Frustrated but I'm not yet broken...


 
J

Jimmy Mackenzie

New member
Hi everyone,

I have had my 18.5 WSM for around 2-3 months.

I have now had 7 good stabs at baby backs.
I have bought baby back ribs from 5 different butchers to vary the product and try a process of elimination!

All 10-12 bone baby back slabs weigh 1 pound each roughly so no where near as big as U.S. baby backs.

I have managed to get a decent consistent temperature range of 210 - 225 degrees with a very accurate external thermometre through the top vent.

I have tried cooking them for 6 hours, 5 hours, 4 hours, 3 hours and 2 hours...

I have tried ribs on the top and bottom rack, just the top rack and even just the bottom rack... All combinations.

I have filled up the water pan to the brim, half way, even left it empty...

I have swapped around fuels...

Top vent always open.

The taste is there, the colour is there, the flavour is sublime... But I have to be honest if they had laces I could wear them like a pair of shoes...

I have not been able to tear them apart easily and they dry out like saddle leather. The only comparison is beef jerky.

If I cook these in the regular electric kitchen oven under tin-foil they come out perfect! Why not with my WSM?!

Can anyone help? Alternatively if you need your shoes re-soled I could probably work you out a deal.

I am really struggling but I'm not prepared to give up!!!

(n.b. I have also tried shoulders and while they come out good, they don't 'pull' like pulled pork, I have to slice them).

Cheers
Jimmy
 
You're temps are too low and not cooking long enough, especially at the 4 hours and below times. I cook around 275 at grate level and the ribs take plus/minus six hours using the 3-2-1 method
 
I have been able to get good ribs at those temps, assuming they are grate temps, not lid temps but have decided my best BB's are when I do them at 275 - 325 for 1 1/2 - 2 hours. I rub them, start my 22.5 WSM with the minion method and bring the temp up as quickly as possible. When the meat has pulled back about 1/4 inch on the bone I mop them with my baste, leave them on the WSM for about 15 minutes then foil them for another 1/2 hour.
From your post I don't see any glaring errors except possibly where the temp probe is reading the temperature at. You say through the top vents, but there can be a big difference in temperature at the vent and on the grate. I have learned to just use the lid thermometer on mine and have used it enough to know what is happening below it on the grates. Don't give up. I have been doing BB's for eons and it took me a long time to dial them in to just where I want them.
 
Hey Jimmy, are you putting them in foil at all or just leaving them exposed on the smoker the entire time? Here is my suggestion...smoke them at 235-250 for 2 - 2 1/2 hours. Then wrap them in foil and smoke at the same temps for another hour to hour and a half...I like mine sweeter, so I add brown sugar, honey and parkay squeeze butter on top of the rib before I seal up the foil (I used to put pineapple juice in there, but like the sweeter). Then take them out of the foil and either put them back on the smoker for 30 mins to an hour, or you can finish them on the grill...I enjoy the grill method as it helps to add a char and crisp up the outside.
 
Thanks Ken.

Are you saying it's definitely nothing to do with the ribs not being very meaty (i.e. weighing only 1 lb a rack) and consequently being over cooked?

What I m struggling to understand is how cooking the ribs for 1) even longer at 2) an even higher tempature without 3) making them even tougher....

For me (still a novice) it seems counter intuitive...?

Thanks
 
Jimmy, I would guess that, even though your BB's are small and not as big as ours, one of your time and temperature combinations would have worked. Just my opinion.
 
Derek and John many thanks to you guys also.

yes, these ribs are exposed to the smoker for the full cooking period in all of the combinations... Perhaps this is my mistake?

Putting them in foil seemed like cheating to me! It kind of felt like I might as well put them in to the oven if I m putting them in foil.

Incidentally, I have also spritzed them with apple or pear juice on some occasions to try it out.

May be checking grate / rack temperatures is the downfall and perhaps I should cook higher and then wrap in foil part way through.

Jimmy
 
Ribs are full of connective tissue and to break the tissue down requires longer cooking times at barbequing temperatures. Ribs cooked for six hours are going to be much tender and moisture than at 3 hours. Also, as the connective tissue is broken down moisture will be released from the cells thus providing more moisture. IMO foiling does help in retaining moisture, however there have been times I’ve been too busy to foil and the ribs come out great. Bump you cooking temps up and don’t take the ribs off until they pull apart fairly easily. A good way to observe this is cook 4 racks of ribs and pull them off at various times, say at 4 hours, 5 hours, 6 hours, and seven hours and then notice the difference. It’ll give you a perspective of what happens at various cooking times with ribs.

