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6 replies

Ribs: Not so great at 7 hours

M michaelstanoMember
Despite the excellent pork butt first smoke, I was disappointed by the ribs I tried today. Two slabs, total weight 10.8#, one with Cookshack Chicken and Rib rub, one with salt and pepper. Both slabs cut in half, and hung with hooks. 2 oz. hickory, 225*. At 4 hrs., I pulled the most done 1/2 slab: Edible, but not great. I checked the other portions every hour, but finally gave up after 7 hr. (glad I didn't invite guests for dinner). The appearance was great, and the ribs were moist, but not falling-off-the-bone tender as I hoped (and expected after almost 2x the suggested cook time).

I guess I will need to try again before passing judgment. Perhaps these ribs were just too large (or tough) to fit the 4 hr. window for doneness. However, given the 20 hrs. on the butt, and 7 hrs. on these ribs, I have to wonder if my 009 is generating the right amount of heat.

Anyway, I have gone from ecstatic to concerned, and I would welcome any "adult supervison."

Mike
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FM Former Member
Your slabs were over 5lbs a piece? That may be part of the problem.

But, my advice is a remote food thermometer. That way you will keep your door closed while your ribs head to a temp of around 195. Opening the door of your cookshack will extend your cook times to amazing lengths. I don't think there is anything wrong with your smokette. It just has a slow recovery time after most the heat is lost from opening the door.

Hope that helps. And remember...if yer lookin' ya ain't cookin'. Big Grin
S smokenqueQ'n n Brew'n
Good thing GLH isn't around.. you'd probably be bounced from the forum or opening the door.. JUST KIDDING.. but Lantern is correct. Every time you open that door you really extend the cook times. One of my first purchases after reading the forum before I purchased my 008.. I took advice and bought a remote cable type thermometer from Target.. a Taylor that cost only about $15.

Now, some don't believe in using a remote for ribs. I've never cooked baby backs.. always Spares... and I believe there is plenty of meat on them to get a pretty accurate reading IF I don't touch a bone and get the probe in a thicker chunk. Once it gets really close or hits my temp.. only then will I open the door and twist a bone. Also, I don't use hooks to hang my ribs.. never have, so I don't know if the whole slab would fall off the hook if I tried to do a bone twist test.. YMMV

Much better luck next time
M michaelstanoMember
Lantern and Smokenque: Thanks for the insight.

One of the 2 racks was especially large, but even the smaller rack seemed slow to cook. I cooked what came home from IGA. What size is more typical and manageable?

In self-defense, I started opening the door at 3 hrs., and about every hr. thereafter, because of this: http://forum.cookshack.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/709102888...991002644#4991002644 . I have a probe thermometer, but hadn't seen advice to use it on ribs--I thought ribs were more about timing.

Live and learn. I'll try more ribs when what we did yesterday are gone. In the meantime, I think fish is next.

Mike
FM Former Member
I've never had a rack of ribs cook in 4 hours. Loin backs take 5, Costco spares (bronto-sized) take 7-8.

You'll also read in other threads that opening the door adds 30 minutes to your cook time. So adjust your 7 hours down accordingly.

You didn't mention whether they were loin backs or spares. That makes a difference.

Also, keep in mind that pork butts are foolproof, ribs take quite a bit more finesse to get just right. I know it took me a long time to dial them in. The key is to keep cooking and keep a log.
FM Former Member
Hey, don't blame me for opening the door (it says check at 3 hours BTW) Big Grin

The absolute KEY (well, one of them) is to know the weight of the each rack. If you want to repeat success, you need to know if the rack you loved today is 3.5 lb or 2.5 lbs. A 5lb rack of rib could take 10 hours (or even more). Each time you open the door, think of adding 30 min (heat recovery and depends on how long the door was open.

And keep VERY detailed notes.

If you want them fall off the bone, just cook them longer.

For those large racks, definitely learn to trim them down to St. Louis, then weigh them again before cooking.

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