Ribs Cooked Quickly? Will They Overcook?

[Alex Enkerli]

Smoking some beef short ribs on my WSM 14,5" (with a candy thermometer in grommet). Lid temp around 235°F, middle temp around 225°F(107°C), for three hours so far. After two hours, instant read in meat indicated close to 170°F(74°C). An hour later, poked everywhere and the lowest temp was over 170°F.

So… Not that I'm really concerned. Texture felt pretty good, and that was just before foiling. But does it make sense that the meat would cook so quickly? Is there any risk of overcooking those ribs?
Tried to close vents a bit, but bottom ones were already ¾ closed. Half closed the top vent (was fully open the whole time) and it seems to remain in the same range.
Not worried, or anything. Just curious, in the learning process. In homebrewing, we had a saying: “relax, don't worry, have a homebrew”. Don't have any beer on hand, but I'm chillaxing anyway.

 

[Alex Enkerli]

Guess the answer was right there, on a little-known site… If we want the ribs to get to 195°F, anyway, it means the first three hours of smoking were pretty much what was needed.
Still interesting to note that it's way above USDA well done. So this meat will be especially safe. And since it's really tender, there's no issue in overcooking. Cool! Well, hot!

 

[KirkJ]

You're trying to melt the connective tissue and create collagen so while meat is "over cooked" it will be succulent and juicy.

 

[Alex Enkerli]

Sure is that. It's an interesting process. Hadn't done it to this extent, before. At least, hadn't measured internal temp.
Some people might still not like the fact that some parts are red. We’re so conditioned to associate red with rare that it can be difficult to some to get past that impression.
Might experiment with meat at the same temp from different methods.