Cooking temp for spares

Baby backs 235*. Spares 250*.

I cook all ribs, electric or pellet smoker at 275. IMHO they bark up better at that temp 8^/

Like Max says,I found many kinds of pork ribs can benefit by a few extra degrees.

quote:

Originally posted by MaxQue:
I cook all ribs, electric or pellet smoker at 275. IMHO they bark up better at that temp 8^/

275 it is. Got a couple racks going. We'll see how they turn out. Now to do a search for a rough idea of time so I don't unnecessarily open the smoker too many times.

Found this older thread with just the info I was looking for.

"I've won a bunch of rib ribbons in competition, and it's 275 @ 4 hours for spares that are 2.5 to 3.0 lb St Louis (how's that for details) LOL "

Thanks Russ! Looks like I'll be checking for doneness around the same time I usually do.

And to reiterate to the new folks here, do a search, the stuff that is buried in this forum still amazes me.

thats what he does on a fec100 you using one too ?

In my old pre-IQ4 FEC 100, I cook at 235 on spares and BBs. On my IQ4 FEC 100, it is 275 for both.

quote:

Originally posted by JC123:
thats what he does on a fec100 you using one too ?

Nope, cooking on an SM020. I know the electrics are a different cooking environment, but I was looking for a general time. At 235 my spares were taking around 5 1/2 hours, so at 275 I'll start checking at around 3:45 into the cook.

Glad I decided to check the ribs at the 3:20 mark. They were starting to get overdone. MUCH better bark, nice and juicy but falling off the bone. Although some of my friends would say they were perfect. I was quite surprised by the time though.

Even though these were a little overdone, they were much better than my previous attempts at spares. Getting closer.....

quote:

Originally posted by MaxQue:
I cook all ribs, electric or pellet smoker at 275. IMHO they bark up better at that temp 8^/

I tried 275 on my last three racks St Louis trimmed spares and got a huge panfull of liquid and dried out ribs. The steam just billowed out of my SM025 all through the cook. What's up with that?

I've used given2fly's rib method with great success, but I read all the raves about 275 and decided to try it (always looking for something better, I guess).

Have you verified the internal temp of your smoker?

Not familiar with given2flys rib method (will do a FIND) but I suspect there's another element involved which caused the dry SL's.

quote:

Have you verified the internal temp of your smoker?

No. I will do so and let you know.

Besides the actual verified temp at the cooking spot of the product,the product you are cooking can make a huge difference.Read Smokin's comments on the difference 1/2 lb will make in a slab.

Are we cooking prefrozen,10 yr old sausage sow ribs,injected with 15% salt water, that could have started at 8 lbs and be very lean?

Like Ribdog,we will cook the heaviest three pack of partially trimmed, non previously frozen spares, Sam's sells, of non injected slabs,with a good amount of fat thru them,probably from a young market hog that weighed less than 250 lbs.

They will cook a lot different than the above mentioned slabs.

The three pack runs about 12 lbs,hopefully.

I did a search for given2flys method and found this.

given2fly Posted November 01, 2009 09:36 AM
I've been using my SM009 for almost 2 years and I've turned out great pork butt, chuck roast, tri-tip, chicken quarters, and wings. But my pork spares were all over the place. Really good sometimes, and mediocre or worse at other times. And always for different reasons - too much/little smoke, dry, tough, salty, etc.

But this time I finally pulled off, for me, the "perfect" rib... Nice balance of smoke/spice/sweet/heat, moist, tender, pulled off the bone clean, smoke ring (for appearance sake) and great flavor.

THANKS TO THIS FORUM FOR SO MANY GREAT TIPS! Here's what worked for me:

Meat: 3 racks St. Louis Spares

1. 24 hours prior: cleaned, pulled membrane, applied dry rub, put into zip lock in fridge
2. Day of cook: Prepared SM009 w/ 1 oz. Hickory, 1 oz. Pecan, and 2 Kingsford Briquettes
3. Pulled ribs directly from fridge onto rib hooks, put inside SM009
4. Set temp. to 215 for 1 hour
5. Increased temp. to 240 for 3 hour, 15 min
6. Finished on grill with bbq sauce for 10 min
7. Tented w/foil and rested for 20 min
8. Cut into individual ribs and devoured!

Best wishes and good eats to all!!!
Posts: 1 | Registered: April 23, 2009

quote:

Originally posted by SmokinMAINEiac:
...
I've used given2fly's rib method with great success...

