Yesterdays Ribs Stalled

[Bob Bailey]

Never had this happen before but the loin back ribs I did on the pellet pooper yesterday stalled. Guessing it had a lot to do with the humidity which, at 67%, was considerably higher than normal here in the high desert. It took them about 1 1/2 hours to get from 165 to ~170. After a total of 5 hours, these relatively small slabs, 2 and 2.5 lbs. barely made 180 degrees. This at 250 degrees which has always produced probe tender ribs (no wrap) at 203 +/- degrees ~ 5 hours.
Just started using the no wrap method early this Summer, so haven't done any when the humidity was anywhere near that high. Will definitely be looking closer at humidity from now on and either allowing more time or wrapping as needed.

Anyone else had this happen with ribs?

 

[Brett-EDH]

Never had this happen before but the loin back ribs I did on the pellet pooper yesterday stalled. Guessing it had a lot to do with the humidity which, at 67%, was considerably higher than normal here in the high desert. It took them about 1 1/2 hours to get from 165 to ~170. After a total of 5 hours, these relatively small slabs, 2 and 2.5 lbs. barely made 180 degrees. This at 250 degrees which has always produced probe tender ribs (no wrap) at 203 +/- degrees ~ 5 hours.
Just started using the no wrap method early this Summer, so haven't done any when the humidity was anywhere near that high. Will definitely be looking closer at humidity from now on and either allowing more time or wrapping as needed.

Anyone else had this happen with ribs?

Yes. See my Signals graph on my back ribs. I had a stall and temperature decline during the stall. Then I wrapped in foil along with some bbq sauce and ACV and pushed my way through the stall. I don’t think it was the humidity. It think back ribs cook differently than spares or St. Lou’s.

 

[Bob Bailey]

Thanks Brett.
That could well be, although none of the same brand loin backs I've cooked no wrap have had noticeable stalls. I don't normally monitor ribs for internal temperature so may have just had shorter stalls that I missed. These just didn't look right 3 hours in so I probed a few times after that. Guess I'll add back ribs to my list of cuts not expected to be done within a short time frame.

 

[Brett-EDH]

Thanks Brett.
That could well be, although none of the same brand loin backs I've cooked no wrap have had noticeable stalls. I don't normally monitor ribs for internal temperature so may have just had shorter stalls that I missed. These just didn't look right 3 hours in so I probed a few times after that. Guess I'll add back ribs to my list of cuts not expected to be done within a short time frame.

I probe some cooks so that I can see how proteins react with heat over time. The data has helped me out a lot to better understand the different phases meats experience during a cook. Just being a data geek. But it’s really helped me up my game.

 

[ChuckO]

For me, 5 hours is a short cook when it comes to ribs. I generally cook them at 250 unwrapped from start to finish, however I think the next time I'm going to try Brett's method. That is unless I have plenty of adult beverages on hand and in no rush to complete the cook timely

 

[Bob Bailey]

For me, 5 hours is a short cook when it comes to ribs. I generally cook them at 250 unwrapped from start to finish, however I think the next time I'm going to try Brett's method. That is unless I have plenty of adult beverages on hand and in no rush to complete the cook timely

I prefer whole spares or St. Louis ribs, which often take more than 5 hours and don't mind at all. Just never had loin backs take that long. Only using them because I got a good price. Only have1 slab left and will be wrapping them.

 

[Bob Bass]

Muscles tightening during cooking process causing the wringing out of intermuscular water which ends up cooling outside surface of meat.

 

[Dustin Dorsey]

If they were brined, which some "enhanced" ribs are, that might make the stall longer if you are used to cooking ribs that aren't, just because they have more moisture to lose. Injections can prolong the stall for the same reason, supposedly. Maybe they are the "extra meaty" baby backs, which can take longer to cook because they simply have more meat. But yeah, stalls happen. It's hard to say why sometimes. I would think high humidity would shorten a stall. When you wrap you are creating an extremely humid environment.

When I've tried butcher paper, that's drastically increased the stall time for me on ribs for some reason maybe just because it's tricky to get a tight wrap on them.