Second cook - spares...a couple of tips please


 
A

Allan

TVWBB Fan
I'm going to be doing my second cook this weekend, a rack of spares, 3.5# untrimmed. Couple of questions:
1. Timing: I was thinking 6-7 hours, is that going to be too long?
2. Baste/Spray: My last cook (Babies), I didn't spray/baste, but I did foil with a combo of apple, grape and pineapple juice. This time I'm just going to baste/spray a few time. My question is around logistics. Do I take the lid off to do this. As I'm still learning, I'm always conscience of the "don't peek" rule.

Thanks in advance for any advice you can provide.
 
6-7 hours depends on the weight and your cooking temp. If they're 3½-and-downs, time will be less. If they're 3-5s, they will take longer. (Who here remembers what those terms mean? They're terms denoting how much the whole slab weighs in pounds, the former being from smaller hogs, of course.) The hotter you cook, the shorter the time. I like about 5½-6 hours at 250° (at the grate), and check for doneness. The basting secret is "be prepared". Gently remove lid with left hand, sprayer in right hand (or vice-versa), and spray, spray, spray like they're on fire and you're trying to put them out. 20-30 seconds, lid back on, and you're out. Effect on cooker temp should be minor.
 
I cook my spares around 225 lid temp for about seven hours. I do not baste or turn. I do move them to a hot kettle to glaze when done.
 
I cook spares almost exclusively when I do ribs and get the 3 pack in cryo from Sams. These are large ribs. Without using foil during the cook, I always go 7 hours or a little beyond. Even then, tenderness can be an issue. You almost never get complaints of ribs being tooo tender unless its from experienced Q'rs. So for crowd satisfaction, lean toward the tender side. At about the 4 hour mark, I foil indiviual racks and cook that way for 45 minutes to an hour. I then remove the foil and finish the cook that way till the meat is receding 1/4th inch or so from bones and I can insert a toothpick easily between the bones.

I do give them a quick spray with a combo of AJ and ACV a couple of times during the cook. I maintain a lid temp of around 250.

Paul
 
I just did 9lb of spares (Costco ribs) this past weekend and cooked 'em at around 260 - 275. Took about 4.5 - 5 hours. I took the skirt meat off after 2.5 hours, basted the ribs and then basted every hour from there.

I usually cook my ribs at higher temps so that they dont' take as long. I've done lower temps too and haven't ever noticed a difference in taste or texture.
 
If I'm going to start them at, say, 11:00am tomorrow, can I apply the rub tonight. It's my son's b-day party tomorrow and I know that I'll have other things to do and won't really have time to apply the rub. Or should I trim properly tonight and then just apply the rub tomorrow. I was thinking of going with Sugarless Texas Sprinkle
 
I generally get 3-3.5 lb spares and cook 3 racks at a time for 7-8 hours at 225-250 degrees.

Nothing too controversial about that.

Here's the controversial part:

I have by far gotten the best results when I use the bottom rack and have some other type of meat (pork shoulder or brisket) on the top rack. I don't care what anyone says, the fat dripping down keeps the ribs from drying out. In fact, if I'm ONLY making ribs, I'll put them on the bottom shelf and lay 6-7 strips of bacon across the top shelf to get the same effect. Works great. Plus you can also eat the bacon, and after 7-8 hours it is as crispy as bacon can be.

I also use a rub that I have developed through experimentation over time. I stay as far away from BRITU style rubs as possible - WAY too much salt and WAY too much sugar. And whatever rub I use, I just give it a light dusting, I don't cake it on the ribs.
 
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