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15 replies

Ribs completed, but many questions... Need help

K kosy1993Member
Well, I did my first batch of ribs. My guests, taste testers all loved the ribs; however, I thought they were a little tough.... maybe not done enough. They were not falling off the bone. You needed to work at them a little bit, which I like to a degree but not too much.

Summary:

I cooked 4 ribs around 2 pounds each rack. I rubbed them down and let them sit in the fridge overnight. In the morning, I took the ribs from the fridge straight to the smoker (not preheated). I set the smoker to 225, placed 2 chunks of hickory in the pan and hung the ribs with the small meaty end on bottom. I placed them in the smoker at 7am. I opened the door at 11:00 and they looked done, the meat was cracked. When I stuck a toothpick in them it went in fairly easily; however, I really have no experience that would indicate how hard it really was for the toothpick to penetrate the meat. With that said, I thought the ribs were cooked at that point, I lathered them with BBQ sauce and shut the door. I opened the door again at 12:00, again gave them the toothpick test and didn't really notice a difference. I lathered them with BBQ sauce again and shut the door. I took them out at 12:30 cut and ate them.

The flavor was great. I was expecting to be able to twist the bones out of the meat. That was not the case. Also, I was expecting the meat to shrink at each end, exposing the bone. Again that didn't happen. Were the ribs cooked enough?

Questions:
1) I purchased pork loin back ribs, a 3 pack from BJ's. Each pack was a little over 6 pounds. What should I look for when selecting the meat? They also had spare ribs.
2) How should I hang the meat? (small meaty ribs down?)
3) Will the cook time increase if my next batch goes from 4 ribs to 6?
4) Did I cook the ribs enough? Should I be able to twist the bone out?
5) Should I cook them at a higher temperature?
6) Should I have let the ribs come to room temp before placing in the smoker?

Thanks for all the help guys/girls. I have to do a 6 rack batch for super bowl weekend.

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T tomMember
From the looks of the bones,they were a little undercooked.

You mentioned tips to check for doneness,so stick with them.

More slabs shouldn't affect overall time.

A little higher temp couldn't hurt.

If they were injected,previously frozen,they could take longer to come tender.

More than a couple hrs seasoned could turn them hammy,or oversalted-especially if they are injected.

If serving them,better to risk too tender,than too tough.

I never hang them,but those folks seem to go smaller ribs down.

Just my $0.02
FM Former Member
Spray AND release 'a little moisture' ? Sounds sort of oxymoronic to me. No offense intended.

I agree with Trucky and Tom.

Next time you might try takeing them straight from the fridge and rubbing, put in the cold smoker forthwith. Go a tad hotter and leave them in 5 hours, I might even do 250* and go 6 hours. Do not open the door until you think they are done, then check. Take them out and sauce immediately, wrap in foil.

Easy on the wood.

Experiment, take good notes, have fun.

Let us know how it goes next weekend.

Big Grin
K kosy1993Member
quote:
Originally posted by GLH:
Spray AND release 'a little moisture' ? Sounds sort of oxymoronic to me. No offense intended.

I agree with Trucky and Tom.

Next time you might try takeing them straight from the fridge and rubbing, put in the cold smoker forthwith. Go a tad hotter and leave them in 5 hours, I might even do 250* and go 6 hours. Do not open the door until you think they are done, then check. Take them out and sauce immediately, wrap in foil.

Easy on the wood.

Experiment, take good notes, have fun.

Let us know how it goes next weekend.

Big Grin


Lets me just clarify something. Do I not put the rub on until the morning I place the ribs in the smoker?

I just want to be sure, since when I looked at the ribs the morning after I rubbed them down, the rub had pulled a lot of juices from the meat.

I do understand this....
Place 6 racks in the smoker set at 250. Do not check on them until the 6 hr marker. If done pull, sauce and foil, if not done, close and wait another hr to 2 hrs.

Thanks for your help

Jamie
T tomMember
Like GLH says,a whole load of meat leaves you with a lot of moisture in the cooker.

Cooks will open the cooker to let out some.

Ribs don't have a lot of meat to bone,so don't need lots of rub.

Salty rubs ,and others,can cure your pork,over time.

If you choose to check your ribs around 4 + hrs,and you have a spray for flavor,or sweetness-for carmelization,you could spritz them then.

GLH is probably saying to learn to cook the ribs,make your adjustments, after leaving them in long enough to cook.

This is where Smokin's good notes are essential for your future cooks.

Have fun.
FM Former Member
quote:
Originally posted by GLH:
Spray AND release 'a little moisture' ? Sounds sort of oxymoronic to me. No offense intended.

I agree with Trucky and Tom.

Next time you might try takeing them straight from the fridge and rubbing, put in the cold smoker forthwith. Go a tad hotter and leave them in 5 hours, I might even do 250* and go 6 hours. Do not open the door until you think they are done, then check. Take them out and sauce immediately, wrap in foil.

Easy on the wood.

Experiment, take good notes, have fun.

Let us know how it goes next weekend.

