Ribs--Help they're dry

Welcome to the forum, dbrown. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

First off, be sure your Smokette is seasoned very well, first with wood only then with a large fat hunk of pork and wood. Do not clean the seasoning out after a cook. Only wipe it out good with paper towels and make sure no meat pieces or residue or moisture remains. This will help immensely.

Make sure the ribs you are buying have alot of fat on them. I do mine on 250* for 4 hours and have had no dry problems. I use hooks also, but try laying the full racks down flat and see if that helps.

Good luck, and stay with us !

Thanks GLH. I did season the machine with a big chunk/ball of pork sausage...and have not cleaned it...just wiped out as you indicated. While I have done both spares and baby backs...they have been pretty lean. Perhaps more fat is what's in order.

Thanks again...any additional tips are appreciated!

dbrown -- Can you tell us what method you are using to check for doneness? If you are simply going by "time," that may very well be your problem.

When I cook B-backs I usually count on a good four hours (longer for spares). Myself, I use a toothpick. If it goes through the thickest meat without resistance, they are done. If not, I spray tem with apple juice (to add moisture lost opening the door) and let them cook the time I believe it will take to get done.

Some will pick up their ribs with a pair of tongs (horizontally) and if the meat begins to pull apart, they're done.

As Smokin' says"They're done when they're done!"

Lay out your process for checking doneness and we'll get ya on to some good ribs!

Have you tried Sam's ribs yet?

The Cookshack cooks moist,so I wouldn't use a waterpan.

I'd also put my rub on, lightly,as I was letting the cooker come to temp.

If cooking meat side down,when you opened the door to check and flip them ,after about three hrs,you could give them a spray of apple juice.

Have the slabs been previously frozen?

Are they pumped with salt water?

As suggested above,a little fat is not a bad thing.

And, Sam's is the choice of many comp teams.