Rib analysis


 
B

Brent Cooley

TVWBB Member
Hello everyone,

Tried ribs for the second time yesterday. They were each ~3.5lb St. Louis cut spares. While they looked decent and more or less tasted good (flavor wise), the texture wasn't the best. The outer layer was a fairly tough "skin". The meat between bones was ok/tender but somewhat dry. The meat right against the bone was fairly tough, as if I had left the membrane on but I removed as much of it as I could. I suspect one would just consider them overall being just dry but I was hoping for some more expert analysis!

Cooking method: Weber Kettle with HeaterMeter control (ATC), set at 265. Kettle has a heavy pizza pan heat deflector. Cooked meat side up for 2 hours 15 minutes (picture 1 below). Then wrapped each slab in foil drizzled with honey and a couple TBsp of brown sugar and 2 TBsp of apple juice. Returned to kettle meat side down for ~1 hour 10 minutes. Opened foil and both slabs passed the bend test. I did not use a pan of water this time around.

Photo 1 - After first 2h 15m

IMG_20140901_161418.jpg


Photo 2 - After 1h 10m in foil

IMG_20140901_174450.jpg


Is the amount of bone pullback a sign of overcooking?
 
Brent,

A perfectly cooked rib will be moist and tender. The bite through will be clean with a little pull. The meat will pull cleanly from the bone. Immediately following the bite, if you look at the rib bone, it will still have moisture on it but will quickly dry. At no time on a perfectly cooked rib will the meat just fall off.

An undercooked rib will be tough to bite through and will not pull cleanly from the bone.

The meat of an overcooked rib will just fall off with little or no pressure. The meat will be mushy.
 
I'm not sure what caused that much pullback. I never get that much. I know the makeup of the meat can vary. For instance, it's hard to find ribs at a supermarket that aren't injected full of a saline solution. That might effect the way they cook. I know that you can't judge doneness by the pullback.
 
Thanks guys. I think the doneness was just about right given your descriptions, perhaps slightly toward overcooked in spots (a couple bones fell out on their own). The outer layer of meat was dry, which makes me think had I used a water pan, it may have helped the moisture level there.

The brand was Swift Premium, which are not injected with salt solution (I called them). I was surprised at the bone pullback myself, even after 2h 15min, but they definitely didn't bend at all after that amount of time.
 
Just by the look of it, I'm guessing you might have gone too long for the first stage. Maybe try to foil a little earlier so not so much of the moisture escapes?
 
My SLC's take four hours cooking time, they don't usually cook for 4 hours. I go 275*, the first two hours nekkid, the third hour foiled, and the final hour (or what it takes until bendy) nekkid again. Realize when I say the third hour foiled, that includes the time to open the lid, put the racks on a pan, close the lid, go inside, wrap the racks, go back outside, open the lid, and put the racks back on. Probably 50 mins actually on the smoker wrapped. Same with the 4th hour (get the ribs, unwrap, put back). At about the 3.5 hour mark, I check for bendy. Pull when ready.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top