Don't forget a link to the OP if you have it, will be helpful when mentioning a technique.

Especially if it works

quote:

Originally posted by Tom:
Are we cooking prefrozen,10 yr old sausage sow ribs,injected with 15% salt water, that could have started at 8 lbs and be very lean?

Like Ribdog,we will cook the heaviest three pack of partially trimmed, non previously frozen spares, Sam's sells, of non injected slabs,with a good amount of fat thru them,probably from a young market hog that weighed less than 250 lbs.

The three racks weighed about seven pounds. I bought them at Sam's and put them in the freezer for about two months.

I have not verified the CS temp as yet (busy, busy). I am cooking six racks of Sam's loin backs tomorrow (again, from the freezer). Could it be the "previously frozen" situation that is causing the problem? And the big load of previously frozen ribs in the SM025? I usually only cook one rack at a time.

I'll be watching the smoker like a hawk tomorrow and if I see stream I'll dump the moisture several times.

Oh, and I apply the rub just before the ribs go into the smoker, not overnight like given2fly, and obviously, I'm not using rib hooks in the SM025.

Thanks guys...

The six racks of previously frozen loin backs I smoked on June 15th dumped an inch and a quarter of water in the 9x14 drip pan. The ribs were dry and the taste was "thin" and the texture was chewy.

This afternoon I smoked a 3.5# rack of fresh loin backs from Wally World at 225* for 5 1/2 hours and they were fantastic! No water in the drip pan. Very little liquid at all in the drip pan actually.

I still haven't tested the smoker for temp accuracy.

Could my rib problem have been that I was using previously frozen ribs? I have not had that problem when doing small batches of 1-2 previously frozen racks in the past.

I did a fresh packer brisket earlier this week and it too was fantastic even though all I can buy in my area are the "not very good" packers at Wally World.

Well, you say they were frozen ribs but you don't say whether they were kept in a stand-alone freezer or the freezer of a refrigerator. And you don't say how there were frozen. If I am going to freeze ribs, they will go in my stand-alone freezer. With the stand-alone freezer, the contents don't go through defrost cycles the same as and as many as they go through in a reefer freezer. A reefer freezer kills meats that are in them for more than 2-3 weeks IMO. Just something to think about.

quote:

Originally posted by RibDog:
Well, you say they were frozen ribs but you don't say whether they were kept in a stand-alone freezer or the freezer of a refrigerator. And you don't say how there were frozen. If I am going to freeze ribs, they will go in my stand-alone freezer. With the stand-alone freezer, the contents don't go through defrost cycles the same as and as many as they go through in a reefer freezer. A reefer freezer kills meats that are in them for more than 2-3 weeks IMO. Just something to think about.

The cryopac-ed ribs were kept in a 2 year old stand alone freezer kept at a constant zero degrees. I've not had problems with ribs purchased from my local meat market, only with ribs purchased from Sam's Club. And they were in the freezer less than three months.

I purchase the Baby Backs from our local Sam's Club all the time. I usually buy 2-5 packages at a time. When I smoke I do anywhere from 3 - 9 racks, so most time I freeze any that I am not going to use. I have never had any problems.

I take them from the freezer to the fridge to thaw for about a day, then take them out and unpack them, wash them off, pat dry, take off the silver skin, coat very liberally with dry rub, make sure they are at room temp. and then load them into my AmeriQue.

Have never had a problem and they always come out to our liking.

quote:

Originally posted by tigerfan:
I smoke I do anywhere from 3 - 9 racks,

Does steam billow out of your smoker when you cook that many racks? Does water constantly drip into your drip pan? That's what happend with my SM025 when I did six racks.

I can't imagine what caused it. Am I the only one who has had this problem?

Tom may have hit on it. Maybe the enhanced ribs with 15% salt water solution were the culprit. Probably a lot of steam coming off of them.

Does anyone know if Sam's Club's ribs are enhanced with a salt water solution? Has anyone who has used Sam's Club ribs had problems with lots of water in the drip pan?

I'm stumped with this problem...

I don't believe that they are enhanced. I've been using them for about a year and a half, both spares and loin backs, no problems with excessive water whether I make them fresh of from the freezer.

quote:

Originally posted by AndyJ:
I don't believe that they are enhanced. I've been using them for about a year and a half, both spares and loin backs, no problems with excessive water whether I make them fresh of from the freezer.

