Bad-assed Baby Back Rub and Ribs

quote:

Originally posted by Cliefellow:
I know CookShack says 3 or 4 hours

Maybe they do in some of the recipes, but the forum gang will say longer also.

Thanks for the recipe, I'm sure it will be great for someone so they can report back in with their success.

Congrats, it's fun when you find success isn't it?

Russ

I tried your recipe yesterday. You were right about not having anything left over. My ribs were inhaled in no time at all. Actually, I ran out of time so I pulled them off after 6 hours & left them in foil for an hour. The best ribs I have ever tasted. Next time, I will plan better and go the entire 7 hours. Thanks for the tips. bob

can you do this with spare ribs?

This would work fine for spares, but I cooked a batch tonight that went 5 hours and they could have come out 30 minutes sooner. I would check spares after about 4-4.5 hours. Rarely have any of mine needed more than 6, most about 5.

Why would spare ribs take a shorter time than baby backs? They are bigger and have more fat, so I assume they should go in for a longer amount of time...

Also, 7 hrs w/o foiling? How come these ribs don't end up like dry as jerky?

quote:

Originally posted by ecelis:
Why would spare ribs take a shorter time than baby backs? They are bigger and have more fat, so I assume they should go in for a longer amount of time...

Also, 7 hrs w/o foiling? How come these ribs don't end up like dry as jerky?

We're kinda threadjacking the original recipe, but I don't think "generally" BB will take longer, it's the other way around.

The KEY however is weight. You could get small spares and large loin backs where the LB weigh more than the spares.

And plenty of ribs don't need foil to keep from being shoe leather. It's all of function of cooking method, fat content and watching them like a hawk.

Personally, at home I never foil.

If you want, just start a new discussion in the rib forum and we'll be glad to.

Wow - That looks like the recipe I-ll try for my first run of ribs!

Forgive a rooky smoker for asking... but my experience with ribs have been on a charcoal weber and finishing to a glaze at the end with my favorite sauce. Under this scenario are they just served up as is when done and no need for sauce?

Many will smoke the ribs only with the rub and have the sauce on the side for those who want to add it. I do it both ways, wet or dry. The ribs with just a rub taste great. Give it a shot.

Just used the Rojo's rib rub for the first time today. 3 Slabs of Baby Back's for 4 hours at 225* with apple wood in my CS 025. They were awesome and this rub was everyones favorite out of several that I have tried. These ribs were a little smaller so 4 hours was just right. Thanks for the recipee!

I have't done ribs in my smoker yet. Do you recommend getting the rib rack to cook them on or just lay them out on the racks.

Lay them on the racks. They turn out great. I can get 6 racks of baby backs onto my 2 Elite shelves.

Gave these a whirl for the first rib run on the AQ.

Followed rub recipe with exception of using processed cane sugar vs. raw (added some brown sugar to replace the molasses that had been processed out). Cooked at the 225 for 5 hours.

Turned out a beautiful looking finish and nice flavor.

Wife took seconds loved the dry rub...kids and I found we missed the wet caramelized ribs.

I was a bit disappointed in the overall finished product though. Areas of the rib were moist and tender and fall off the bone which I prefer other areas of the rack seemed to be too well done? I understand firmness of the rib meat is a sign of not done enough but it actually seemed dried out in the leaner areas? The 3 slabs varied from 2.4 lbs to 2.6 lbs.

Is this a sign of a) lower quality rib (I noticed on the narrow end there really wasn't much meat between the bone) or b) overdone resulting in the dry/tough lean areas or c)not done enough?? or none of the above? my gut says these ribs became overdone because of the smaller size and lack of fat/meat on the narrow end.

Thoughts?

How did the toothpick feel when inserted it between the bones?

Could be a lot of things....might be you had enhanced ribs and you put a lot of salt on them...could be the ribs were overdone...how long you rub ahead of time?

It does seem a long time at 225*, but what do I know I tend to cook my ribs a little hotter.

Sure wish you had slid a toothpick in them and we wouldn't be guessing as much.

Didn't you get some RR with your cookshack? I've had good luck with it, just add a little salt and pepper to your rub right before you cook.

Hey if your doing more than one rack, cook them the way each of you likes.

no toothpick test. I broke the "when there done they are done" rule cuz we had a 45 minute window of having all of us home at the same time to eat. I threw them on at noon over lunch break and pulled em off when I got home and everyone had the feed bag strapped on.

I also didn't watch them "like a hawk" Per Smokin's suggestion...just wasn't home to be able to do it.

You may be right on with the salt question. I marinated overnight and actually let them warm up to room temp more like 3 hours...leading to the question of salt working overtime and could have pulled the moisture out.

Ifs ands n butts.

I did get some cookshack RR. I'll take a swing with that next time and KISS when i've got time to watch them closer...that way i can also take your suggestion of mixing it up both ways.

Livn' n learn'

So when you say you cook hotter more like 250?

I cook in an AmeriQue.

Do 2.5# lion backs at 235*, for 4 hours 15 min., put ribs in at room temp. I only have my rub on for a maximum of 4 hours usually only about 2 or so. Add more rub right before I put the ribs in the AQ.

When I take the ribs out I double foil them and let them rest for 30 minutes to an hour before we eat!


Keep notes and in a few more times it will be to your liking!

Good luck.

Tiger - gonna roll with your advice on the ribs tomorrow a.m and throw in a few yard birds that where on sale @ .58cents/lb. I'll keep you posted!

OK - after some smokes with the AQ I've learned what may have been my demise. As noted elsewhere it's recommended you know should learn the internal temps.

I cooked the ribs on the very top rack not realizing the temps vary so greatly. Makes sense tho...had I cooked lower and closer to the heat source (which is also closer to the internal probe) I have a feeling the results would have been significantly different.

The last cook I did I checked the internal temp in the area of the first rack by lowering a temp probe to a level about even with the top rack. The CS internal temp was reading 250 exactly where I had the CS temp set. The secondary probe toward the top only read 170....I could hardly believe there could be 80 degrees difference inside that small box but it would explain why even after so long of a time the ribs just weren't cooking like they should have.

Don't discount the recipe on my account. The flavor is awesome...just my own screw up in not knowing what temps I was cooking at. I'll be giving that recipe another run sometime.

That doesn't sound right to me. Check the accuracy of both probes.

quote:

Originally posted by thebigticker:
...The last cook I did I checked the internal temp in the area of the first rack by lowering a temp probe to a level about even with the top rack. The CS internal temp was reading 250 exactly where I had the CS temp set. The secondary probe toward the top only read 170....I could hardly believe there could be 80 degrees difference inside that small box but it would explain why even after so long of a time the ribs just weren't cooking like they should have.

In all the years I've used them, I've NEVER seen a CS with a lower temp at the high spot. Heat rises, it's just a science thing.

I'd do what Pags said and check both probes, for me, it just doesn't sound right.

Heck, you could prove us wrong, but for me, 80 degrees just doesn't match, especially in an AQ, there's just not that much distance and heat won't lose heat rising.

We'll figure it out, but let's start a new thread and not threadjack the overall one and we'll try to help sort it out

Smokin n Pags I started a new thread under CS owners.

just made up a batch of this rub to try on some ribs got a 2.70 pound rack to try them on gonna throw some bake beans on there with them at about 225 hope they turn out good