Help with Spare Ribs -

Try wrapping in foil the last 2 hrs. They should fall to pieces.

Thanks Don for your reply.
Do you put BBQ sauce on them when you wrap them in foil?
JW

Just a thought on the rub.

A lot of grocery store ribs are showing up with heavy solution injected[salt].

You might consider putting the rub on about an hour before cooking,to prevent overcuring the ribs.

Yes,foil can turn them into pot roast ribs-if you wish.

You might want to try cooking them another hour, without foil, in your Cookshack to see if that gets you there.

Sometimes we start fixin' things that ain't broke.

If the sauce has sugar its not a good idea to add.at that time. Brush on when finesed.

My ribs take 4-4 1/2 hours in my FE100. I've heard of guys taking 6 or 7 hours and exclaiming their ribs the best they've ever tasted. Smokers and temps vary. If they're not tender, maybe they need to go a little longer. I've never wrapped ribs yet, and they're very tender and juicy. And I have LONG ago stopped rubbing my ribs the night before. I rub them right before I cook them and let them sit on the counter while I get the smoker and everything else ready. And I cannot tell the difference in the taste. I do the same thing with my chicken. Overnight rub is, in my experience, unnecessary. So Tom has a good point.

Is using foil "bad"?

It depends on who you talk to on whether foiling in bad or not. I have been able to cook ribs with great results both ways. As with anything though you will need to experiment a little and get a feel the meats you want to BBQ. Nothing beats experience.

That 5 hour smoke might have been good for babybacks but its not long enough most of the time with spares. Normally with spares I need to smoke them between 6 and 8 hours, with no foil, depending on how old the hog was and how much I am cooking at the time.
with foil you can try the 3-2-1 approach. That's smoke 3hrs no foil, 2 hr with foil, then unwrap and smoke an additional hour or so without foil.

JP
Thanks for your feedback. I did not know that Spares need longer then Baby Backs..

Do you put sauce on the ribs while in the smoker?

Would you mind giving me simple step by step directions for smoking spares??

No need for foil. The key to tender ribs is use a good quality rib. The cryovac ones with a solution in them are great because they have been marinating in that solution so they are JUICY. Score the membrane on the back side in a diamond pattern without cutting into the meat. Put the rub on RIGHT before putting in smoker. Make sure you cover only the meat side and cover well. I smoke at 250 for 3.5 hours....but go 3 and then check. Key is the time....that is what will make them fall off the bone. I prefer not to have falling off bone. I like to be able to bite them from the bone. Good Luck.

I sauce at the end no matter if I use foil or not. You can sauce after you take them out if you want. You don't want to sauce to early or the sugars in your sauce will burn.

To cook I remove the membrane and put a rub on the ribs. I let them set at room temp for an hour or two then smoke at 225. If Im doing spares I'll normally check them at 4 or 5 hours if I am not foiling. Check them every hour after that unti;l you get a good feel for things and how your smoker cooks. Then you wont have to check them as much. Do the tear test to see when there done and thats it.

As I said, I don't rub until just before going in. Before I rub I remove the membrane, pulling it off with a paper towel. I then lather yellow mustard ALL over the ribs, both sides, (it won't make it taste like mustard, I guarantee it) and then apply the rub, both sides. I used to really RUB, but it got all gooey and uneven. Now I just sprinkle it liberally onto the mustard and pat it into place until it sticks. It comes out great.

275, 4 hours---then look for the meat to be pulling back from the bone about a half an inch or a little less. Then, as a final test, I bend a rack in the middle and see if it want to "break". If it doesn't look like it's gonna break in half, back in for another half an hour and another "break" test. It's done when its done.

K

JW,
If you dont mind me putting my 2cents worth in ...
I have done spares in my Smokette with and without foil. Now there is juicy and then there is tender and remember they are two diffrent things...I personally do not think that foil will help your ribs get to the point of tenderness any quicker (remember, its a Cookshack. Not an offset)
foil helped the ribs stay juicier, but that just got in the way in my opinion.
Spares that I prepared and smoked without foil were moist and tender..however 5 hours would not be enough even if they were 2 1/4 down..those take at least 6 hrs with door shut the entire time...........foil is very important to me after they are removed from the smoker..I usually double foil and keep wrapped in towels and in cooler for at least 2 hrs.
take them out of the package, rinse in cold water, pat dry with paper towel, apply rub (some people apply light coat of mustard first), allow to sit at room temp for about an hour before smoking..(even if you refrigerated overnight)
turn smoker to 225..put ribs in with about 2 or 3 oz. of wood and shut the door for 6hrs.
check at that time to see if meat has pulled away from bones...if so , double wrap in foil..wrap in towels and place in a cooler or styrofoam ice chest...take out after 2 hrs and hopefully you will have what you want..good luck

I did say just 2cents worth right??????