You BB weights are extremely small, one pound per rack. How many ribs are on a rack? I suspect they’re not complete racks.

Regarding flavor, what wood are you using and how much?
 
A 1 pound rack of baby backs sounds extraordinarily small. The smallest racks I have seen in my area have been around 2.5lbs. I'd be interested to see a picture of a rack that size...

By the way, great advice by Ken (and others) above.
 
I guess using foil could be considered cheating...the 3-2-1 method is actually called the "Texas Cheat", but some of the top pit bosses on the BBQ circuit use foil, so that is how I guess I can justify it...it isn't like you are boiling the ribs...also there is a huge difference in having them foiled in the oven the entire time and having them on the smoker, then putting in the foil. You will still get a great smoke flavor from the first few hours that they were exposed on the smoker.

I know that others do not foil at all, but the two times that I tried it without foil I ended up with dry ribs...so I just stick with the foil.
 
Myself, I have tried dozens of times to NOT use foil and they always are too dry. Cook a few hours low n slow then foil for about an hour maybe 2. Then finish right on the charcoal with sauce!
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by dean:
Myself, I have tried dozens of times to NOT use foil and they always are too dry. Cook a few hours low n slow then foil for about an hour maybe 2. Then finish right on the charcoal with sauce! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Aluminum Foil is an outdoor cooks "Duct Tape"
Do exactly what dean says!
 
Oh, I forgot to mention to add a little mousture if you want when foiling. You do not need much per rack. A quarter of cup of juice or honey or whatever.
 
Great rundown. I can't see anything wrong with your process. 1lb FULL back slabs are hard to picture. I'm in Toronto and most places around here offer 2+lbs per. I think a 1lb rack for 5hrs should be shoe leather, especially the white top meat.
Your temp is fine.
Bowl filled or not is really just preference (IMO, sorry all).
A full BB rack in the mid 200's should take 4-6 hrs so time is fine.
I like to spritz but sometimes forget without much difference.
Foil, preference again.

I can only see a meat issue.

James
 
Jimmy, 1lb BB are small, your temps are a little to low, try to cook the ribs at least 250+, thru tons of experience i find that 275-300 temp is ideal for ribs imo, me personally would try 1.5hrs then wrap for .5hrs then finish unwrapped .5hrs at temp of at least 275-300 range.

You might want to try grilling the ribs being the ribs are 1lb.
 
Thanks to all of you for your replies.

Unfortunately, our UK baby back ribs are very small weighing in at 1lb, possibly smaller at times - These are still full racks (10 bones or so). I think our UK butchers trim the meat differently to the US and Canada. I get the impression our butchers probably discard them, hence why they only cost £2 / US$3 a rack but I m sure as BBQ gets more popular in the UK they will have to conform.

I have used loin / side ribs (not spare-ribs), a flatter wider bone (4 bones is around 6 inches square). These have much more meat but masses more fat as well and I found I had to trim the outside and also peel back and trim some of the inside - I couldn't trust that it would all melt away. They came out little better.

I'll try to work out how I can put pictures from my iPhone of these ribs for you to see the size of them - Laughable compared to the ribs you have there!

Perhaps I'll try butts and briskets for a while instead!

Thanks again to all.
Jimmy
 
Jimmy, remember that european pigs are slaughtered when their weight has reached around 220 pounds.
That's much less than the US pigs.

Furthermore, all the meat is cut away from the ribs, because the rib racks are, "not fit for food".

I have the same problem as you have. The rib racks that can be bought in the shop have no meat on them, and almost comes pre- marinated in som generic bbq- sauce/spice of the kinde "that everybody loves".. Yuck.

The solution is to buy the rib side and belly whole from a butcher, and cut the meat yourself. The leftovers are great for sausage making as well as making your own bacon.
 
Dry brining ribs (and steaks, etc...) helps tenderize the meat. Put some kosher salt (or a rub with a healthy amount of salt) on the meat at least a few hours before cooking.

But it does sound like super skinny ribs are the culprit.
 
Thanks Geir and Matt - They're like diet-ribs, rib-lite!

Geir - Sounds like we share this problem! What do I need to ask the butcher for if I cut my own belly-rib-side etc??

Thanks
 
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