No pan St. Louis spares


 
Mark R (LR)

Mark R (LR)

TVWBB Super Fan
I like my old 3-1-1 ribs routine, but I want to experiment with some no-foil cooks so that I can take more full advantage of my new ATC and be away from the house for extended periods during a cook. I'm also tinkering with bits and pieces of the Rendezvous method. The hybrid that I hit upon was to cook at 275F with no pan in the smoker, no foil, and to spritz with 1:1 apple juice/apple cider vinegar every 30 minutes after I like the color and appearance of the bark. I set the ribs on GrillGrates on the top grate, cooked for 2.5 hours at 275F, liked the color and appearance so started spritzing. From that point forward, I checked & quickly spritzed the meat side every thirty minutes. I was a bit surprised that I was able to get the lid up, get a quick peak, spritz, and get the lid back on without losing that much heat and without experiencing much in the way of temperature spikes. The ribs looked close to being done at around 4 hours. At 4.5 hours one of the bones near the middle had just about cooked out of the ribs, and they were close to tearing when I picked them up from one end. I liked the texture more than my foiled ribs, and I REALLY liked the bark. Parts of it had a little crunch to it that was almost like the crust of a properly seared steak. My son missed the sweet heat, almost glazed, flavor of the foiled ribs, but he liked the texture and was impressed when he finished his first rib and noticed that there was absolutely no meat left on the bone.

My next experiment is to try to get the bark and texture of a no foil cook and the sweet heat, almost glazed, flavor of my foil routine. I'm thinking about mixing the things that I usually put in the foil (Parkay, agave, hot sauce, apple juice, and rub) and just brush them on the ribs toward the end of the cook. I have virtually no experience with glazes and don't really want it to be anything that approaches saucing ribs. If I combined the ingredients I usually put in foil and just brushed them lightly on the ribs with about 30 minutes to go, do you think that would help me get the bark and texture of a no-foil cook and the flavor from my foil ingredients without giving it a coating like sauced ribs?

Sorry for the lack of pics, but I had a lot going on during the cook yesterday and didn't think to take any pics.
 
Mark,

I have recently began to experiment with no foil ribs. I have always used foil. I mostly do bb ribs and the ones I have done without foil have come out better than ever, so I can understand your experiment.

I would think that any liquid brushed onto the ribs would give it a coating unless it was really thinned out and not put on heavy. If you do that you might be able to have them not seem like they are coated, but you will probably soften some of the bark and texture

This is just my opinion though......maybe others have actually tried this
 
Thanks Rick. That makes sense that I would want to thin it out quite a bit. A related question is that I'm also a bit concerned about the timing of when to add such sweet ingredients while cooking at 275F. Any thoughts on timing? 30 minutes before the end? 15? 5? Other?
 
I've never used foil on ribs for several reasons, e.g., laziness, 18.5" WSM is not wide enough for three foiled racks, etc. For StL cuts, I just run no higher than 250 and they cook up great if I do my part and don't overcook them.
 
I usually coil racks on an 18.5, which, as Monty sez, precludes the use of foil. I also do them at 250 or less. However, I like the way that foil softens the bark just a bit. What I do now is fully cook the racks coiled, then foil them flat (with maybe a little brown sugar and a spritz of apple juice) and let them sit for 20-30 minutes before serving. It's a compromise that works for me.
 
I do no foil for most of my rib cooks, for the same reasons as you, I am always experimenting with sauces etc. At 275ish I would use your thinned sauce about twenty to twenty five minutes before pulling. Works great for me. Everything is based for me on the toothpick and how it goes in. Also with no foil spritzing every twenty to thirty minutes is important after the bark has set well.
 
So you say you want to take advantage of your ATC and have a less involved cook? I'd suggest simply trying hot water in the pan at 235-250, and just let em cook. You might be surprised. We like Chris Lilly's Memphis dry rib recipe for St Louie's, and I've been coiling as well lately. I think they cook more evenly that way, no matter which bullet I'm using.
 
Yeah, you're right - my Rendevous hybrid experiment is actually going the opposite direction from having a less involved cook. I'll probably keep tinkering with that more involved version a bit longer to try to fine tune the taste, texture, and bark. Until I get that dialed in, for my less involved cooks, I may just stick with pork butt or the brisket-in-a-pan technique that I successfully copied from Noe.
 
If your cooking in the 200's you can put brown sugar on your ribs right from the start, I usually do my ribs in the 300-325 range. I normally put a layer of brown sugar on and let it sit for 1/2 an hour or so till it's moist and then add my rub and onto the cooker they go. No Spritzing, no sauce and no foil. Spritzing adds no moisture to your meat all it does is add another flavour profile and loosen up the bark a bit.

The burn point of brown sugar is about 350
 
I started cooking ribs without a water pan about two years ago and haven't used it since. I cook a little lower temp, generally below 250, here's a thread from almost two years ago on the first time I cooked ribs without a pan.

No Water Pan Ribs
 
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