - oops, looks like it's ALL RING
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Any particular ratio of Pom M to V8? Liking that idea. 50/50?
 
Yes, david, into the pasta. Bit of a binder. I caramelized the onion then added the garlic and spinach. I killed the heat when the spinach wilted and let it sit while the pasta finished.

I saved about 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water when I drained the pasta (I always do this). I returned the heat under the spinach to very low, then stirred in a couple teaspoons of glaze and several teaspoons of juices from the foil. Then I dumped in the pasta along with a splash of the cooking water, stirred, and covered for a couple minutes to allow the pasta to absorb some liquid and flavor. A couple tablespoons of freshly grated parm, stir to melt; done.

Ray-- Yes, I'd say 50-50, probably 2 T of each, then 2 t of maple syrup and 1 t of butter. Since this mix was already thick enough, I simply nuked the bowl for several seconds to melt the butter.

On these ribs I played up the sour. In the rub: a little sugar, more onion and garlic, extra-hot NM chile, sage and lemon thyme, cumin, a little ginger, cracked black pepper, a fair amount of sumac and a good dose of amchoor. The bit of sugar balances the fruity sour of the sumac and amchoor.

Pomegranate molasses has its fruity sourness, of course; the bit of maple syrup balances that. The veneer that gets painted on is enough for color and shine and flavor, but is applied thin enough to not mar the texture of the bark and meat.
 
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