First time with baby-back ribs and problems

Several thoughts.

One, Not sure which recipe section you mean (this forum, the main site, the book?)

"very bitter". Probably too much smoke. How much wood? You HAVE to know as you're learning if it's 1,2,3 oz or even more.

"fall off the bone". Usually you have to cook them longer. BB can be 2lbs to over 3, so the size of the rib needs to be looked at to help determine. At 225, how long did you cook them?

CS doesn't have a pork rub. They have a rib rub (you meant that right?) but they have a brisket and a chicken. I don't like more than a dusting of the RR, so go lighter on it.

Have a read through the Owner's forum (lessons for new users) and also look through the rib archive. LOTS of good info about these subjects.

Russ

I bought a digital scale to make sure of the exact amount of wood that I am using. I rarely use more than 2 - 3 ounces in my 008. I have had a lot of sucess with Fast Eddys Rib Rub recipe with a couple of modifications and cooking my ribs at about 250 for about 4-6 hours on an average. Here is the rib rub instructions that I like:
Fast Eddy's Rib Rub
Ingredients:
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup Hungarian paprika
1/4 cup Lawry's seasoning salt
2 tablespoons garlic salt
1 tablespoons allspice
1 tablespoons cumin
1 tablespoons onion salt
1 tablespoons fresh coarse ground black pepper

1 cup of brown sugar
BBQ sauce - I like KC masterpiece
Method:
Peel the membrane off the back side of the ribs.
Rub the slabs with brown sugar and refrigerate overnight.
Mix all the rub ingredients together in a mixing bowl and then rub ribs 30 minutes before smoking.
Place ribs in an indirect smoker at 275 degrees for about 3 hrs.
Mix ingredients of glaze together and put in a foil pan and place in smoker for 3 hrs.
Cook ribs till the meat starts to separate when picked up in the middle of the rack.
Brush BBQ sauce on both sides of ribs and allow to set in smoker for another 15-20 minutes.

I usually use about 2 ounces of hickory with this.

Subman,

I've seen two versions of this. Do you wash off the BS the next morning (it's a rather sticky gooey) mess?

2 0unces of wood works for me in my 009. try that and I cook mine for 6 hrs on average at 225.ALL meat is diferent times vary its done when its done. Good luck.and have fun

TwO HoUrS?? Two hours 'usually' isn't long enough to get things going much less have finished ribs. 5 hours would be more like it although that would depend on the ribs (how big? , and how thick, etc).

You should read up on the tests for rib doneness (bending, stick a toothpick in, etc) and not even check them until the 3 hour point.

As for the rib rub, I find it too salty for my taste but that's just me.

Briarhill,

I have tried ribs 3 times in my smokette and each time they were not what I wanted. actually the first time was the best and that time I used the 3-2-1 method that is talked about on other threads. (use the find button and search for ribs 3-2-1)This one of course uses foil for the 2hr period and these were the only set that fell off the bones so to speak. Second set turned out just like you described because I used too much wood. There is alot of surface area to meat on ribs and it takes very little smoke before you over power the meat and they get bitter. My last try was ok on the smoke but still on the heavy side but dry and tough.

So... the next ones I will try and go back to the foil method with less smoke. Note to SmokinOkie sorry about the foil.

As you can see part of the fun is dissapointments and learning. I have made awesome pork butts every time and turkey breasts are also a cinch. But ribs I have not yet mastered. ...Yet.

What I've found with my 55 is that the temp needs to be at 250. Try this. Rub your ribs with your favorite rib rub and put them in the fridge. I usually do this for 2-3 hours or even overnight. Use 1-2 oz of hickory, applewood or cherry chunks. Don't preheat your smoker. Put the ribs on the racks (or cut them in half and hang them) and set your smoker to 250. Come back in 3.5-4 hours and check them. DO NOT OPEN THE SMOKER BEFORE THIS TIME! Do the tooth pick test or see if you can twist a bone. If they're not tender enough, close the door for another hour and try those tests again then. Sauce them when they're done. That's what I do and seems to work every time.

Thanks for all the input.

I'm pretty sure I used too much wood, thus the bitterness. Next time, I weigh first!

The recipe is from Cookshack: http://www.cookshack.com/cookshack-smoked-baby-back-ribs, but it was for a much larger amount of ribs and did add a caveat about adjusting cook times to get "fall-off-the-bone" tenderness.

I used the CS rib rub quite liberally, which may have been part of the problem, too.

Thanks to all the fine input, I've now got several variables to experiment with and look forward to presenting a follow-up soon.

Oh, yeah: I will try to read every post on ribs on this website before posting again!

Briar,

Fixed your link (it had an extra character).

One BIG thing to keep in mind is weight. If you do smaller BB's (like the 1 1/2 from the recipe it will certainly be done a LOT sooner than the 3lb loin backs you might get.

I think you've got enough info not to start with.

Good luck, let us know how the next version goes. You info will be helpful, we typically have 50 to 100 lurkers so you never know who's picking up on your questions. Thanks!