Ribs take two

Edit: I think they only went 6.5 hours, not 8. Got a little carried away there I guess.

First, you can't wait months between smokes.

I load them in the middle, then the top then the bottom.

Lots of question.

1. Temp. Have you verified the temp?
2. Ribs. Loin backs, baby backs, trimmed spares, untrimmed spares. As for weight, there's no perfect weight, and unless you buy them individually from a butcher, the weight only matters to you, knowing that a 3lb or a 5lb rack cook different lengths of time.
3. Tenderness. If you pull them, why'd you pull them. Did you test them for tenderness? If they're not done, you gotta keep going.

Two thoughts.
1. Take DETAILED notes. weight of ribs, time, temp, what worked, what didn't. Over a period of a couple of years the notes will help newbies a LOT.

2. Read the archives. There is one archive dedicated to Ribs alone. Have a read. There is more info in there than I could ever put in a Rib 101.

Kevin -- The number of ribs in your smoker should have very little bearing on the outcome (unless you pack em so tight you cut off the air flow). Never pull/quit your smoke because of a "time factor -- "they've got to be done." There's a saying around here from an old retired Air Force dude that goes something like this: "It's done when it's one." There's no variance to that statement!

Like Smokin' said, check to make sure your smoker is getting up to temp.

Test them puppies before you pull em. If they aren't done, well, they aren't done and will always be tough.

When those ribs "are" done, a toothpick should pass thru the meat with little to no resistance - Or, pick them up with a pair of tongs, hold them out horizontally and the meat should separate.

Re-read Smokin's suggestions and give ribs another shot. Take good notes. You "will" get there soon.

Remember, we are here to help!

Good luck!

Sorry...neglected to mention that they were baby backs.

Trust me, I know the saying but I pulled these guys the first time because I wasn't sure if I was just drying out the meat or not. I did learn from the experience though and this time I will allow a full 24 hours for the cook

What is the best way to verify the temp of the smoker. I think I tried it before with a meat probe inserted into a ball of foil on the middle shelf (no meat in the unit). Is this the best way? Is there a better way? I know my butts take a loooong time but always come out tasty.

Yep! A ball of foil or push the probe thru a potato, making sure the tip of the probe is not touching anything. I set the probe on the middle shelf.

Don't be concerned about temp swings. Just make sure it does hit the temp you set the thermostat at.

Yep...I know it will swing and unless my probe doesn't hit the set temp, everything is fine. I'll try not to overthink this and just cook some ribs.

Now the rub is another mystery to me. I think I am going with a hybrid mixture from several ideas I got from other recipes. I like the Cookshack Rib Rub, but I want to call these ribs my own.

Thanks alot for the suggestions. I plan on eatin good on Saturday.

Hey! Experimenting is half the fun!

Good luck!

How big were the baby backs.

2 or 2 1/2 shouldn't take 8 hours, but large loin backs might. Need to verify the temp of the smoker first it sounds like.

Well now,I'm no expert-but the folks that try to teach me,say learn to cook the meat and then figure out how to season and present it.

Kinda like cooking a steak,spending too much time figuring the seasoning and not being able to eat the cooked steak.

You might think about sticking with the CS RibRub,as that is one less thing to think about.

That said,think about how you would season a cooked porkchop,or a thin steak on your dinner plate.

Other than adding a little sugar for bark,you are about there.

You don't want it too heavy,because you don't have a lot of meat.

If you want a little sauce on your steak at the table,you can always add it then.

Like Smokin' say,just keep cookin' slabs and taking notes,and the seasoning is the easy part.

Have fun,it'll work out.

Just my $0.02.

Can't remember what the baby backs weighed last time. They didn't take 8 hours either, that was a typo. I posted right after stating that I think they went 6.5 hours.

I think I will test the temps on Friday and cook on Saturday.