Tenderness of Spare Ribs


 
S

Steven Simpkins

TVWBB Member
I have many times smoked ribs on my Weber Smoker with less then a stellar outcome. I have smoked the spare ribs from 4.5 to 6.5 hours at 220 degrees and it seems like the ribs are dry and not juicy. Before I had the Weber I had a Brinkman electric smoker which I smoked ribs on. Everytime I smoke them I rub them the same way, the ribs on the weber seem to be dry and and not juicy but the ribs on the Brinkman are taken off at 4.5 hours and are tender and juicy. I love my Weber and have done meat loaves, Pork butts, Fatties, you name it I have just about smoked it. I want the smoked flavor on the ribs and have tried the 3-2-1 the 3-1-1, not foiling and still cannot get them to come out like they do on the electric smoker. What can I do to get it right?

Bones
 
Try marinating the ribs?

I founda a great recipe in Ribstars book using a Dr. Pepper derived marinade, & it's now my go to.
 
Dryness indicates over-cooking. My guess is that you are probably cooking at a lower temperature than your thermometer tells you you are. Too low and too slow often results in dry meat. And, if not, you may achieve better results cooking at a higher temp, more like 250.
 
You say dry and not juicy but what is the texture of the meat? Does it pull or fall off the bone? Cooking at 220 you can easily go 6 hours on ribs. If they are tough and dry I suspect they are under cooked. What are you using to check temps?
 
My best ribs have come from using the Kevin Kruger method which is to cook for about 90 minutes at 325-350 and then foiling with some liquid. Up the heat to around 375. Check for tender after about a half hour in foil and then every 10-15 minutes thereafter.

Easy, tasty, and done in about 2 to 2.5 hours.

Just search high heat ribs and you'll come across it fairly quickly.
 
You say dry and not juicy but what is the texture of the meat? Does it pull or fall off the bone? Cooking at 220 you can easily go 6 hours on ribs. If they are tough and dry I suspect they are under cooked.
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Agreed. If removed before tender/juicy, especially if significantly before, often reads as tough and dry because rendering has not sufficiently occurred.

I do do ribs at high temps (glad it's working for you Jerry) but good ribs can certainly be done low/slow. As Doug suggests, while low/slow works, lower/slower isn't necessarily better - and often doesn't work. Try bumping up to 250 anyway.

When ribs are tender/juice a probe will go into the meat between the bones effortlessly. If there's resistance they're not yet tender.
 
Try to make em around 250 Dome temp next time. Around 4h and get used the check tenderness with a probe. Check at the 2.5h mark just to feel the big difference when undercooked.

I dont foil and have no problem with dry ribs.
 
Steven i believe your temp is to low for rib's, bump it up to around 250-300 and i think your problem will be solved. A lot of people prolong a cook and in turn over cook the meat. Also to long in a cooker the air will dry out your meat, compare to a electric smoker which no air is needed for the heat you will always get juicy meat unless it's over cooked. Also check the temp of the meat when cooking don't cook by time guidelines.
 
But knowing the internal temp doesn't much matter either as it doesn't have much to do with done.

Air in a wood- or coal-fired cooker isn't going to dry meat out. Undercooked meat in an electric cooker will likely seem dry.

In a humid cooker, whether electric or not, evaporative moisture loss is lessened. But evaporative moisture loss isn't responsible for dry meat (if we're talking dry from overcooking). What's responsible is moisture loss from excessive drippings.
 
I find spares have a thick half and a thin half on each rack.

I cut them in half, put the thin half on the top rack of a WSM, and cook them for four hours at about 225. The thick ribs get 6 hours at 225 and all are tender and juicy. My rub is very simple, black pepper, onion powder, paprika and a dash of cayenne. I have had ribs turn out badly only when overcooked. Crunchy ribs are not mah thang.
 
Does everyone get their spares done in 6 hours? It seems like I'm always pushing 8. Last 3 cooks I foiled them going 6-1-1 at around 230 on the grate and they were absolutely amazing, bending in half just like Andy mentions. Today, the exact same cook and while they were bending pretty good they were incredibly dry - one of those days were there's alot of talk about how good the beans and slaw were
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Thinking maybe I should try jacking up the temps and shooting for 6, but I can't explain why it worked so well the other times.
 
I've never had luck cooking ribs with a dome temp <230*. I now cook 250* or higher and have never looked back.
 
Originally posted by Mike U:
Does everyone get their spares done in 6 hours? It seems like I'm always pushing 8. Last 3 cooks I foiled them going 6-1-1 at around 230 on the grate and they were absolutely amazing, bending in half just like Andy mentions. Today, the exact same cook and while they were bending pretty good they were incredibly dry - one of those days were there's alot of talk about how good the beans and slaw were
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Thinking maybe I should try jacking up the temps and shooting for 6, but I can't explain why it worked so well the other times.
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That's odd, 8 hours for spares? Mine are always done under 6, usually around 5 hour mark. Apart from the bend test, you can also try probing with a toothpick.
 
Baby backs for me take 6 hours, and that's at 275 grate level using the 3-2-1 method. I don't see how spares can be done at 4.5 hours at 230. I believe you're undercooking the ribs.
 
Originally posted by Luis L.:
That's odd, 8 hours for spares? Mine are always done under 6, usually around 5 hour mark. Apart from the bend test, you can also try probing with a toothpick.
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Wow, my spares are barely bending when I pick up an end after 5 hours. Are these falling off the bone when you're done? I'm wondering if I need to be doing some calibrations on my thermometer if I'm that far off.
 
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