Big Grin



GLH....No offense taken. I spray them with a pineapple juice and butter mixture for taste not really to moisten. But looking back at my post I see where I was contradicting myself.
Last edited by Former Member
FM Former Member
I do babybacks all the time and also hang them. I put the rub on about 1-2 hours before I put them in the smoker. I put them in cold and hang the small end down. I set my temp at 225* and check them at 5 hours, without opening the door before that time. I generally use 4 oz. to 6 oz. of wood, a mixture of hickory and apple.It usually takes 5-1/2 to 6 hours for them to be done. When they are done, I spray with apple juice and wrap them in foil for 30 minutes to an hour before we eat them. IMO they come out great!
K kosy1993Member
Great, thanks guys, this is the kind of feedback I was hoping for.

I guess for my next batch (this sunday) I will stick with hanging them since I am cooking for my buddies party.

I like the pineapple / butter spritz idea as well. I really want the ribs falling off the bones, so I guess I will cook them at 250 and not check them until the 5 - 6 hr mark.
S smokenqueQ'n n Brew'n
I have, apparently, a pretty fast cooker when I compare my times with others. That said, I cook Costco spares for 5+ hours at 250º. What got me about your post was.. you cooked them for four hours and opened the door.. cooked another hour and opened the door and took out after another half hour.

Four hours wasn't enough if the meat wasn't pulling back from the ends of the bones.

Opening the box to slather the ribs highly slows down the cooking process as it takes a long time to recover that heat lost. Most seem to agree it takes about a half hour to recover from opening the box as there isn't a ton of metal mass in the CS's. So, you might have gained about a half hour in that hour between 11 and 12.

Finally opening the box at 12:30 didn't allow anything to happen as the box was likely just getting back to temp again..

I'd guess you had a total of 4.5 hrs of true cook time. Likely, an extra hour would have done the trick.

I know most poopoo my method.. but I do use a probe thermometer in my spares (not babybacks), running the probe into the thickest part of the meat and wait for the temp to reach the "magic mark" of 190º before opening the box to check the ribs.
I like to do the twist.. grab a bone end and twist to tell when they are done to my liking.

To answer some of you ?'s..
I've never hung my ribs but I'd imagine you hung yours jus fine.
Like Tom said.. meat mass doesn't seem to affect time much, if at all.
I like to be able to twist the bone.. if it twists (meat breaks away from the bone) it's done
Higher temp.. a bit shorter time.. If ribs are done.. I don't think they'd be any tougher in a CS than a longer time at a lower temp.
I've never brought ribs to room temp and they cook just great at 5.5-6hrs.. for spares
FM Former Member
You've got a lot of good comments.

There's no magic answer, but lots of good thoughts.

The only comment I'll add is that never pull them out of the smoker until they're cooked the way you want. I see where people pull them out and they're not done, then don't wait until the dinner table to decide. Do that work at the smoker.

You can't do it on time, nor temp nor any scientific method.

You have to learn. And you learn through practice, practice, practice

My suggestion is to keep notes.

What worked this time what didn't?

How much/what kind where the ribs (weight matters in time. 2.5 bbacks, vs 3.25 loin backs vs 4.5 lb spares)

How many times did you open the door. Let's go with an average, but you can extend the time an hour each time you open the door (no proof, just experience)

Grab a bone an twist, use a toothpick, pick up a rack and look for the bend (can't do that hanging as easily)

When in doubt, cut the last rib off and taste it (good one for newbies, until you learn the other tricks). NOW, remember, the small end will cook quicker, so if the rib you taste/eat isn't really really really REALLY tender, then those towards the middle won't be.
K kosy1993Member
Awesome, thanks for the great replies.....

I guess I am in a real pickle.. My buddy wants me to smoke a pork butt and 6 racks for his super bowl party.

I hope I can get the meat all done by 5:30..... Looks like I will have to start the butt on Sat. to be done by 10am sunday so I can hand the ribs which will need to be done by 5:30.

hehe.....
T trucky1008Member
quote:
Originally posted by kosy1993:
Awesome, thanks for the great replies.....

Looks like I will have to start the butt on Sat. to be done by 10am sunday so I can hand the ribs which will need to be done by 5:30.

hehe.....


Kosy,
You may want to consider smoking the butt a day ahead of time and reheating it prior to the party. I've found that pulled pork actually has more flavor when it's been in the fridge for a day or so. That way you wouldn't have to worry about whether your ribs will get in the smoker in time to be done for the party. Just a thought. I hope it all works out fine for you.
Don
T tomMember
As suggested above,you could do the butt in advance and then reheat in the house oven.

Helps take the stress off.

That said,you can always put the [unknown size]butt in at 9 PM at 235º-if you have checked the cooker to be sure the rack is at 235º.

Also checked the therm for accuracy.

Don't open the door until,about 192º.

If it is not done by your 10 AM schedule,foil it and put it in your preheated 235º house oven.

Either way,when finished,hold in the hotbox.

You cooker will be warm,so you can finish any ribs in seven hrs.

That be, unless they are some of them $0.99lb,seven lb slabs ,off'n a 700-1000 lb sausage sow, that your supermarkets like to put on sale.

Now,if you got then "bronto" ribs,at six hrs,foil them,add a little fruit juice,and put in your preheated 325º house oven.

You can also put them all in a full foil pan and cover tightly with foil.

As FE says,"heat is our friend".LOL

Always ,a safe bet to buy the meat yourself,so you know what you are dealing with for quality,size,and safety.

You could also do your ribs a day before,and reheat in the afternoon.

Best not be learnin' a new process on strangers.

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