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what did i do wrong


 
Corey Elks

Corey Elks

TVWBB All-Star
bb ribs around 3lb slabs. I used 2 tennis ball size apple and 1 hickory. cooker temps 225-250 . Ribs went on for 3 hours. Foiled for another hour and a half. back on smoker for hour. Meat rode up bone about half inch. Probe test went in but not easy easy had a little resistince. ribs tore with a little resistance also. I thought ribs were kinda on the dry side. i cooked total 5 1/2 hours which i would have thought was enough for babybacks. What do you guys think? did i under cook them? thanks
 
5.5 hours seems quite long for baby backs. What did each slab weigh? I typically let them cook in the smoke for 2 hours, foil for 90 (or a little less), then another 30-45 unfoiled with or without sauce. So that's just under 4 hours and they are always plenty juicy and tender. I generally shoot for 250 on the lid the whole time.

As for too smokey, I've found hickory to be a bit harsh so I avoid it. I prefer the fruit woods like apple or cherry. I generally only put in 2 fist size chunks during the first 2 hours.

Also are you using lump or K?
 
OOOPS! Corey, sounds like they were over cooked
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I cooked baby backs twice this week
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...as usual, I shoot for vertical on the weber dome therm..close enough
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In both cases the cooker ran 225-230*, using boiling H2O, and bottom vents set to 30% open .... I checked for doneness @ 3hrs+45mins...each time the smaller rack was limp & done, while the heavier rack required another 20-30mins
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...you were running slightly higher temps so yours were probably done sooner ... remember we're smokin not baking, it's far less precise, which makes it caveman fun!! ... therefore doneness checks are far more critical than than time or temp
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Hope this helps a little
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im using k. I also thought it seemed a bit long but the rib meet was not creeping up the bone very much and a probe going through the meet had resistince. But i did not want to overcook. I think u r right about the hickory. OH well hope i have better luck next time. These slabs are to expensive to mess up.
 
Corey - If you are trying to follow Dome Temps it may be that you are not cooking at an accurate temp. You may need to get an oven thermometer and check your top rack to see in relation what your real temp is at the level of your Ribs. Most on here don't rely too much on guages after a little experience with the WSM, but it does give you a place to start. You could have had higher heat than you were reading and overcooked them. Just a thought.
 
Corey, when raw slabs of ribs are handeled while prepping and placing in the cooker, I'm certain you've noticed they're pretty limp,... once they're cookin for a while, they get fairly rigid...what you're lookin for in doneness will occur generally at the 4hr point (@ 225* dome temp) plus or minus 15-20mins....and it's limpness...you should get the impression that if you lift the ribs up they might pull apart
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Bingo! they may or may not pullback at this point
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Corey Elks:
im using k. I also thought it seemed a bit long but the rib meet was not creeping up the bone very much and a probe going through the meet had resistince. But i did not want to overcook. I think u r right about the hickory. OH well hope i have better luck next time. These slabs are to expensive to mess up. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I would take an hour off your first section. No more than 2 hours, then 90 in the foil, then another 45 or so to crisp them up. I've had very good luck this way.

Where are you getting your bb ribs from? I always try and get the smallest possible sizes (under 2lbs per slab). I bought some bb ribs from Costco once and they were gigantic! For those I probably would have cooked them longer.

After the 90 min in the foil the meat is always pulling back from the bone and they are basically done at this point. I just put them back on unfoiled to try and firm them up a bit.

I've used K mostly but just tried lump yesterday with good results. Can't go wrong with K. Very easy to handle for beginners.
 
I find that baby backs take about 4.5 hours at 225-250 and I don't foil. The 1.5 hours yours were in foil after 3 hours on the smoker probably did a job on them as foiling will really speed up the cooking process. I agree, if you are going to foil, do it after less cooking or when the ribs have a nice color that you like, then foil for about 45 minutes. Take them out of foil to firm up and if you are saucing let the sauce set on the smoker. If probe goes in between bones easily they are done. You'll know if they feel tender enough for you
 
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