Ribs came out tough..


 
B

Billy S

TVWBB Member
Hi,

I’m very new to charcoal cooking—I have used gas in the past, but nothing too complicated--mainly direct heat for meats/seafood etc.

Yesterday I smoked spare ribs for the first time. I have a new 22.5 kettle. I used one char-basket with Kingsford regular briquettes--heated in chimney starter. I had a drip pan underneath rack with 2 inches of water. I rubbed rack with store bought "cowboy rub" (of which I was not too impressed) the night before and put rack in fridge overnight.

I ordered an inexpensive oven grill off Amazon that had positive reviews, and used this device on the surface to monitor temp.

I let the grill get to 225F before I placed rack.

Now, being the new eager smoker, I admit I didn’t keep the lid on as much as I should have. My objective at every hour was to do the following:
• Baste meat with mop sauce
• Add more wood chips as needed
• Add briquettes as needed
• Turn ribs around

However, once I noticed my smoke dying, I broke this rule multiple times. I would go and lift lid and add more smoke, baste, turn meat, etc.

My temp stayed pretty consistent (assuming the thermo was working) and my ribs had a nice, dark bark to them. However, probably last hour of cooking the temp dropped to 200F and stayed there. I didn’t pay too much mind as I was prepping to place some veggies on direct heat (other side) and I had my vegetable pan heating.

After an hour of this temp I took ribs off and wrapped in foil about 30 minutes.

All in all, probably 5 hours for the spare ribs (pretty sure I removed membrane—I tried to trim St. Louis style but failed).

Well, my first go-round and they came out tough! I’m very disappointed. Not sure if I didn’t cook long enough or what.

Also, that store bought cowboy rub wasn’t impressive.

What I wanted was moist, almost fall of the bone tenderness.

Do any of you see where I missed the mark? If I were to guess, it would be that they didn’t stay on there long enough. Also, probably should not have removed lid so many times.

Thanks in advance for your advice!
 
Hey Billy,first of all,welcome to the forum! There are a bunch of great people on here,and a WEALTH of knowledge. Feel free to pick our brains. We actually enjoy sharing our knowledge!
On to your problem. I've never done ribs on the kettle,but I have on the WSM. The process is similar. Spare ribs take about 6 hours at 225* to get tender. By constantly remmoving the lid,you did two things. First you let all your heat out,then you added more air,which will give you a hotter fire! I understand that you wanted to do several things while the lid was off. Next time,just add fuel as needed. As far as smoke wood,try some chunks! They last longer,and don't need to be replenished.
I'm sure some of the other members will add their expert advice. Keep trying and I'm sure you'll be cooking ribs likea pro in no time! Good luck!
 
I agree, sounds like your ribs never got up to the tender temp range of 190-200F. with the cover being open so much, and some competition teams do smoke their ribs with a higher cooker temp of 275F., makes crisper bark. I've never foiled my ribs, but some due, but I'd wait until the internal temp got up to 170F. or higher before foiling. Kettles will usually cook hotter then WSM's, and the ribs will take 300F. no problem, just will cook quicker then if you are running at 200-225F.
Something else that will be a big help is a meat probe thermometer, a lot of people swear by the Maverick ET73, but mine only lasted a couple of months, could not take the heat and came apart where the wire goes into the probe. A much better alternative IMO, and much tougher is this CDN meat probe thermometer, just run the wire under the cover, it's plenty tough .With temps close to 300F. your ribs should be done in 3.5 hours or less, start checking for tenderness at 2.5 hours.
The purists will say you don't need a meat probe thermometer for ribs, but it's guaranteed that your ribs will fall off the bone with an internal temp of 190-200F. Stick the probe in the thickest part of your ribs and leave it, and when reach this temp range also twist then to check how tender they are. Also the meat should be pulled back from the edge of the bones.
Some of this info comes from Gary Wiviott's " Low and Slow" book for WSM's, Weber kettle grills, and offset cookers

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00046YFHE
 
Hey Billy welcome to the forum. I cook ribs on my kettle all the time. Here's the last ones I did.

As mentioned ribs at the temp you are cooking can take 6-7 hours depending on how meaty they are. It is very easy to cook on the OTS but very difficult to resist the urge to peek. I usually get the ribs on with the wood chunks or chips and then don't open it for at least the first 2 hours when I should rotate the ribs. I don't mop or baste.

