• Enter the TVWB 27th Anniversary Prize Drawing for a chance to win a Weber Traveler Portable Gas Grill! Click here to enter!

Terrible ribs help


 
M

Matt Binder

New member
Last weekend i put some babyback ribs on the wsm with a kansas city style rub. Hooked up with my stoker the smoker ran at 250, lid ran at 225. My lid temp is usually 25 less than the grate temp. I smoked them for about 2 hours, foiled for 1, then back on for another 2 hours. During the last two hours i was checking for doneness. The ribs were still tough and would not tear apart. I finally pulled them off after 5 hours expecting them being overcooked. They were very dry and hardly any fat had rendered. The flavor was good but the tenderness was terrible. Any idea on what happened and suggestions for the future?
 
Sounds like they were not done, sometimes you will get a slab or 2 that just won't cook as fast. I have had some go 6hrs at 250 and some at 4.5hrs.

I will tell ya eversince I started Q'n ribs at 275 they are done sooner and more consistant on time and texture.

Hope they turn out better next time!
wsmsmile8gm.gif
 
"They were very dry and hardly any fat had rendered."

That tells me they didn't go long enough.

I agree with Glenn, consider stepping up to 275º.
 
My last BB(no foil) took 5h @ 275.+/- 15

My guess is the ribs u started out with were marbeled in a different way. I have had My BB from the same butcher for some time and it differs alot.

If ur probe reads the "Truth" i would think of the meat as a first answer!
 
when i pulled the ribs off they were only at 160ish degrees. I couldn't figure out how they were that low in temp after 5 hours. Would more time really make them moist because the ribs were pretty dry?
 
IMHO there done when there done 5 hrs or 7 hrs don't matter ! I have had ribs take as little as 4 3/4 hrs to as long as 7 hrs !There just not done until they pass the tear test. don't matter how long .
wsmsmile8gm.gif
 
Agree with Glenn, i found that 275 is the perfect temp to cook ribs on the wsm, i have done low & slow , HH , but 275 i get best results, usually cook 2.5 hrs foil for 1 hr and finish unfoiled for about 15-30 mins, low and slow is way over rated
 
I don't know man, I've been doing BBs on my 18"WSM many many times at 225'F -250'F for five hours without foiling and they're near perfect each and everytime.
No basting, no foiling, no spritzing... just a consistant 225-250'F. Like magic.
In my opinion, foiling ribs is nonsense.
icon_smile.gif


Maybe it's the great Wisconsin Pork that makes the magic happen....
icon_biggrin.gif
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Matt Binder:
Would more time really make them moist because the ribs were pretty dry? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Oddly enough, yes. It's not water moisture, it's connective tissue (collagen) breaking down into gelatin. So they get kind of dry and nasty and you just keep going and you'll eventually get moisture again.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">quote:
Originally posted by Matt Binder:
Would more time really make them moist because the ribs were pretty dry?



Oddly enough, yes. It's not water moisture, it's connective tissue (collagen) breaking down into gelatin. So they get kind of dry and nasty and you just keep going and you'll eventually get moisture again </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Regardless of cook temp (L/S or HH) bbq is woefully overcooked. That is why the standard bbq cuts are generally well marbled and tough (read: plenty of inter-muscular fat and connective tissue). The idea is that despite the fact that the muscle fibers have been overcooked (and dried out), the rendered fat, converted connective tissue (collagen to gelatin) and saltiness of the rub will all compensate. Dry comes just before tender, because the fibers are toast and the connective tissues has not broken down yet. Dry also comes just after tender because you rendered out all the fat and cooked away the collagen and any remaining liquid.

My general recommendation is to run the wsm much hotter. here's a few of my reasons:

1) its notoriously difficult to temp a wsm. Even at your grate level, too close to the outside draft will give you high readings, and too close to your meat will give you low readings. I drilled a hole opposite my top vent and like to see it run between 250* and 300*. I know from lots of runs that this will work for me. I know its not my cooking temp, but the key is that I know it works from experience. I generally don't accept any number someone states as their wsm cook temp. I wouldn't be surprised if we all (those who run the pan dry) cook around the same temp, we all just read different numbers.

2) cook times increase exponetially with decreasing temps. If you try to cook at 225* and you're reading higher (say actual is 210*), its going to take a long time to get to tender and you're going to be very confused

3) cooking hot will get you to tender sooner. I tend to be impatient and panic easily. I started cooking low and pulled ribs too soon, so I never knew what tender looked like. Cook hotter and watch them get tender, and then decide if cooking lower is worth the effort.

good luck!
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by j biesinger:
I started cooking low and pulled ribs too soon, so I never knew what tender looked like. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Which reminds me - there's an old guideline that's something like - Leave one slab on a half hour longer even when you think it's done. If it's better than the rest you're pulling them too early and you should adjust next time.

It's a good exercise to do now and again. Basically you keep repeating until you start getting that last slab a little mushy and then you know it's finally gone too far.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top