How to make baby backs less greasy?

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I'd perfected baby backs on the gas grill over the years but have yet to equal their quality on the WSM after 3 tries. Problem is that the ribs are too greasy. I am starting out at 225 at the grate coking ribs that have sat out for at least two hours prior, then up the temp to maybe 250 during the last hour or two.

Should I be cooking longer, hotter at the end, or both? Anything else? Ribs are pork loin from Sams with big fat chunks and membrane removed prior to cooking. Rub is pretty similar to BRITU rub.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts.
 
Fill us in. How long did you smoke them? Did you remove any fat yourself? I made some spare ribs and also removed the membrane but did not remove the fat from between the bones. My ribs were greasy. From what I am gathering some trimming will get you a better ribs. Have you looked at the info in the cooking section of this website?
 
Jason

What temp would you be cooking on your gas grill? Having one, I doubt if you were down in the ranges you're now using with the WSM. I suspect this resulted in a drier cooked rib which you got accustomed to and liked. It would be similiar to how I used to cook ribs, indirect, in the kettle. Temp would have been 300 to 350 and cook time much shorter. Just a different method, but the finish product is somewhat different. Sounds like you're doing everything right on your WSM rib cooks. If the ribs were tender then you cooked them long enough and I wouldn't know what else to recommend.

Paul

An after thought - I've never done it, but I've heard some people sear the rack over high heat first to get a crust. You might do this first on the gas grill and then go to the WSM.
 
Jason,

I have to agree with Paul. I used to make ribs on my gasser and kettle and thought they were good. Then I started cooking them on the WSM and saw what I was missing.

You have to give the collagen and fat time to render out. That means low temps and long cook times. I prefer 225? for the entire cook. The breakdown occurs at around 160-170? and you should try to keep the temps in that range for as long as possible. I cook mine for 6 hours and that includes some time in foil. I really think the foiling helps to further render the fat......the steam aids in breaking down the collagen.

As DRBBQ preaches....it is the journey to the final temp, NOT the final temp that is most important.

Cooking at 300-350? does not provide time for the breakdown. I just can't imagine a great rib being possible with those high temps. Unless, you foiled.
 
To answer questions in no particular order:

- Yes, of course I read the cooking sections here and elsewhere, as well as numerous books.

- I trimmed the extra exterior fat on the BBs prior to cooking.

- Total cook time is about 5 hours: 3 at 225, 2 at 250 or so (I neglected to say this earlier).

- Not sure why it's assumed I cook at above 300 on the gasser; I typically smoked them with hickory at about 230 on the gasser for about 2-3 hours after first searing them (with a Weber Genesis it's pretty simple to maintain about any temp within reason).

- I'd really prefer to not use foil if at all possible, just a matter of principle to me.

- I've always been pretty handy in the kitchen and have been gassing ribs for about five years, not sure why it's so hard to believe my gasser ribs were really good. It's not that I grew "accustomed to them" but rather they were actually really good, legendary even, people have told me my ribs have ruined them for life, other folks who previously hated ribs like mine, etc, etc. In case anyone wonders here's my gasser rib method in short: trim, let warm to room temp, rub, sear, let cook at about 300 on grates for an hour, place in warming basket then smoke for a few hours until they look just right, then sauce and lightly carmelize sauce on grill grates, all the while with a foil log of wood chips smoking by one of the burners. They are freaking good, people used to ask me for lessons and stuff.

The WSM ribs are good by all normal standards and plenty tender, just a bit more greasy than they should be. I'm thinking my original hypothesis is correct: give them an extra hour or so, maybe bump the heat a tad also at the end. In fact come to think of it one batch on the WSM only cooked a total of 4.5 hours.
 
Jason,
If I was as happy as you are with the the ribs, I would probably stick to that method and cook everything else on the bullet.
 
I'd considered reverting to the gasser but am determined to make an equal or superior product on the WSM. Give me a few more shots and I'll be there.
 
Jason,

People on this site tend to think that incorporating foiling tends to help with the greasiness problem.
 
1) I doubt the smoke wood was instrumental on greasiness but to answer the question each cook used different smoke woods. First was cherry and oak, second apple and oak, and third apple and hickory. About half and half, 6 fist-sized chunks each time. Thurd time with hickory I wanted more smoke flavor so didn't let wood burn down too much before putting meat on (big mistake, way too smoky). All 3 difefrent cooks were identical in greasiness as far as I can tell.

