sacrilegious I know.....but


 
C

Chuck Tatham

TVWBB Member
I smoked 4 racks of backs last night. I usually use a modified BRITU method. My new thermapen helped me nail the done-ness. I went heavier on the cherry and oak to ramp up the smoke flavor. They were very good as usual but I didn't note any more smoke flavor but they were really good.

I just re-heated a bunch in the microwave for lunch today. 1 minute just to get them warm.

My god.....they were really good re-heated!. Smoke was way more developed as a flavor....I could swear I get an actual Cherry undertone! I would say that they would be better served this way if I was really wanting them to be the best they could be.

Might mean that next time I entertain that I cook ahead and warm them....not because of convenience but because they taste better.
 
Sometimes your taste buds can be overloaded if you've been breathing in the smoke while your cooking so things will taste smokier to you the next day.
 
I feel that way sometimes also. Family loves it that day but me so-so. Next day way better, don't know if the senses get a chance to clear out from hanging around the smoker the previous day or what.

Tim
 
I have noticed things being much better the next day myself. I have the same issue when frying bacon. I love bacon but each much less when I cook it and smell it versus walking in and eating it.
 
I'm curious when you say "My new thermapen helped me nail the done-ness." I've never used temperature as a guide for ribs, and really haven't heard of anyone else that does. What temp did you take them to?
 
Tom_M said:
I'm curious when you say "My new thermapen helped me nail the done-ness." I've never used temperature as a guide for ribs, and really haven't heard of anyone else that does. What temp did you take them to?
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I have always used the bend and tear test but it seems like there is quite a bit of subjectivity to that. I've had some that I clearly over did. I recently treated myself to a thermapen which reads instantly and has a tooth pick sized tip. I was able to watch the meat at various places between the bones from 100 degrees and up. The tiny probe makes it feasible to do....poke, find bone, move a bit into clear meat and get a temp. I pulled them when on average they were at 190. They were perfectly cooked in my opinion....little bit of density but came off the bone clean with a bit of a pull.

I am doing them this way from now on.
 
You can definitely probably get more consistency using temperature for a guideline, especially if your a really new smoker like I am. I over cooked a batch of ribs and I didn't use a thermometer. They were extremely moist but fell off the bone at the touch and ended up being pulled pork meat instead of gnaw-able ribs. Still great, but inconsistency can be a bit frustrating when working with a smoker. The pros though I'm sure have been around their smokers and meat so long that they know when everything is just perfect. Practice turns into perfection.
 
Although I have and use a Thermapen for other things, mainly grilling, I'm old school when it comes to checking bbq, and especially ribs.

Once I see pullback, I pick the rack up with tongs. If they drape to the grate and the meat is starting to tear, they're done. Another way to put it is if look like they might fall apart next time I pick 'em up to check, I might as well go ahead and put them in the pan. That's not rocket science, and we sometimes make bbq harder than it is. If foiling or cooking half slabs, probing with a toothpick is probably a good idea, but anyhow, once you've overcooked LOTS of ribs you'll know what to look for, and I like BBQ champ Harry Soo's thoughts on the Thermapen. He tells his students to put a piece of tape over the readout when probing bbq for tenderness, because tenderness doesn't equal a certain temp. Different cooking temps and even different pieces of meat will have different finished temps when finally tender, and poking a piece of meat in a lot of different places looking for an certain avg. temp would probably drive me nuts. Can't say it enough though. Like anything else, practice makes perfect, and if you cook enough slabs of ribs they'll be nothing subjective about it. You'll have developed bbq instincts and won't have to think twice about whether a slab is ready yet. The biggest mistake beginners make is undercooking, and then you'll probably start overcooking a good bit. That's ok, because that means you're about to the point in your bbq journey that you'll start nailing it 90-something % of the time. :)
 
Dave Russell said:
Although I have and use a Thermapen for other things, mainly grilling, I'm old school when it comes to checking bbq, and especially ribs.

Once I see pullback, I pick the rack up with tongs. If they drape to the grate and the meat is starting to tear, they're done. Another way to put it is if look like they might fall apart next time I pick 'em up to check, I might as well go ahead and put them in the pan. That's not rocket science, and we sometimes make bbq harder than it is. If foiling or cooking half slabs, probing with a toothpick is probably a good idea, but anyhow, once you've overcooked LOTS of ribs you'll know what to look for, and I like BBQ champ Harry Soo's thoughts on the Thermapen. He tells his students to put a piece of tape over the readout when probing bbq for tenderness, because tenderness doesn't equal a certain temp. Different cooking temps and even different pieces of meat will have different finished temps when finally tender, and poking a piece of meat in a lot of different places looking for an certain avg. temp would probably drive me nuts. Can't say it enough though. Like anything else, practice makes perfect, and if you cook enough slabs of ribs they'll be nothing subjective about it. You'll have developed bbq instincts and won't have to think twice about whether a slab is ready yet. The biggest mistake beginners make is undercooking, and then you'll probably start overcooking a good bit. That's ok, because that means you're about to the point in your bbq journey that you'll start nailing it 90-something % of the time. :)
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I get it...the pen is helping me associate feel with temps etc. It just seemed to me that with a thicker top layer on the ribs, the droop is different...but maybe that's not the case? The pen is also a bit like the toothpick test from a feel perspective.
 
Chuck, sorry, I notice you're cooking on an 18.5" so you might be rolling or cooking half slabs, anyway, huh? Since the drape test doesn't work with half slabs, I go by appearance and probe with a toothpick. Yeah, I probe everything else with my Thermapen, but have always just used toothpicks if poking ribs.
 
Dave Russell said:
Chuck, sorry, I notice you're cooking on an 18.5" so you might be rolling or cooking half slabs, anyway, huh? Since the drape test doesn't work with half slabs, I go by appearance and probe with a toothpick. Yeah, I probe everything else with my Thermapen, but have always just used toothpicks if poking ribs.
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you are exactly correct, all are half racks
 
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