I agree 100% with Born. That is the method I use for the spares.

Thanks for the input .. Everyone's advice helped..

They came out great!... I put the rub on before placing them in the CS. I cooked them for about 7 hours. I took them out, and wraped them in foil..1 1/2 hours later, I opened them up, sauced them and Briefly put them on the grill.
My Guests said that they were the best ribs they had ever had....

One question for Born.. (or anyone).. If spares take 6-8 hours.. Typically how long do baby backs take in the CS?

To be honest with you I haven't smoked baby backs in a year or so. Spares just taste better to me, however, I believe the general rule of thumb is with the door shut during the entire cook....about 4-5 hrs . All I know is they cook a little quicker than spares.
Good Luck , and congrats on the ribs you served, Don't you love the looks on their faces when they take that first bite......Priceless!!

The last set I did a couple of weeks ago were wild sow BB ribs and they took 5 hours. No foiling done on these this time and they were very tender. Oh, by the way I did butcher them myself. I wish I had some more right now.

I had a gift certificate to a local BBQ joint and used it on saturday. I hope I don't get another. The St. Louis style babybacks had a thick, hard, very salty bark on them and I could have done alot better in my Smokette. The slaw was very coarse and dry. The potato salad was definitely from a commercial tub. The baked beans were excellent. The BBQ pork was almost flavorless. I called and told the owner if that was St. Louis style, he should take it to St. Louis.

When we say "babybacks",be sure to think weight of the slab.

If I'm able to get IBP loinbacks from Sam's,around 2.25-2.5 lbs,they run around four hrs at 225�.

I leave them alone for three hrs,flip and spray.

Takes another 45-90 mins,depending on weight,etc.

If you have 20 oz babybacks and are cooking hotter,it could be a lot less.

Tom,

You say after three hours you flip and spray....Spray with what?

Apple juice (I am guessing). Helps build a little bark on the neat you are smoking.

BTW, "Welcome to the forum..."

Yep,that or a little cider.

Now if the missus ain't checked the clock,a little Jack or maybe a touch of Capt Morgan's helps ease that juice through the sprayer.

Now Tom, would the sprayer be yourself, or the bottle you're using?

I always do spares, and 99% of the time they come out at exactly 6 hours in my Smokette.

I sauce them at that point (if I use sauce at all), and foil for about 45 minutes. They come out "falling off the bone"

I've been using the rib hooks from cookshack, and love them because all the ribs get the same amount of heat, as opposed to lying them flat on the racks.

SmoKen

Yep,Robbie.

One thing that's not being discussed is the weight of the ribs. I find a variance of over an hour depending on the size of the spares.

Like Smokin' says weight might equal big & old.

We were given some 5+lb bronto spares that took well over 8 hrs.

JW, The last two hours in foil works very well.
I just did some this weekend and at the 3 hour mark I wrapped them and turned up the heat the last hour from 225 to 250 and they do fall apart.

You do sacrafice the bark experience but you could throw them on your grill and crisp them up if that is important to you.

I still can't get this rib thing right. Wife gave me a Smokette this past Xmas and in the past 4 months I've done 30 smokes - butts, briskets, BB bacon, prime rib, sirloin, turkey, chicken, duck, etc. For the most part, everything came out very good. Only initial problems were related to timing (not long enough) and my inpatience. The end result was good - we just ate a bit later than anticipated.

Then, theres' the rib disaster. I've tried ribs 6 times since having the Smokette (4 spares / 2 baby backs) and most of them have been tossed. I've been doing ribs for over 30 years, mostly to success. I've entered rib contests and cookoffs over the years and have never placed out of the top 3, with a number of 1st place wins under my belt. I just can't seem to get with the Smokette.

Following this thread with interest, I decided to give it a go again yesterday. The following is how I did it:

Ribs: 2 racks of spares @ 2.5 lbs each. Bought from local butcher that I've dealt with for 20 years. No quality issues here. Cleaned and trimmed. Chin bone, flap, and membrane removed. Lightly scored with a thin coat of mustard and rub.
Wood: Hickory - 2.2 oz.
Smoker Temp: 225F - Monitored with accurate oven probe and never varied +/- 1.5F.
Outside Temp: 65F with no wind.
Smoking procedure: Added ribs to smoker on middle rack. After 3.5 hours, opened smoker briefly, sprayed with apple juice, and turned ribs. After 6.5 hours, checked ribs, no bones were pulling or breaking away. Sauced and foiled ribs and returned to smoker. Raised temp to 250F. 1 hour later, removed foiled ribs to a cooler and toweled for 1.5 hours.

The end result were ribs that were the worst that I have ever attempted. Very dry and not tender at all. The "bark" more closely resembled and tasted like heavily charred ember. Had to scrape it off to even attempt to eat the ribs. After a couple of bites, tossed the ribs and had a pizza delivered.

