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17 replies

Ribs disappointment

FM Former Member
After doing 2 butts (1 at a time) in my new Amerique (they came out great) I decided to try ribs. I bought a 3 rack cryo pack from Sam's Club. I removed the membrane and any hunks of loose fat, rubbed them with Cookshack's Rib Rub, wrapped in Saran, and let sit overnight. The next day I lightly rubbed with vegtable oil and applied another coat of rub. They then went into the smoker at 240 degrees and 4.5 ozs of Maple chunks.

At 2.5 hours I applied another light coat of oil and let continue to smoke for another 1.75 hours, and removed. Since they were done a bit earlier then I guessed, I wrapped them in foil and a towel and let them sit in a cooler for an hour.

I based them being done on the fact that I could push a thermometer probe through the meat fairly easily, but the meat hadn't pulled back from the ends very much.

The meat wasn't falling off the bone, but it didn't take an unreasonable amount of effort to pull it off the bone. The amount of smoke flavor was about what I like (pronounced). The problem was that they tasted dry, and there was too much visible fat in the meat.

I've read so many different ways to smoke ribs that I've gotten my self a bit confused. Did I under cook them or over cook them? My gut feeling is they were under cooked (because of the visible fat), but then I think because they were dry that I over cooked them.

I'd appreciate some help and any suggestions you can provide.

Thanks!
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FM Former Member
Try higher heat and less time. Maybe more fat will render. Lower heat and more time will tend to dry out like jerky. Try applying mustard or the canola oil first, then the rub, then saran and over night in the fridge, then more rub and smoke/cook. I think maybe the AmeriQue does not cook as moist as the Smokette.

Cool
E ezgoinMember
I'm no expert, and I cook on an FE100, so I'm not sure how the techniques would differ.

When you say three rack cryo pack from Sam's, I assume your are talking baby backs. I buy and cook them a case at a time. I mix two parts Cookshack rib rub and turbinado sugar, and one part chicken rub for a little bite, which is all irrelevant to your question. (Just my taste.) I put on a generous amount of the rub and refrigerate overnight. When I'm ready to smoke, I apply another light coat of rub.

I smoke at 180 for about two hours then go up to 225 for four hours before I open the door to check on them. I never go above the 225. When I do check, I see how they bend to test for doneness.

Heat recovery in an FE is much faster than in the electrics, so I don't have to worry so much about opening the door to test the ribs. I just seem to have better luck with baby backs the lower and slower I go.

If it's a Cookshack it has to be good.
FM Former Member
SOunds like the ribs were under cooked to me. I generally have better luck with BB's at 230-240 degrees. I think the fat renders better and the ribs are more moist. I myself, do not have good luck with extremely low and slow ribs...they are usually dry like you described. Try bumping the heat up a bit. Best way to tell if they are done is to pick them up with tongs in the middle of the rack...if they are bending, and just begin to break, then they are ready. If not, keep em going another 30 minutes and check again
T tomMember
If you were cooking that low,and they had not rendered the fat,they were probably undercooked.

Also,putting rub on more than a couple hours before cooking,may cure the ribs and give them a "hammy" taste.

Leaving rub on that long could also draw moisture out of the meat.

Good tips above about bending the slabs,pushing a toothpick between ribs,tearing off an end bone,etc.

Just a couple of thoughts.
S stevegardnerMember
I sometimes think we pver engineer some of the stuff we cook. For ribs, I just remove the membrane, add rib rub and put them in the smoker at 225 for about five hours....they are great. I do not use mustard, oil, multiple applications of things. I also do not use a ton of rub or put it on in advance.
I am no expert by any means, but it seems to me that rub goes a long ways with ribs and can be overdone. I do not bother to even look at the ribs until I am four hours in..
FM Former Member
I will matter, so make sure what you have next time (that way you can repeat your success). All ribs are NOT the same.

Spares and Loinbacks will be done at very different times. Full spares might take 6 to 8 hours and loins could be done as soon as 3. Then complicate it by trimming and trim spares down to St. Louis cut and they'll be done at 5 or 6.

