St.Louis ribs: Overdone !!!


 
Enrico Brandizzi

Enrico Brandizzi

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Hello All,

I run a new St. Louis style pork ribs cook but it went wrong. This is due to some experiments I did with T and foil.
Let start with some info & pics.

2 slabs of spare ribs trimmed to St. Louis cut. I remove alwais the membrane in the back and I seasoned back and front with this (I forgot oil/mustard)

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[/url] IMG_4088 di BBQness, su Flickr[/IMG]

I smoked with Apple chips (30%) + cherry (50%) + pecan (20%). I started the 22.5 WSM with tin can method using 0,8 gal water in the water pan. This why after 3 h I ran out of water and the T durind the foiling was steady at 240/250 F instead of 225/230 F.

I smoked for 3 h at 225 F (never up and never down) (almost!!!)

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[/url] IMG_4159 di BBQness, su Flickr[/IMG]

Then I moved the 2 slabs in foil and then there is the first voluntary expirement: I used no honey and no butter, but only some dry rub + apple juice (very little). Then I wrapped very thigh and I put back in the smoker for 2,5 h. At the beginning I thought to go for 2 h in foil (usually I did 3 h, but without liquid), but later I changed my mind to 2,5 h in foil.

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From that moment on, the cooking T never stayed at 225F, but always at 240/250F. I didn't understand why. Only later I got it: I ran out of water!!!! This was part of the problem and an involuntary experiment.

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After 2,5 h in foil I unwrapped them and I started to dry them.

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I dryed them for 1 h (the T was higher than I wanted, about 240/250 F) and in the last 10' I sauced them with raspberry red sauce by K. Putnam (on the right) and another bought red sauce really good (on the left).

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[/url] IMG_4211 di BBQness, su Flickr[/IMG]

Outcome: really overdone. I guess for 2 reasons: apple juice that has a really powerful steaming effect and the cooking T higher than usual during the foil and drying phases. I suppose this is why they look so dark: the sauce was burnt.

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Anyhow they were smoist, super tender and really tasty.
Thanks for watching.
Enrico
 
They look great Enrico. My experience lately is to cook at no more than 250(usually around 235) and wrap St. Louis ribs no more than 1.5 hrs to prevent major falling off the bone. Baby backs I wrap for just one hour by the way. The color on yours looks fantastic.
 
Ribs look really good, sorry to hear they didn't come out like you wanted them to. I don't foil my ribs unless I grill them high heat. I always overcook them when I foil low and slow.
 
Overdone, you say? They might be a little dark or tender for your preference, but generally, commodity pork, which is all I can afford to cook, starts to dry out if I get the ribs too tender, foiled and juiced or not. But based on your pics and description, they probably could've won a contest somewhere, if you ask me.
 
Enrico I would love a few bones of those ribs first of all. May I suggest something to you? Next rack do them like Harry Soo, cook them at 275 F, what i do is is check them at 1hr, maybe spritz a little apple juice on them, then depending on how they looked I check them again around 1.5 2 hrs. - At that point if they have a nice bark on them foil them. If you have to wait a little do it, but only foil when you have the bark the way you want it. I do not believe your apple juice caused you any problem, I and many others use it all the time. When you foil you want some moisture added plus any other additions you like. I come back and start checking them in an hour I don't open them I just use a toothpick and push right through the foil from the top. I rarely sauce ribs but once that toothpick goes through really easy I open them up and do it.
The temp of 275 is what finally gave me ribs like I really wanted, some things are great low and slow, for me Spare Ribs are not one of them
 
The temp of 275 is what finally gave me ribs like I really wanted, some things are great low and slow, for me Spare Ribs are not one of them
Click to expand...

I do the same as Bill now and they come out perfect. Anyway I think your ribs look great!
 
Thanks to All for encouragement and nice words.
The real problems with this cook were two:
1) the apple juice powerful effect during the foil phase. Infact it was the real first time I wrapp with LIQUID in. Usually I have always wrapped (from my beginning in april 2013) with butter and honey that, I suppose, are less steamy than apple juice. So I should have stopped the foil before at around 1h 45' - 2 h instead 2h 30'.
2) cooking T. I ran out of water because at the beginning I put only 3 liters instead of full water pan. I prefer to cook at lower T than some of You suggest because I believe I can get a better smoke ring and less dark color to the final product.
As You can see from pics the final product was really dark and in 10' the sauce went burnt in color not in tasty. I lost the sauce's red color that I love. I can confirm it was not dry.

For the next time I reply with apple juice because I believe that the final product is:
1) much lighter than usual one because there is no butter;
2) less sweet than usual because there is no honey;
3) much ligher than usual also because using the powerful steaming effect of apple juice I am sure that all the fat in the ribs is melt down. In the past cooks I always saw some survivor fat in the meat and for me it makes heavier the dish.

Like this

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[/url] IMG_2469 di BBQness, su Flickr[/IMG]

Anyway next time I surely will shorten foil phase to 2 h with a lower T around 225 F. The same for the rest of cooking process.

Enrico
 
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