Ribs Help


 
Chris W.

Chris W.

TVWBB Pro
I'm looking for some help here. The situation is this: My parents are having a family party tomorrow and want me to smoke ribs for them (they just asked me to do it today). I don't mind doing it, but I've only used my WSM once thus far. I can't take my WSM to my parents because they honestly have no place where I can use it, meaning I'll be smoking the ribs at my house and taking them to my parents.

My parents live 10-15 minutes from my house, but I'm not sure what to do with the ribs. I'm thinking I should treat them a bit like a pork butt this time around, since I won't be serving them within 15-20 minutes of them coming off the smoker. Right now, my plan is to cook them until they are tender, then pull them, wrap them in foil to keep them warm, and then get them to my parent's house.

I'm worried about this though, as I'm afraid foiling them might turn them to mush. I've heard of this happening, and I want to avoid it, but it's only supposed to get up to around 20* here tomorrow, and I also want to avoid serving cold ribs to my family. What do you guys advise? Is there some internal temp I should aim for, then let them finish cooking in the foil like a butt? I never thought the internal temp of ribs mattered, as you cooked until tender, but this time I'm not so sure.

Should I maybe cook them a little less than I normally would, and let the foil do the rest? I'm worried that I'll cook them just right, then put them in the foil and they'll end up overdone. This is my first time smoking for my extended family, and I'd really like to impress them.

Any advice would be much appreciated.
 
I'm no expert, but I have cooked ribs many times where I take them off the WSM, add some sauce, wrap them in foil, and let them sit for about 15 minutes before serving. They have never got mushy. Once you remove them from the smoker, I don't think you'll get much, if any, residual cooking just from wrapping them in foil. I'd do just what you're suggesting, take the ribs off the WSM, wrap in foil, drive to mama's house and serve them while they're hot.
 
Do your parents have a grill at all, whether charcoal or gas? If so, I would cook the ribs "most" of the way, transport in foil/towels/cooler and then sauce and finish on the grill at their house.
 
I do that all the time. You don't have to sauce them or paint them before foiling but you can. Wrap the racks individually in HD foil wrap them in bath towels, throw them in a pre-heated cooler and then drive over. Once you are there then you can cut them up. I've never had them turn mushy doing it that way.
 
I think you can safely pull them when done, wrap and transport. For ease, you may wish to consider using a foil pan, covered with a sheet of foil. I don't know how many slabs you are cooking, but if it's a lot, that would be easier than wrapping each individually. You could also throw them in a 275 degree oven for 15-20 minutes when you get there if you're worried about them being cold.

I don't think you need to worry about them turning to mush unless you overcook them in the first place.
 
Not knowing if they're spares or loin backs, can't really give you times to work with but what I would do is smoke them how ever you normally would using your version of a modified 3-2-1 smoke. Have a cooler pre-heated with very hot water and take the ribs off as normal and wrap them individually, then pack them in the cooler like you would butts. Have your parents pre-heat their oven to what ever temperature you're using, take some sauce, if you're going to sauce them, and head to your parents house using the trip time as part of your time in foil. When you get there, put them, still wrapped in foil, in the oven for the duration of your foil time, then pull them, sauce if you are going to, and finish them off in the oven like you would on your WSM. Hopefully, you'll be ready to eat approx 1.5 to 2 hours after you pull off your WSM to foil.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.
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Bill
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Chris W.:
What is a 3-2-1 smoke? I'm new to this, and haven't heard about that until now. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Basically, it's 3 hours in the smoke, 2 hours in foil on the smoker, and 1 more hour back on the grate to firm up. 2 hours is too long according to many here so most use a modified version of the 3-2-1. Here's a link to several threads on the subject.

