May Never Foil Ribs Again
- Thread starter Dan N.
- Start date
Lou Tarnay
TVWBB Fan
That's how I do it! My two hard and fast rules are "One, lift that lid as little as possible and two, don't worry if you are nearer to 200 degrees than 250"! The only time I ever had a problem with the ribs is when I tried to do them too hot and too fast.
Cheers
Cheers
I've never foiled baby backs...seems I can get them "falling off the bone" (which I personally like) with about 5 hrs of cooking time.
Spares, I think, are another story. I never liked spares much before I tried the 3-2-1 method. I like the way that you can get the spares to the same consistency as a baby back...without the longer cooking times.
I guess all I can say is that foiling spares has worked really well for me. But I don't think I'd ever do it for BBs. Glad your cook turned out well!
Spares, I think, are another story. I never liked spares much before I tried the 3-2-1 method. I like the way that you can get the spares to the same consistency as a baby back...without the longer cooking times.
I guess all I can say is that foiling spares has worked really well for me. But I don't think I'd ever do it for BBs. Glad your cook turned out well!
I did 3 racks of baby backs on Saturday, and they were my best so far. Following tips from another thread here, I did 2 hours unfoiled, 1 foiled, then was planning on another hour unfoiled. I checked them with a toothpick about 20 minutes after un-foiling and it slid in next to the bone, so I sauced them lightly, set the top grate down on the charcoal ring and browned them up quickly. They were just right. The bones came clean, but the meat had to be bitten off. They were just as good reheated tonight.
Lou - what you say is exactly correct. Too many people on this forum just seem to think that you have to maintain just a certain temp. Just let the WSM do its thing. When my temp goes up or down I say "it will balance out". Ya don't need guru's and all those other magical things to cook on this smoker. Hope others will also try without foil and see how they do.
And Dave M, I've done many ribs with the foil and they came out perfect. Just one more step that doesn't have to be done. And, ya don't get the bark like I got with foil.
Dan in Wis
And Dave M, I've done many ribs with the foil and they came out perfect. Just one more step that doesn't have to be done. And, ya don't get the bark like I got with foil.
Dan in Wis
I like ribs foiled or not lol. I haven't had bad ribs yet off the WSM
I agree that people worry to much about 10-15 degree temp swings, but if your target temps are 250, and they go down to 210 for extended periods of time, it's kind of hard to "guesstimate" cooking times that way, and some would argue hard to "duplicate" results. I watch a lot of the comps on TV, read books, and know people on Comp. teams, and they all seem to think that keeping consistant temps is pretty important. Maybe not for backyard smokers, but for them it is.
I agree that people worry to much about 10-15 degree temp swings, but if your target temps are 250, and they go down to 210 for extended periods of time, it's kind of hard to "guesstimate" cooking times that way, and some would argue hard to "duplicate" results. I watch a lot of the comps on TV, read books, and know people on Comp. teams, and they all seem to think that keeping consistant temps is pretty important. Maybe not for backyard smokers, but for them it is.
Mike Willsey
TVWBB Member
Dan,
I never use foil! Ribs come out great. Temp running 250 to 325 during cook. Always cook spares.
I never use foil! Ribs come out great. Temp running 250 to 325 during cook. Always cook spares.
Mike Willsey
TVWBB Member
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Dave M:
snip
The bones came clean, but the meat had to be bitten off. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
In many circles that is the only way to have your ribs. That is how I prefer. I always felt that the mushy soft ribs came out from bad rib joints that par-boiled their ribs.
snip
The bones came clean, but the meat had to be bitten off. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
In many circles that is the only way to have your ribs. That is how I prefer. I always felt that the mushy soft ribs came out from bad rib joints that par-boiled their ribs.
Scott H
TVWBB Member
This thread is well timed. I've currently got 6 rolled racks of baby-backs going for a family function this evening and the lid temp has been a steady 220 (with all vents 100% open) the whole cook. I was coming to check on any guidance on following the BRITU approach if the temp won't climb to 250-275 for last hour and saw this thread. After reading the above I don't think I'll worry about it. I too have really never had a bad rib experience with the WSM so suspect it will all work out and be edible.
I've never used foil, and the only complaints I've ever had about my babybacks were that I didn't do enough racks of them
As for temp versus cooking time, I don't worry about it as long as I know I'm above 200.
Once the meat recedes an inch from the bone, they're done. I don't need a timetable to know that.
As for temp versus cooking time, I don't worry about it as long as I know I'm above 200.
Once the meat recedes an inch from the bone, they're done. I don't need a timetable to know that.