I bought a 3-pak of baby backs at Sam's that had a total weight of 8.3 lbs. (2 of the racks were 2.6 lbs each and the other was 3.7 lbs). I figured that the heavier rack could take an extra hour to cook. Pulled the membrane and seasoned with Cookshack Rib Rub just prior to putting in smoker. Ribs were cut in half and hung on hooks. The meat was at about 50* when I put in cold smoker set @ 225. Two ounces of each Apple/Hickory. I put a probe in cooker to monitor temp.
I opened door at 4 hr 15 min. to check for doneness. I saw no pulling back of meat off bones. Closed door and checked again 45 min later. Not much different, only slight pulling back of meat on smaller ribs. I gave it another ½ hour (total 5 ½ hrs) and then pulled the ribs. The family was hungry and wanted to eat. I finished ribs on the grill with sauce. The ribs were moist and getting tender but no where near falling off the bone. The flavor was not to my liking. Next time I'll try cherry wood.
I know from reading this forum that ribs can be real trail and error and I took good notes for next time. Based on my experience the ribs would have gone 6-1/2 to 7-1/2 hours to get to fall of the bone stage. To me that seems a bit long for baby backs, what do you guys think? Most of what I read indicates more like 4-5 hours for BB's.
I did notice that the smoker temp climbed to 195* but never seemed to get any higher. Fearing that I may have an element problem I checked my smoker today and it seems to be working fine with temp ranges of 185 to 284 when set at 225 for 2 hours. During my cook yesterday I did blow the circuit the cooker is plugged to, but I reset it right away. That circuit has several interior lights that were turned on during the cook. Could there have been reduced amperage getting to the smoker since the lights were on? I did not use an extension cord. Should I set my cooker on a dedicated circuit? Any help would be appreciated.
Don
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