HTH,

Bill
 
I like the 5, 6, tender method. 5 or 6 hours or till tender, no foil not to many lid lifts, eat! (just being funny, but i really do this
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) I think the foiled and drive over would be ok for I've done it, but i've also read in one of my books that pulling them at a just shy of done state, foil, cooler, drive etc., and then use a med. heat grill to finish on arrival (sauced or not) would work. It was an example of a good way to go to a tailgate party or something like that. But i have not done this before myself, but sounded ok to me. have fun w/ the family! good luck!
 
I agree with all the "hold" comments. Foiling (in my experience) only makes mushy ribs when foiling on the smoker. I would cook to desired doneness (but not "falling off the bone") and wrap in foil. If your parents have a gasser, I would not sauce them. Then just before serving, fire up the gasser on low, sauce the ribs and cook the sauce on (say 5-10 min per side). Then let rest a couple minutes and cut/serve.
 
Chris,Dan speaks the truth. I've never foiled my ribs,just 5-6 hours in the smoker,sauce,'em and a few minutes on the gasser to glaze 'em. Oh heck yes!
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">only makes mushy ribs when foiling on the smoker. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Only if you foil too long. Foiling ? mushy ribs automatically. I hate fall-off-the-bone ribs but often foil when I want to add a flavor layer. Never mushy.
 
I'll second a bunch of what has been already said.

Ribs don't have a ton of thermal momentum (unlike butts and briskets) so carry over heating in foil has never been a problem for me. I've found that they lose a lot of heat by the time they get wrapped anyways. I actually think ribs benefit from a rest in foil, but that's just my opinion.

My first few runs with ribs, I always erred on the side of underdone, and, as a result, I didn't meet with a lot compliments. I wouldn't worry about mushy, actually its what most people think they prefer (someday you'll turn them on to good ribs and convince them otherwise, right?)and you'll probably meet with more impressed guests if your meat "falls off the bone." I'm sure you'll do fine, but for ribs, over done beats under done IMO.

Being a new wsm owner, you're going to have to figure out a lot of strategies for displaying you product. Most times you won't be eating your bbq next to your smoker or within minutes of it being done (always build in long rests in case your meat needs more time to cook before dinner). My advice is to invest in couple items: extra wide aluminum foil, aluminum foil pans, small and large coolers (look for ones easy to clean since resting meat tend to be juicy), large gravy separator (for recovering and de-fatting juice that helps revive reheated meats), big ziploc bags or a vacuum sealer. For ribs, I like to carry with me a biiiig cutting board and a sharp knife, these are helpful items and, surprisingly, not available in most kitchens. I cut a plastic cutting board down to fit into a bus tub, it works great and I can toss in lots of helpful things, along with the jars of finishing sauce.

My last piece of advice is to dig into the volumes of info on this forum. I discovered a bunch of ways of holding, reheating, and serving bbq.
 
I foil EVERY time I cook ribs! It is the only way I can get 50 racks done at roughly the same time! the "1" in the 3-2-1 method, is there to "firm up" the ribs or, take away "the mushyness." Also, you will find, that 90 % of all people WANT their ribs "mushy." I like Kevin's use of the equation so I will say Mushy = "Falling off the bone tender." You will find that BBQ cookers want a "pull" or, "bite" to the rib. I am not certain from where this comes, possibly KCBS standards. Once, at a KCBS competition in Nelsonville, Oh, the folks who were tasting my leftover ribs after turn in were all commenting (and I mean 20 people) ,that I had the best ribs there because of the degree of tenderness. I knew I was dead right then!
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I can recall where we finished, but it was below 20th on ribs. Point is, "people " loved them! I have learned in catering, that I cannot expect to satisfy "my" standards, and feed groups of people. I hate foiled pork butts because it absolutely destroys the bark, which is the best part. Problem is, you cannot have 30 pork butts done simultaneously at a given serving time without foil! I need to foil and remove the finished ones to a cooler for holding! Now, this creates some pork so mushy, that we would consider it a wasted effort! Customers tell me it is the best they have ever had! Some of these are long time sales people like myself, who have traveled extensively in the South and eaten alot of BBQ!I guess my point is, we tend to be WAY too critical on what we do. Unless you are serving this to a group of serious BBQ'ers, or a KCBS judge group at a comp, relax and do what works to get the people fed! Most of us can rest assured that the old adage is true. "The worst BBQ I can make, is probably the best BBQ you have ever had!"