2) Foil reducing greasiness sure seems counter-intuitive but I'll take your word I guess. However, I'd probably eat a TV dinner before I'd put foil on my BBQ, just seems like sacrilege to me. The ribs I cooked in my gasser did not have the grease problem but again, they were cooked with a different method (sear then 300F then 230F for a few hours).

I'm wont to believe my solution lies in an increase of temperature or cooking time, or a combination of both. Since I previously seared my ribs before smoking low and slow I may try that next or perhaps simply extend my smoking time which is probably the traditional and easiest answer. After reviewing peoples' ribs methods it's clear I'm on the short end of cooking times at 4.5 hours so an increase in time seems like a no-brainer.
 
Foil will do what you want. Remember that foiling techniques include a period without foil, then one in foil followed by another period out of foil. The fat will render better/faster in foil and then the residual can drip off during the finishing period. I don't think pre-searing is necessary for ribs, but a quick grill re-heat often improves things.

Cooking at higher temps will defeat the low & slow function to properly render fat and break down connective tissue. Cooking longer will potentially lead to drying out.
 
Jason

I'm satisfied with my ribs on the WSM, which are usually spares nor BB, but I am curious as to your burner set-up on the gas grill to hold temp down to 230. Do you just use one burner on low or what ?

Thanks,

Paul
 
Jason

I'm curious as to how you set your burners on the gasser to hold the temp down to 230. Do you use just one burner on low or what ?

I had thought about trying your method on the gas grill but when I read your post that people who had tried them had been runied for life, I changed my mind - just kidding.

Paul
 
I set one burner med-lowish and keep temps where I want them. Silver-B has 3 burners running left to right and I run the front one with the ribs in the back and in the back basket, swapping back and forth every so often.

With one burner running on absolute low inside temp is about 150 depending on wind and outside temp. Thing's a fantastic slow cooker but smoke is difficult to get consistent and the low heat area is small which is why I got the WSM.

Hell, maybe I oughta roll the gas grill up to a competition and endure the laughter and see if I can win a trophy for my ribs! I just figured the WSM would be a huge improvement but now I'd be happy to equal the quality.
 
Jason:

I too used to turn out pretty good ribs on my gas grill, and I too got a WSM, primarily to see if I could take my ribs to the next level. I think that the last three or four times I've done ribs have been just unbelievable. Extremely tender, not too greasy, never overcooked, incredible smoky flavor (if I may say so myself).

And yes, I foiled. I mean, hey, ultimately, it;s the end product I am interested. The ribs really seem to render well during that foiling period. I do about 3:15 - :45 - 2:00 (unfoiled - foiled - unfoiled) at about 235 - 245 (probably a tad on the high side temp wise, but it works for me).

I use dry rub on mine, and cover them with mopping sauce just before foiling. Still, sometimes they get a bit dried out during those last two hours (my last batch did), which is easily remedied by foiling them at the end of the cook and stinking them in a coller for 1/2 an hour.

I guess I understand the drive toward bbq-ing purism, but ultimately, you need to consider the final product. For me, that means foiling the ribs for a bit to de-greasify them. And I can live with that. You might give it a shot, at least once...
 
"I do about 3:15 - :45 - 2:00 (unfoiled - foiled - unfoiled) at about 235 - 245 (probably a tad on the high side temp wise, but it works for me)." So does that mean you go only 45 minutes foiled?? I am going to try some foiling this weekend again as much as I usually dislike it but the I think using the very least time foiling that is necessary is the ticket for me. How big are the spares or babys that you use?
 
I am new to foiling. I have done it once and liked the texture but I did not put them back on the smoker after unfoiling. I did 4.5 hours without then 1 with foil in 225 degree oven.

If you put them back on the smoker like you all are talking about when do you sauce?

Mike
 
Mike,
A standard rule of thumb is the 3-2-1 method.
3 hours out
2 hours in
1 hour out.
I usually sauce ribs in the last 15 minutes of the cook.
 
Jeff:

Yes, that's 45 minutes foiled; sometimes as much as an hour.

The ribs can overcook real quick once you foil them, and if you overfoil, become soggy. A number of posters here agree that two hours foiled is prbably a bit too much. But experiment and see what works well for you. I will sometimes foil for as much as 1:15, but almost never more than that.
 
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