Foiling Ribs

Foiling makes them tender quicker and to add flavors also...(like applejuice, pineapple juice etc...but can also make them mushy if done too long.

Typical starting point for PORK SPARE ribs is the
3-2-1 method which is
3 hours just on the rack naked
2 hours in foil
1 hour back out of foil naked and glazed with sauce or ??..for our eatin ribs we use Pineapple /Hab texas pepperjelly, but we do not use it in a comp.

this is subject to change based on temps and how you like your ribs.

I guess it would depend on who you are cooking for. John Q. Public will usually say, "I like them falling off the bone," Purists don't.

Either way they are good. Foiling with fruit juice, brown sugar will give you a different flavor profile.

Keep in mind that there can be several reasons to foil ribs.

You are cooking in an offset that flows a large volume of air and cooks very dry,and you may be using a large water pan as a humidifier.

The CS is a moist cooker,and many open the door some to let moisture out.

You are using a pure logburner and you don't wish to oversmoke.

You are running an inefficient fire and don't want to lay on soot.

Neither should be a problem with a CS.

You are wanting to speed up the cook,so you want to crank the heat and braise the slabs-like a covered pan on the home stove.

You are having trouble with fire control,which the CS doesn't.

You have a thinwalled,leaky cooker and it is windy and raining.

You are cooking for the nursing home, where lots of folks may have store bought chompers,and they like to eat mush.

Yep,that's several reasons Smokin' loves foil.

There are some distinct specific uses,but not all purpose.

Yeah, there are lots of reasons for foiling ribs and Tom pointed just about all of them plus a few I'd never even thought of. There is one more though. Many years ago when I first started getting serious about smoking I was having one disappointment after another doing ribs on an offset. A kindly comp cook took pity on me and taught me the 3-2-1 method. My ribs instantly went from really bad to really good. The moral of the story is that foiling can restore a newby's confidence, is a good learning tool and s stepping stone to doing them without foil. The first ribs I did in my CS I didn't foil and there was no reason to. They were perfect.

Ok, thanks everyone. I think I get the picture. My ribs are moist enough and no need to foil. I thought I might have been missing something.

Hey Tom, if you and Smokin ever decided to colaborate on a book it would probably be thicker than Tolstoy's "War and Peace."

Just toying with you my friend!

Thanks!

quote:

Hey Tom, if you and Smokin ever decided to colaborate on a book it would probably be thicker than Tolstoy's "War and Peace."

Yeah, and we'll sell the book by the pound (just like our Q)

and you could name it something like

"Fahrenheit 225"


and I could see the great Broadway play. We start out in old times with multiple smokers. The key scene would be a nice dialogue from one as he stand with his tongs in hand saying "To FOIL or Not To FOIL....That is the question"

If you think we're dancing in thongs and feathers-get over it.