Pork BB Ribs Taking Forever


 
E

Eric Larson

New member
Last night at 7:30 pm (smoker didn't come up to temp till probably 8), I put three racks of baby back ribs on my smoker via a rib rack. I was trying to get them to about 190-205 (I was getting up in the middle of the night, so I was going to be generous). At 12 am, I was at 150-160. At 1:45 I was at 160-170. At 3:45 I was at 170-180.

I was using my ThermaPen, so I trust the temperature readings.

The smoker was running between 220 and 240 all night. I have troubles getting the smoker to run above 250 without leaving the door off.

I finally took them off at 3:45 because they'd been on the smoker for almost 8 hours. I had ate a couple right then, they were moist and good.

Tried the tear test and it didn't pass. Though the bend test passed. But the bend test was tough to do since they were in the rib rack.

Any suggestions? Should I take them off after 4-6 hours regardless? Should I let them go to 190-205?

I usually roll and skewer the ribs because the ends of the racks usually go to the edge of the smoker and the heat comes straight up and dries them out. These ribs were slightly shorter. I think I prefer rolling to the rib rack.

They're wrapped in foil now and in the fridge. Going to heat them back up (in the foil), then finish them off directly over coals to get a nice charred crust. I love college football season!
 
Eric, that's a new one on me. First off I don't know anyone, except you, who tests doneness of ribs by temp. I use a toothpick or temp prob stuck in the meat. I might suggest that your smoker was cooking at a lower temp than you thought, just a guess. Sounds like the end result was good tho, so a looooong successful cook.

Mark
 
I've read about the toothpick test, I'll try it out next time. That'll work better than the bend test on skewered or racked ribs.

I often use the tear test or gauge it by retraction from the end of the bone, but neither of which were showing progress, so I was using the temperature to see how far away I was.

I'm hungry...
 
There's no way BB's take 8 hours. Something isn't right. BB's at 240-260 take me about 4-4.5 hours tops. Test for tender, not a temp on ribs
 
This was abnormal. I usually cook them for about 4-5 hours. I've gone 6 when the cooker temp was low.

So after six hours, the temp was around 170. Should I have pulled them? After four hours, they were around 160, pull?
 
Stick something in the meat between two bones, toothpick, skewer, temp probe etc. If it goes in easily with little or no resistance, then pull. Then you will know the ribs are tender. I check first at about 3.5 hours
 
It's a thermometer I installed through a cork three years ago.

I suppose I could take large container of hot water and see what the probe reads and compare that to my Thermapen. Or the next time I smoke, I could stick the Thermapen through one of the top vents and compare.

I'll test it...
 
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