Andy,

At what temperature are you smoking ribs from Sam's Club?

Thanks,

Gary

Look at the beginning of this thread. BB's I do at 235 for 4:15. Perfect every time. Spares I'm still trying to perfect, the last batch was at 275, checked at 3:20 and they were overdone. Falling off the bone. But better than my previous attempts.

quote:

Originally posted by SmokinMAINEiac:

quote:

Originally posted by tigerfan:
I smoke I do anywhere from 3 - 9 racks,

Does steam billow out of your smoker when you cook that many racks? Does water constantly drip into your drip pan? That's what happend with my SM025 when I did six racks.

Never have a lot of water, mostly fat drippings, and no, only pure clear smoke.

Sam's IBP ribs are not enhanced. I also let them thaw.

I can't imagine what caused it. Am I the only one who has had this problem?

Smokin',

Do you have any idea about what happened with the water dump from the ribs?

Thanks,

MAINEiac

quote:

Originally posted by MaxQue:
Have you verified the internal temp of your smoker?

Finally found the time to verify the temp of the smoker. I stuck a Polder probe in a potato and placed it in the smoker. I set the smoker to 225 and waited a half an hour. The smoker controller read 228* and the Polder read 227*.

I tested the Polder for accuracy before I verified the smoker temp. In ice water the Polder read 34* and in boiling water it read 207*.

I smoked a rack of fresh loin backs from Wally World again a couple of days ago and they came out excellent with just a little fat and collegen in the drip pan, no water.

I still have no idea what is causing the moisture dump when I cook multiple racks of ribs. But I will be cooking fresh ribs from now on just in case it is the frozen ribs that are causing the problem.

Sam's does not enhance fresh pork,or beef.One reason so many cook teams depend on them.

I read some where that it is much better to cook meat that has never been frozen. This person says that when you defrost meat, you will find that you have more liquid in the package than if you use fresh meat. I believe he is right about that however I have cooked both ways and don't notice a huge difference in the final product. I try to use fresh when ever possible, and if I have purchased more than I need, I will go ahead and cook the meat and freeze the cooked product.
I don't believe every thing I read. Just passing along what I have read.
JT

quote:

Originally posted by JT Smokin:
This person says that when you defrost meat, you will find that you have more liquid in the package than if you use fresh meat.

He's right...cellular structure is partially compromised during the freeze/thaw process.

That liquid comes from the meat and theoretically you will end up with a finished product that has less moisture content.
JT

Now, I always over think things, but is the moisture coming from the meat cells or the ice particles that have formed in/on the meat?

Please don't think that I'm not agreeing with MaxQue on the meat being somewhat denatured by the freezing and thawing. I have cooked booth fresh and previously frozen pork, chicken, brisket.

I guess I'm just not a good enough judge of taste to tell much difference...or maybe Smokin' and Tom have taught me enough about correctly cooking the product, that I just have a hard time telling the difference, oh well!

I do know that previously frozen meat will have more moisture in the drip pan, when I'm finished smoking. I can live with that.

Muscle tissue contains 65-70% water. Muscle is made up of cells. Each cell has a cell wall. When you freeze water it expands...think of frozen pipes.

When you freeze meat, the water expansion breaches the cell wall resulting in the loss of liquid. To what percentage or degree the cellular deterioration occurs during freezing, I can't tell you. When meat (muscle) is thawed, the strands of muscle contract forcing out the water. Hence the bloody liquid in a package of thawed meat. Cooking further contracts the muscle tissue creating the pan juices you're asking about.

The same process occurs with non-frozen meat when exposed to heat...contraction. This is the fundamental reason we use brines, mops, spritzes, etc --- moisture replacement.

That's my story and I'm stickin to it

So, if one were to cook frozen ribs *below* the boiling point of water, say 200*, until they pass the toothpick test they might lose less water than if they were cooked at, say 250*, thereby avoiding a large dump of moisture resulting in dry, off-tasting ribs.

How about a survey regarding what temperature everyone cooks their ribs at and whether you notice a difference between previously frozen or fresh ribs?

Boiling water temps have nothing to do with this. It's simply a factor of frozen vs non-frozen meat.

So by deduction, cooked fresh meat has a little more moisture than cooked frozen meat, which has lost some moisture. I always had the perception that meat cooked fresh tasted better than frozen, maybe that's the reason.

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