Using fire bricks as a divider and a minion start you should easily get the cooker to run for 6-8hrs at the temps you were cooking at.

Remember you don't have to see smoke billowing out of the top vent to be getting a nice smokeyness to your ribs.

Keep the lid on and avoid the temptation to peek and I bet you nail them next time.
 
Definitely under done...a good way to tell they are done too is the meat should pull away from the edge of the bones about 1/4 of an inch
 
Also, if you want FOTB (falling off the bone) ribs, the way my wife likes them you need to foil for longer. Some folks use a 3-2-1 technique, or even a 2-2-1. Search FOTB and/or foiling ribs, on this site and you'll find lots of opinions.
 
If you are doing them on a kettle you can try Kevin Kruger's technique which works great. Cook at 325 to 350 for 2 hours then cook foiled for about 40 minutes or so. Finish them unfoiled, 10 minutes or so to firm them up and glaze. I have done St.Louis spares this way with great results. I have stayed away from basting, you can add flavor by adding various juices mixed with rub in the foil stage. Lifting the lid hurts you by making the cook longer and you have to mess with your vents forever to maintain temps. I do loin backs this way but cut back on the time. Here is a link to Kevin's original post. http://tvwbb.com/eve/forums/a/...74&s=98110183&cdra=Y
 
After suffering my initial year with my first big offset, I had come to learn that everytime you open the lid for more than a couple few seconds, you're gonna add about 15 minutes to your time. Just looking at my grate temp probe reading fall and watching the amount of time it took to get back where it needed to be made me realize the problem that peeking at your food can cause.

I made ribs one time and kept "checking" on them. I hung in there and it literally took almost 7 hours to get some tenderness in them. the next time, I was distracted most of the day and left them alone for 5 hours... didn't even foil... and had the best ribs ever.

Seriously... just trust what you're doing and leave the lid closed. You'll be amazed at how good your smokes will be.
 
Billy,

Welcome!

One of the beauties of smoking is that it's an art, not a science (like baking), so you'll get all kinds of different advice and philosophies which can turn out great food. Some like high heat (I belong to the School of Low and Slow- even for chicken).

I don't mess with the ribs while they cook on the WSM, and don't lift the lid until I think they might be done cooking. Then I sauce and sear on the grill. I don't baste, spritz, or mop, but the ribs come out juicy and tender.

Since you are on a kettle (with the fire off to the side, instead of underneath) you will probably have to turn your ribs once or twice to get evenness. Use chunks of wood, like Phil said (I like oak), and you can keep that lid closed. One of the hardest parts of learning to smoke for me was learning to keep that lid closed!
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yes, don't open the lid so much. don't worry about a mop. keep it simple.

@ 240-260* put the ribs on, after an hour, rotate, add some wood, if needed. and let go another hour.

if the surface looks moist at this point foil. if not wait. then foil for @ 1 hour and stick a toothpick in them. if it slides in and out very easily, you're good. if not cover em back up and keep checking every 1/2 hour or so.

my pullback with this method is 1/2 inch easy, and they aren't fall off the bone, but tender and juicy.
or rage em at 325* for 3 hours and be done!
you'll get there. just takes practice.
 
Hello...i must agree with everyone here. I am new to grilling also..and one thing that a friend told me was not to open the lid...my first time they did come out a little tough..my second set came out great...instead of using wood chips i suggest using wood chunks..that way you don't open the lid.

what i did for my second set was...start the grill..set the rack and have a few beers and watch a baseball game..that was about 3.5 hours..i had done my sauce about 10 minutes prior..opened the lid for the first time..added some sauce...and closed the lid for another 20 min...after that take it out let it rest and add more sauce..yuuummmmmyyyy

hope it all helps..good luck
 
I agree, pull off the membrane, find a nice brown sugar based rub, apply it liberally, put it on the grill(I like to let it sit overnight) throw it on the kettle or wsm, run your temp at 275 and you have a beautiful set of ribs after 4 hours with a really nice bark. Get to know your grill, you wanna get to the set it and forget mode so you can enjoy those beers. Good Luck.
 
Awesome guys thanks for all the responses! I am thoroughly enjoying my new kettle! Haven't done ribs again but did BBQ whole chicken yesterday and came out great! It was the "beer can" chicken.
 
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