First try at ribs


 
T

TimM

New member
I have been starting with the basic recipes and have done the bbq chicken twice so I went for a shot at ribs. Followed the basic recipe and guidlines here. http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/rib4.html
At the 3 hours mark they didn't tear easy so I sprayed them with apple juice and recovered. At the next 30 min mark I felt they were edible but was hoping for more tenderness so I sprayed and then recovered. At the next 30 min mark they were tearing pretty nice and I figured I didn't want to overcook them so I put the sauce on and pulled them after 15 mins. Everybody loved them and so did I but I felt there was room for betterness :-). They were tender but I thought they could be more. Also some were borderline dry and a few were to dry for my liking.
So how can I get more fall off the bone deliciousness and keep them from drying out at the same time?

Thanks,
Tim
 
What temp? My first run at baby backs was in the 225 range using the 2-2-1 method. They were good, but not great. (nor as good as I hoped)
After searching the forum, I concluded 275 was a better temperature. Round two had much better results as far as tenderness goes.
I haven't gone without foil yet, but it's on my to-do list. Wifey likes to eat her ribs with a fork, so falling-of-the-bone is required here.
275 degrees - 2 hours on the top rack - wrapped in foil for 1.5 hours, and unwrapped/brushed with sauce for 30 minutes has worked for me.
 
My favorite rib cook is st. louis ribs smoked at around 250* with water in the pan and no foiling. I just think that's the best rib off a smoker and it's quite easy. However, for back ribs, I much prefer to foil them after getting some bark. In my experience, because they're so lean, they just tend to start drying out on you before you get very close to FOTB tenderness without wrapping up and doing a little braising/steaming during the cook. Also, I suggest keeping the ends of your slab of ribs away from the hot perimeter of the grate as much as possible. This means rolling/skewering or cutting slabs in half if smoking all but the smallest slabs on a 18.5" wsm, and really no more than two to a grate of those really small slabs kept whole. Do that and you'll find that the ends of the slabs don't have to end up crunchy before the slab is tender in the middle. Foiling helps with cooking evenness too, though.
 
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And every time you "pop the top", you need to add another 15 min to your cook time; your 30 min to your next peek was really only 15 min. Next time, don't even bother to check till 4 hr has passed.

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If you are looking for fall off the bone tender, try using foil next time. smoke at 225-250 for 2 hrs, then foil for 1 hr, then unfoil and put back on for an hour, but check around 3.5 hrs for tenderness.
 
Chad Bman said:
What temp? My first run at baby backs was in the 225 range using the 2-2-1 method. They were good, but not great. (nor as good as I hoped)
After searching the forum, I concluded 275 was a better temperature. Round two had much better results as far as tenderness goes.
I haven't gone without foil yet, but it's on my to-do list. Wifey likes to eat her ribs with a fork, so falling-of-the-bone is required here.
275 degrees - 2 hours on the top rack - wrapped in foil for 1.5 hours, and unwrapped/brushed with sauce for 30 minutes has worked for me.
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I was around 225 for most of it. Sounds like I need a higher temp.

Len Dennis said:
And every time you "pop the top", you need to add another 15 min to your cook time; your 30 min to your next peek was really only 15 min. Next time, don't even bother to check till 4 hr has passed.

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The cooking instructions call for you to check it every 30 mins after the initial no peak portion. Thanks for the info though. It's starting to seem like this wasn't that good of a cook method.
 
Tim, the "basic" method you tried isn't a bad method at all, but you asked about how to achieve very tender FOTB ribs without drying them out. Chris says to cook 2lb. baby backs and to check them at the three hour mark. Most of the back ribs I see at Sam's are a good bit heavier than that and do take at least an hour more, but in my experience, three hours is a good first check for ribs around 2 lbs. Better bark is an up side with the "basic" method, and by the way, the most famous rib joint in the world doesn't serve falling off the bone baby backs.
 
Hi Tim,

I'm not slamming the link you posted, but setting vents at xx% open doesn't work for me. I make sure to achieve correct temp settings regardless of how open the vents are.

Basic rule that works for me, 250 degrees for 2 hours(achieve a good bark), and 225 degrees for 2 hours.
Mop/spray at 2 hour & 3 hour mark, and sauce 20-30 minutes before ribs are finished.

Also, don't yank the ribs off the smoker and dig in right away, that will lead to dry ribs. I prefer to wait 20-30 minutes before serving.
 