We have a BBQ place in Cleveland where they cook "boneless baby back ribs" by cooking the meat off the bone and serving just the meat! They are wildly popular! It is called Bubba's BBQ and is run by former Cleveland Brown / Minnesota Viking Al "Bubba " Baker.

Hah! JB's post above was being made simultaneously to mine, and we are both saying pretty much the same thing! Great minds..... Getting alot of snow over there this morning in the "Nickle City?" Alot here!
 
Chris. Fret not. I do this all the time.
Here's how I do it;
After you pull them wrap them in H.D. Aluminum foil. I do NOT sauce them. Put a towel in a cooler and wrap them in the towel (I rest pork butts this way) transport them that way after foiling them.

Make sure the car is warmed up.

They'll still be plenty hot after 20 mins.
Plus You can always heat them p a little in the oven but I don't think you'll need too. I've gone further than 20 mins to friends' houses this way.
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Hah! JB's post above was being made simultaneously to mine, and we are both saying pretty much the same thing! Great minds..... Getting alot of snow over there this morning in the "Nickle City?" Alot here! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

right Dave, we speak the truth. we may seek the elusive, perfectly tender rib, but what people want is "fall off the bone." It was brutal when I was hammering out my rib technique, family was questioning whether they were even done (cooked) or not, at one point my mom-in-law said a batch were the "worst ribs she had ever eaten."

Although, I'll say my last batch of spares were cooked about as close to perfection as I've ever gotten, and it happened to be in a comp, they took third overall, it was really a reaffirming moment for me, because I knew they were good.

as far as the white stuff goes, it looks like we're getting off easy tonight, not sure if I'll even need my snow blower tomorrow. I'm situated just a bit north of the snow that comes off the lake, so we don't get a ton of snow. I always say, if they didn't build the Bills stadium south of the city (where the lake snow comes in) we probably wouldn't have the rep that we do (or if the built a dome!).
 
In 06, we did Oinktoberfest over there in Clarence the first weekend in October. The following weekend there was probably three feet of snow in that field! If that would have occurred while we were there, alotof guys would have had cookers sitting in that field all winter!!!
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">In 06, we did Oinktoberfest over there in Clarence the first weekend in October. The following weekend there was probably three feet of snow in that field! If that would have occurred while we were there, alotof guys would have had cookers sitting in that field all winter!!! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

what team name did you cook under? I'm sure I was there (scouting out the scene not cooking). 07, before I found this forum, we placed in the 30's (as R2-BQ), this year, after I found this forum, we placed 6th!

3 feet is pretty rare around here, especially in one weekend, that would sure have been interesting if the contest was going on during that storm.
 
Thanks for all the help guys. I simply cooked them, put them into a foil pan with the lid on and took them to my parents house. We ate them within 15 minutes of them coming off the cooker.

They were a huge success. Everyone loved them. I used a mixture of cherry and hickory for the smokewood, and I liked how they tasted. Thanks for all the help! I don't know what I'd do without you guys.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by j biesinger:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">In 06, we did Oinktoberfest over there in Clarence the first weekend in October. The following weekend there was probably three feet of snow in that field! If that would have occurred while we were there, alotof guys would have had cookers sitting in that field all winter!!! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

what team name did you cook under? I'm sure I was there (scouting out the scene not cooking). 07, before I found this forum, we placed in the 30's (as R2-BQ), this year, after I found this forum, we placed 6th!

3 feet is pretty rare around here, especially in one weekend, that would sure have been interesting if the contest was going on during that storm. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

We were Northcoast BBQ Society. I think we took first in pork. I may be exagerating on the snow, but that year you guys got alot early.
 
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