Key is to learn to "read" the ribs and tell when they are done.

You're asking the right questions, hope it's helping.

Smokin'
FM Former Member
I appreciate the replies. I am still puzzled about the layer of fat still present on the finished ribs. Should I be able to render this fat out? I guess in theory if I could, this might make them more moist. Do you think this is where the dryness came from?

I'm thinking for my next attempt, I'm going to need to let them go until they're about falling apart, to remove any doubts that they're done, and then see what's become of the fat and if they're moist or dry.

Thanks!
FM Former Member
I'm not sure why you didn't render besides the time that they were in.

I take baby backs @ 225 to about 5.5 - 6 hours. I never peek before the 5 mark anymore.

I always put a light covering of sauce on them once done. If I am going to eat them that day, I will add a little more sauce and throw on the grill.

If I plan to eat at a later time I will sauce and wrap in plastic wrap right out of the smoker. I will usually butcher paper since I have it but if you plan on eating in the weeks ahead you are fine in the plastic wrap as long as it is a nice tight fit and you should get it due to the warmth.

I thaw that day in the fridge and sauce and grill them to temp. I guess you could heat them up in the oven but why????

Hope that helps.
T twoferMember
I read one man's opinion that the baby backs (I buy the same three pack loin ribs from Sam's) don't benefit as much from the low and the slow. I used to stick with spares because when I cooked my baby backs at 210-220 they would come out tough.

My last three attempts were uniformly successful at 250 degrees. I do not open the door prior to three hours. Read the ribs; if the meat is pulling back more than one-half inch you are done cooking, less than that it can stand another 30 minutes to one hour at 250.

At three hours I remove the ribs, sauce them for the first time and pull the smallest bone for a taste and to read the doneness of the rack. Then I foil. Heavy duty foil, sealed packet, back in the smoker. If underdone, I continue at 250, if done, I drop to a holding temperature of 190; go another hour either way. The foil debate rages on, but baby backs are tricky and expensive; I don't want to make apologies when I am spending that kind of money. Spare ribs are more flavorful, more forgiving, and more fun for serious eaters; for them I am low and slow and no foil.
FM Former Member
quote:
Originally posted by dmaclaren:
If I plan to eat at a later time I will sauce and wrap in plastic wrap right out of the smoker. I will usually butcher paper since I have it but if you plan on eating in the weeks ahead you are fine in the plastic wrap as long as it is a nice tight fit and you should get it due to the warmth.

I thaw that day in the fridge and sauce and grill them to temp. I guess you could heat them up in the oven but why????

Hope that helps.


dmaclaren, I like that plan. But do you freeze the ribs you plan on eating later or just keep them in the fridge until you use them? If you don't freeze them how long will they keep in the fridge?
FM Former Member
Low and slow has always worked for me, no matter baby backs or spareribs. I like baby backs because they are so much easier to eat, but they come with a higher price tag.

I cook baby backs at 225 for five hours at the minimum. The heat breaks them down over time. When the bones are just falling out, that's how I like them, and I let them rest at room temp for 30 minutes before I try and separate them. I have also been known to use an electric knife to keep from tearing them and keep them more or less in tact.

Spare ribs can go much longer because they have so much more mass. They need six to eight.

When I cook ribs, I also like to cook a couple of chickens in there at the same time, my cooker seems to like a load. Chickens are so cheap and so good, you're going to fire it up, why not?

Smoked chicken leftover makes excellent chicken salad. That is one of my wife's favorites.
FM Former Member
I agree with LA (he's Russ and Russ' are always right).

The oil in fact could also be drying out the outside because it creates a better transferrence of heat.

Don't worry about the pullback. You'll get less in a CS because it's a high humidity smoker.

And...stop me if you've heard this one...'it's done when it's done'. Just means that there are signficant variations, that you can't always go on the same time, the same temp. You just need to look at the ribs, get experience with them and if they need more time, put them back in. If you want fall off the bone, then pull a bone and see if it pulls easy.

Russ

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