Just my opinion, so take it for what it's worth, but I believe new barbecutionists are better off doing their first few rib cooks without foil, mops, spraying etc. Just a nice light rub, a small amount of mild wood and concentrate on getting them done to the correct level of doneness and learning the flavor of the meat without a whole lot of added flavors. The natural flavor of the meat can easily be overwhelmed by strong, spicy or salty rubs, too much smoke and a heavy sauce.

Let them cook for three or four hours around 250 or so, take a quick peak to see what they look like and go from there. If you're seeing some of the ends of the bone exposed they're getting in the area of being done, but they made need more time to pass the tear test or the tooth pick test. Just remember every time you open the smoker you lose the warm, humid environment that has developed around the meat and it takes added cooking time to recover that.

In the past I've used every one of these tricks and have settled on no foil because I really dislike mushy or "falling off the bone" ribs. No spraying or spritzing because, quite frankly, I don't believe it adds anything to the finished product. And I never mop anything because it just boogers up the rub. After a few simple, basic cooks then maybe add one of the tricks at a time to see how it changes the finished product. Also experiment with different amounts/kinds of wood and rubs.

I truly believe I'm making the best ribs of my "career" right now by eliminating the tricks and sticking with very basic smoking techniques and letting the natural taste and cooked texture of the meat be the centerpiece of the experience.
 
I like this ^^^ I tend to like the flavor of the meat and not mushy as well. Keep it simple stupid is a pretty good philosophy to follow.
 
Do you guys bring your smoker up to temp before putting the meat on and then readjust the vents to maintain it? Or do you throw the meat on and then adjust vents to keep it where you want? I know the meat will drop the temp, just didn't know if you needed to heat up the smoker first.
 
I find that smoking at 275 with no foil and foiled pan works well for me. Spares take me 5-6 hours and loin backs 4 hours. They come out the same every time. Everyone has their own technique. I just like to keep it simple, I don't like mess around with al foil and handling the meat to much. I put the ribs and dont look at them for 3 hours to see where they are.
 
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TimM said:
Do you guys bring your smoker up to temp before putting the meat on and then readjust the vents to maintain it? Or do you throw the meat on and then adjust vents to keep it where you want? I know the meat will drop the temp, just didn't know if you needed to heat up the smoker first.
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Some folks put the wood chunks on after the meat, which goes on right after they've put about a dozen or so lit briqs on, and some folks preheat and maybe even wait half an hour or more for their wood smoke to turn to sweet thin blue. I'm not always too disciplined about my smoke, but you can put me in the "preheating" camp. Whatever works for you.
 
*Agree*

Tom_M said:
... I believe new barbecutionists are better off doing their first few rib cooks without foil, mops, spraying etc. Just a nice light rub, a small amount of mild wood and concentrate on getting them done to the correct level of doneness and learning the flavor of the meat without a whole lot of added flavors. The natural flavor of the meat can easily be overwhelmed by strong, spicy or salty rubs, too much smoke and a heavy sauce....
Click to expand...

*Agree*

Richard Diaz said:
...I find that smoking at 275 with no foil... Spares take me 5-6 hours and loin backs [4]. They come out the ame every time...
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*Angree*

Dave Russell said:
... some folks preheat and maybe even wait half an hour or more for their wood smoke to turn to sweet thin blue...
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Next time do more than one rack of ribs. On one rack and let them go past done to tender without the crutch. On one of the other racks use 3-2-1 (for spares). See which you like best.

Try this: Pour a chimney of fully lit (volcano fire shooting out the top), pour unto a ring full of unlit and let burn until clean smoke (aka TBS). The only visible smoke coming out of the cooker should be the smoke wood chunks you put on after the fire starts burning clean (a little smoke wood goes a long way or you get the ashtray effect). I plan for this to take about an hour for a total of 7 hours for spares cooking at 275*. If you can get a clean burning, long lasting, consistent fire you can cook anything -- including ribs.
 
TimM said:
Do you guys bring your smoker up to temp before putting the meat on and then readjust the vents to maintain it? Or do you throw the meat on and then adjust vents to keep it where you want? I know the meat will drop the temp, just didn't know if you needed to heat up the smoker first.
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I put the chunks on top and mix it in the k, I then put on the lit k to start the mm. I start to put the smoker together and leave the vents open, throw on the meat at this time, cold. I monitor the the temperature and once I am with 15 degrees of target I begin to adjust my vents and add the atc if I plan on using one.
 
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