Any comments or suggestions on what I'm doing wrong are appreciated.

dls: 2 thoughts.

First, you said "scored" -- why do that. LEave that meat intact... might contribute to drying out, IMHO.

More important... 3,5 hrs to first check and 6.5 hrs (total, I assume) to second check. I'm guessing those ribs were possibly done before the 6.5 hrs. I would say 3.5 to 4 hrs for first check is fine, but I would asume they would be gettin close by then... with maybe 1-1.5 more to go. Those ribs could have been in there an hour too long... and I would not boost to 250, but stay with 225.

I must tell you I was not happy with ribs from the smokette for quite a while (several years), but recently have worked them at a lower temp (between 200-225), and hit them with a little sauce for glaze about 30 min before finish. They're starting to come our much better.

Woodburner hit a couple of my thoughts.

I look for a little more fat on St.Louis cuts,to give thickness,rather than scoring to thin them.

I only use

Sometimes,at low temps,on some slabs,you won't see much pullback from the bone ends.

You might need to check other ways.

I don't question the quality of the butcher,but the packers are sending a lot of tumbled ribs.

Most of us have figured out how to do the Hormel tumbled ribs[loinbacks or St.Louis],but the Smithfield's have many of us frustrated.

On tumbled slabs,we cut the salt way back and only season right before going to the pit.

They start out "hammy" and get worse,otherwise.

My wife ,cook/judge,won't even eat them at home.

Not a solution,just a couple of thoughts.

Woodburner / Tom - Thanks for the feedback.

By "scored" I meant that I simply made a few very, very thin diagonal cuts accross the ribs with the tip of a paring knife. An old habit that I believe allows the rub (and mop if you're using)to penetrate with a more pronounced taste. The cuts were so light and shallow that I don't think they would contribute much to drying out. On the other hand, now that I think about it, the ribs were very well trimmed with almost no fat at all. That probably played a roll.

I've got 2 more racks in the freezer that I'm going to experiment with next weekend. I'm going to start very early since I intend to visually check the ribs at least hourly after the intial check and apple juice spritz at 3.5 hours. I don't like to lose the heat by opening the smoker this frequently but, I feel it's my only safeguard since a meat thermometer is pointless with ribs. I also intend to smoke at 200F the entire time. I may sauce and foil at the 4.5 hour mark. Hopefully, I'll find some improvement. If not, it's back to the old method.

Thanks again for the suggestions.

This is one of those times I'd rather be there, with a 6 pack of Adult beverages, supervising, trying to figure it out.

For me, if they're 2.5 and down Spares, and that's almost BB size, 6+ to almost 8 hours is just too long.

Your temp should have fluctuated more thant +/- 1.5 degrees? the CS doesn't stay that close, it should have gone up or down almost 20 or 30 degrees? Have you tested the temp probe? If it's not showing a fluctuation, that's telling me something, but I'm not sure what.

And nothing against your butcher, but ask him what the source of the ribs is. Are they commercial or does he carve them himself. There is a lot of junk out there...
Do you have a digitial camera by chance?

Smokin:

First - adult beverages are always available so feel to drop by anytime you're in the Chicago area and help figure this thing out.

Second, I've got a very accurate digital scale (Soehnle). One rack was 2.51 and the other was 2.56. My intuition told me that the time involved was far too long but the results just were not there earlier and I was following the suggestions from this thread.

Third, temp was set at 225F with a dial that less than lab precision control. Using a Taylor remote oven temp probe at 2 hours, I clocked 223.6F. Prior to first opening at 3.5 hours, smoker temp checked at 226.2F. Didn't check smoker temp thereafter. While the Taylor is not NASA certified and I would not bet more than a couple of bucks on it's absolute accuracy, I could only assume that it was somewhat correct.

Fourth, the butcher carves them himself.

Fifth, I have a digital camera and intend to take a few shots of the progress on the next try. If you see a pizza at the end, you'll know the result.

Thanks for the follow up.

I thought you'd figured all those points out, but had to ask.

And that better be a Giordano's pizza at the end, if it's pizza at all...

One other thought is that previously frozen ribs can take longer to tender.

You have lost some moisture in the cells to ice crystals in the package.

also..... since the ribs are cut by the local butcher, would you say they are trimmed very close, with not much meat, or generously, with lots of meat on the bones. I'm thinking maybe they may be trimmed too close, so that there isn't a good enough chance for that meat to get tender and still have nuf meat on the bones?? can you share pics before and after cooking?

The ribs had previously been frozen. Defrosted 2 days before. Also, at room temp 1 hour before smoking.

By trimmed, I meant of fat. Very little of it at all. Very meaty though.

I plan on doing some before/during/after pics which I'll forward.