Having a tough time with my ribs


 
S

Shaun H

TVWBB Fan
I keep getting what looks like mushy type ribs. They taste ok, but are not as juicy as I like, and certainly don't have the pretty looking meat with the smoke ring that I want.

Before I bought this WSM I used to use my gas grill, and I have to say it would come out better. I don't know what I am doing wrong.

But now after cooking the meat is not a uniform piece, but when you cut it into individual ribs, you see the meat has pulled apart from itself, looks darker than I want, and is kind of stringy/mush appearance.

Am I over smoking it? I usually put about 3 chunks of wood, is that too much? I try to keep it around 225 using a maverick thermometer. The first hour I usually spend trying to lock it in, but the meat is on. Should I do something differently with that?

I don't use the foil method, just usually go about 5 hours without messing with it.

Any advice or help?
 
There are a few holes in your information.

What type of ribs are you cooking? Spares take longer than baby backs. What are you smoking with? Hickory? Fruit wood? If you are only putting three chunks on you are probably not oversmoking. How many racks are you cooking at the same time?

Not sure what you mean by "mushy" ribs. Your goal is not necessarily "fall of the bone" ribs, but ribs with a little "tug" to get the meat off the bone.

Give us some more info.
 
Im cooking spares, generally two at a time. I have been using apple wood. I don't want fall off the bone, I like the tug as well, but when you cut the rack into individual ribs and take a look at the meat, it reveals the meat has withered away from itself into a sort of stringy appearance.

I'd like as you described, a solid, uniform meat that tugs off the bone.
 
Strange.
First off, the wood has nothing to do with anything. Well, it has nothing to do with the mushy/stringy issue.You could be using more wood. And the temp. is OK. I cook my baby backs at 225 to 250 for 6 hours with no foil, so that doesn't seem to be the issue.
What are you doing BEFORE the cook to you meat? Do you spray it down with anything while cooking? Where are you getting you meat? "Darker" meat doesn't sound right to me.
3 Chunks of wood might not be enough. I just pulled 6 racks off about 5 hours ago. I used 4 chunks of hickory and 3 chunks of apple.With some hickory and apple chips towards the end. I only use this much because the apple is very mild. But three chunks might not give you a smoke ring.
The only thing I see wrong is the "mushy" and the "Dark" meat. And the lack of smoke ring. More wood will take care of the ring. Tell us more info. PRE-COOK.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I keep getting what looks like mushy type ribs. They taste ok, but are not as juicy as I like, and certainly don't have the pretty looking meat with the smoke ring that I want. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Wood type nor wood quantity have nothing to do with anything. Neither does spraying - which offers little in the first place.

If your ribs are not juicy they are undercooked. If your rib meat falls or comes right off the bone but is not juicy they are overcooked.

Cooktemp doesn't matter much (I cook both spares and backs well over 300?, like 350-375). When they are finished does.

More wood will not necessarily take care of the ring. It is not quantity of wood, it is type (to some degree) and, mostly, temp of the meat when it goes into the cooker that makes or breaks the ring. (I use less than most - about 1.5 fist-sized chunks that I ALWAYS cut into much smaller pieces first; no problem with a ring).
 
<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 your rib meat falls or comes right off the bone but is not juicy they are overcooked.

Cooktemp doesn't matter much (I cook both spares and backs well over 300?, like 350-375). When they are finished does. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

This is likely the problem then.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">More wood will not necessarily take care of the ring. It is not quantity of wood, it is type (to some degree) and, mostly, temp of the meat when it goes into the cooker that makes or breaks the ring. (I use less than most - about 1.5 fist-sized chunks that I ALWAYS cut into much smaller pieces first; no problem with a ring). </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

thx bro. This gives me some good info.
 
Wood quantity is a matter of taste so YMMV. I cut chunks into smaller pieces because 1) they all light more readily, 2) I get a good amount of smoke and flavor, 3) I conserve my wood stash, 4) if a little piece ignites it won't affect cooktemps much.

I like smokerings so always Minion the start and load the (cold) meat in immediately when I add the lit and assemble the cooker - even though my ultimate target cooktemp is ~350. Putting the meat in cold, especially into an essentially cold cooker maximizes the smokering possibility.

Try not cooking by time. Cook until a probe inserted between the bones goes in effortlessly. Regardless of cooktemp and how long the cooking has gone - at high heat my ribs cooks are relatively short, at low temps the cooks are significantly longer - 'done' always feels the same.
 
I cooked BB ribs for my first cook on my 18.5 last Feb. using the minion method with a full ring of charcoal.

I cooked the ribs around 225 most of the cook for around 5 1/2 to 6 hrs and they turned out a little mushier than I liked.

On my second cook I increased the temps to around 250-260 and the ribs were much better.

On my third cook I went a little higher in temps to about 275 and I liked these ribs better than the last time. My cooking times at these higher temps were around 4 hrs.

You have to experiment a little to find what works best for you.

Wayne
 
Try cooking the ribs at 275. BB's(my favorite) should be done in 4 hours and spares should be done in 5-6. Cooking at 225 is to low for me, the lowest I cook is 250 for brisket at pulled pork but I have been increasing the temperature on those as well recently and started playing with foil, the promote faster cook times. Use the toothpick test, if the toothpick slides through easily your are done or the bend test, grab the rib in the middle with a pair of tongs, they will bend what you are looking for is for the bark to break open/crack exposing the white meat in the middle. This is in addition to the 1/4-1/2 exposed bone. If the bone is not exposed I don't even bother checking for doneness.
 
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