Dry meat

Mornin',Elleson.

You didn't say how long you are cooking them or what type of ribs.

Describe the finished product a little more and I'm sure you will get some suggestions.

Elleson,

Tell us a little more about the ribs that you are cooking. Are they domestic or danish? You might try putting a small pan of water instead the woodbox. This will add some moisture...

I haven't had my CS much longer than you, and in that time I've cooked babyback ribs three times. In my opinion, it is harder to get these right than anything else. I have not been really pleased with my results yet, but the last time was the best of the three. I also used a dry rub and cooked them at 225 with 3 oz of apple wood. After about 5 hours, I checked them for the first time, spritzed them with apple juice (to make up for moisture lost by opening the door) and then checked them about every 45 minutes until they were "done." I spritzed them every time I opened the door, and "done" meant the meat had pulled away from the bone and the "wiggle test" indicated they were done. Some parts of the resulting ribs were dry, mostly towards the edges, but the rest was moist, although not as moist as I like. I have definitely had better ribs than what I've made so far in the CS. But I'll keep trying. The difference cooking a pork butt was amazing. It was incredibly moist and juicy and falling away from the bone, but using a Polder in the butt makes that a whole lot easier than babybacks.

well, let's attack this issue like we always do. Appreciate your posting your email, but I like to do these in the forum. There are a lot of lurkers who are probably having the same problems, so I like to share with all.

You mention ribs. What kind --only baby backs? And more importantly, how much did each slab weigh.

There is a lot of variance between 2lb, 2.5 lbs and 3lb slabs. Hours, actually.

And for me, baby backs are so inconsistent in size, from one end to the other that you have to really watch them. The long end comes out great and the short end comes out dry.

Give us some details, we'll help you out.

Elleson...
I've had one failure and MANY sucess stories with my baby back ribs. To start I use..Ummm yes... Cookshack rib rub. I sprinkle them with fresh ground pepper and then rib rub, and let them sit wrapped in their little blanket overnight in the fridge. I cook the each rack weighing about 2.5 lbs for 2.5 hours at 225 and then baste them with my finishing BBQ sauce of choice. With lot's of kids I go for sweet but otherwise I DO enjoy Cookshacks BBQ sauce. They have drawn me away from making my own. Then again winning a few of their compititions has helped.... PLEASE do enter!!!!!!!!! Even as a begin'r. 3 to 3.25 hours tops and my ribs are now fall off the bone done and tender. Please remember to pull the membrane off the back of the ribs prior to rubbing and smoking. This has worked for me. I'm sure others will comment also.