Ribs - what am I doing wrong ?


 
DAMIAN said:
Do you fill the baskets full with lit coals or a mixture of lit and unlit, if so in what proporations ? If I fill both baskets with lit coals my temps usually hit around the 375-400 mark, is this not too hot ?
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I usually fill them with lit. I don't know what temperature I'm running at since I don't use a thermometer. When I'm doing ribs on the OTG I baste them with a sauce similar to the Cornell chicken recipe. Since I'm opening the lid a few times to baste the ribs I can keep track of how fast they're cooking. If it looks like the coals are too hot and the ribs are cooking too fast just shut down the bottom vents more. The OTG responds fairly quickly to vent adjustments. If I'm doing traditional smoked ribs then they go in the WSM. My family likes the ribs on the OTG basted in Cornell sauce better than the traditional smoked ribs in the WSM. I like them either way. They are totally different tastes, but both are delicious and tender as long as you don't let the temperature get away from you.
 
DAMIAN said:
Do you fill the baskets full with lit coals or a mixture of lit and unlit, if so in what proporations ? If I fill both baskets with lit coals my temps usually hit around the 375-400 mark, is this not too hot ?
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I would suggest starting with a basket full of unlit, or banking the coals to one side of the kettle, and then adding 5-6 lit coals to it and keeping your bottom vent about halfway open and your vent on top fully open. Once you reach your targeted temperature, close your top vent halfway and see where the temperature stabilizes at. I do ribs on my 22" kettle all the time and they come out great.
I should add that at first I had a difficult time in getting my kettle to keep lower temps. What I discovered is that my kettle was TOO CLEAN. By that I mean that it was still fairly new and hadn't become "seasoned" from use which also helps to seal the kettle and vents better.
Keep trying and experimenting while posting up your questions on here and I'm sure you will get the hang of it. This forum has some great info.

Also, as others have mentioned, if you are using the thermometer in your lid as a reference point......that might also be part of your problem.
Here is a great article on that topic:
http://www.thermoworks.com/blog/2013/06/dome-temperature-grill-temperature/

A set time frame such as the 3-2-1 method does not guarantee tender ribs. It's only a ballpark guide.
Cooking at a consistent temperature and monitoring the meat's doneness will do it right every time.
 
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May I suggest a snake burn. 2 high 2 wide, then get it started with 8 lit. Your temps will stay down and maintain a consistent temp. Last time I did I had the bottom cracked on the OTS and the tops open and ran in the 260-280 range with ease
 
Damian,
I've read the other responses in the thread and agree with them all. However, you nor they touch on the fact that temperatures may be vastly different on the grill than shown on the lid thermometer. I think you really need to have a probe near what you cook. I have a 22" OTP, that's a Performer without gas.

One trick I've learned from the TVWBB is the use of fire brick to separate my burning coals and the food I cook. Second, I learned to place aluminum foil over the "cold side" of the OTP charcoal grate thereby keeping air flowing only through the lit coals. Over the foil, I place a disposable water pan. My meat is then placed over the water. This whole things allows me to maintain about 250 degrees without the constant fiddling with the vents; mine are usually almost closed and the lid vent is about 50%.

I just did this with some chicken breasts and they turned out great except for a little too much smoke. But, that's another story. However, I was measuring temperature on the meat grate as well as measuring temperature of the meat. Don't give up on ribs. They can taste too good for that. But, you must really know what is going on around your meat and the only way is temperature probes. Have fun experimenting!!
 
A quick update on my progress, tried another rack today and had a thermometer at grill level temps running around 300 did for around 1.5 hours then foiled for about 45 mins and did uncovered and sauced or a further 45 mins. Still don't come completely away from bone when bitten but getting there. I have 2 more racks in the fridge so going to try again tomorrow.

Thank you to all for ou advice given
 
Try going at least two hours Damian for the first stage...they do call it 3-2-1 for a reason. You may be a bit hotter so you can get away with a little less but not that much I don't think. I'd still foil for an hour too. It will come with practise. I do spares on my kettle but I cook a little lower temp not that there is anything wrong with what you are doing...just not long enough.
 
Gary S said:
Try going at least two hours Damian for the first stage...they do call it 3-2-1 for a reason. You may be a bit hotter so you can get away with a little less but not that much I don't think. I'd still foil for an hour too.
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Like Gary says, if you're looking for fall-off-the-bone texture (FOTB), an hour in foil at 300 degrees should get you there. Check them after an hour, and if you can't grab the ends of a couple bones and pull them apart, wrap 'em back up and cook 'em some more. Are you adding a little liquid in the foil with them? A quarter-cup of apple juice in the foil with the ribs makes a nice steamy environment that pretty much guarantees they'll be tender; you'll have smoked pork soup if you leave 'em in there too long.
 
So for my first two racks I looked at the ribs themselves for when they are done, first sign for me is the meat shrinking back from the bone ends. that is when I really start watching them. After I see them pull back on the bone a decent amount then I start checking with a tooth pic. If it slides in nice right next to the bone and the rib starts splitting a little when I lift it with tongs from the end it is telling me it is done.
I really don't care what the temps are. If the smoker got hot to say 300 so be it. I try to dial it back, if it does not work and temps stay higher which is what happened to me on my first ribs due to the lump I was using I know they will be done earlier and plan for that.
But in the end the ribs tell me when they are done and that is the only thing I listen to.
 
Attempt number 2 was an improvement on number 1, cooked unfoiled for around 2 hours at about 325 degrees, then foiled for an hour in a bit of stock I had for another hour around the same temps, then unwrapped applied a bit of sauce and cooked for another 1/2 hour. In the main they came away from the bone easily when bit, but still need a bit more practice.

To get them FOTB is it best to foil them that bit longer or longer before you you them in the foil, I guess the cooking after foiling is more the saucing to take effect than a cooking process, or is that wrong .

I have one rack left which I have frozen but will be trying again next weekend.
 
What are you putting in your foil? I did spare ribs maybe two weeks ago. I did one hour of smoke around 265, 1-1.5 hours in HD foil twith brown sugar and honey on the ribs; also added three table spoons on applejuice from concentrate in the foil. Make sure to make a tight seal. Then 1 more hour out of the foil. My guess is: no liquid in the foil or the seal on the foil isn't great or you are not using good HD foil.
 
Patience will be rewarded if you let them cook the whole time at the right temp. I recommend controlling temps with your vents to 225-250* at the grate and putting them on 3 hours, foiling for 2 hours, and finishing for 1 hour. If the snakes helps with that then go for it. If you do this you'll get fall off the bone ribs. Don't rush it with higher temps or using different times until you follow the tried and true 3-2-1.
 
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Nice job. And you were about to give up doing ribs. With that technique the stage after foil is to firm up the bark and glaze if you wish to do so.
 
I add liquid when I foil. Today I cooked six racks of Spares. I used apple juice and a dab of BBQ sauce. I cut my racks in half at this stage. They were in the foil for 1 1/2 hours and back on the grill for about 40 minutes. Develop an established method before you start to deviate. Sometimes as in this case my temps dropped when I added charcoal for a bit so I compensated. It's all about learning through practise.
 
Dwain Pannell said:
Patience will be rewarded if you let them cook the whole time at the right temp. I recommend controlling temps with your vents to 225-250* at the grate and putting them on 3 hours, foiling for 2 hours, and finishing for 1 hour. If the snakes helps with that then go for it. If you do this you'll get fall off the bone ribs. Don't rush it with higher temps or using different times until you follow the tried and true 3-2-1.
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This was my original attempt that led me to post on here, I tried the 3-2-1, kept the temperatures low and the ribs came out awful, they were dry and tough
 
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