the "Better Ribs"

A lot of long, different answers, that if you go to page top to FIND,put in ribs,all forums,you may find some direction.

The Best of Ribs archives,give a lot of tips.

Smokin's ribs 101 will also give good guidance.

http://www.cookshack.com/index_guides.php



Quick thoughts are that those from a "used to be 225 lb,now more like 270 lb" market hog,are more likely to be a better product than a 700 lb-800 lb old sausage sow.

Previously frozen,often are harder to come tender,than fresh.

When you look at the slabs,some fat in them,as well as on them,are a good start.

After these,if there are specific questions,folks will jump in.

Hope this helps a little.

vettman, you might be getting ribs that have had the fat trimmed off or are injected with too much brine, or both. A custom butcher should be able to supply you with nice fatty pork ribs, if you have one close. You might increase the heat and get them done faster. Maybe even oil them down with olive or canola before applying rub without too much salt.

I've found that ribs pulled too soon seem dry, but if you cook them long enough for the fat to render then they become moist.

Here's a few suggestions to get them dialed in:

--Experiment with cooking times.
--Experiment with cooking temps (try cooking some at 210, other at 250).
--Trim spares to St. Lous for uniform cooking time.

When I first bought my Cookshack it took me a while to dial in the ribs. So I bought a case or ribs and started cooking them frequently. So cook, make notes, tweak, and repeat. And buy Mike Mills' book, as it probably accelerated my learning curve the most.

Rib Buying Tips:

• Keep good notes
  
• Keep track of the company (IBP, Excel, etc)
  
• Keep track of type of ribs and weight
  
• Look at the shape of the bones
  
• Look at the rack itself, look for uniform dimensions (thickness)
  
• Don't buy injected
  
• Keep good notes
  
• Small Baby Backs won't cook the same as Heavy Loin backs
  
• Full spares will cook different from trimmed (St Louis) spares
  
• A 1/4 or 1/2 pd difference in a rack weight makes a HUGE difference in cooking time
  
• Keep good notes
  

Those are quick answers.

Me personally I can't "tell" you how to buy good ribs other than the basics above. I could show you, but not really with photos. Takes on of those "trips to the store" to show you.

For me, spraying, mopping, spritzing, etc will have some effect on the outer part of the rib, but almost none on the inside. Can't prove it, but my thinking is that if I'm placing a liquid in a smoker that's above boiling and air is dry, most/all of the liquid tends to vaporize. Not instantly, but mostly.

Dennis has a great point also. If you watch ribs cook, they go through phases and the last is when the fat "gives it up" and the moisture comes to the surface and the fast is/has rendered.

But when you wrap them in foil and add liquid, you control the environment differently by trapping the liquid in a set environment.

I find if I leave them in too long at too low a temp, as if doing jerky, they end up drying out, as if doing jerky. If I turn them up to 250* (more like 235*), I find the fat renders better and faster allowing the ribs to come tender faster and decreasing the time in the smoker. It goes back to that steam issue. The longer that smoker is going, the dryer the air inside gets, and when the air dries out, the meat will soon follow. So, my theory is to get the ribs done before the smoker environment gets too dry.

Both times I did ribs there was a pink watery liquid in the pan after I was done. Kinda wierd since it was below freezing and the fat that comes out of the bottom forms little pyramids. Both batches turned out dry. I'm going to try the higher temp and see how they turn out.

I was about to chime in, when I saw that GLH had said about what I was going to.

I think we sometimes get fooled by the phrase 'low and slow' because in my opinion it's easy to go too low and slow, which does dry out all but the fattiest of meat.

Lot's of 'books' profess 200 degrees to be a good smoking temperature, but I have to say that I've had more consistent results when closer to 235...plus the 'forgiveness' of the cookshack.

I think it bothers all of us that you've had issues with ribs, since usually they are nearly foolproof...no insult intended.

Honest, I do nothing but remove the membrane, rub them with a lot of rub, sit them overnight in the fridge, bring them back toward room temp, throw them in the CS and ignore them for 4 1/2 to 5 hours. Cranking the heat to full steam to start for a couple hours and then backing off to 235. And they really are good. Add a little sauce, grill them a bit for variety sometimes and chow down.

One thing that I do with baby backs that may be a little unusual for some is that I'll score the meat side in the meatiest end of the ribs between the bones. It exposes a bit more meat to the rub and the heat...they puff up like little 'nuckles.' But that's a little thing, not earthshaking.

Hoping your loving your next batch!

Agree 100% with GLH and Thousand Oakie. Having the temps too low or pulling the ribs too early can have a bad effect on usually delicious ribs. Then there's always the overcooked ribs, but I doubt you did that. As others have said I've found that 235 is about the sweet spot for me when it comes to ribs.

Ribs are one of the few things that I ALWAYS break the "don't open the door" rule. You just can't cook by time and temp reliably in my opinion. I usually peek at baby backs at 3.5 hours and 5.5 hours for spares paying attention to see if the meat has pulled back from the bone. If it has then I'll give them the toothpick test to see if it passes easily through the meat. If it passes that then it's time for the bend test. If they bend about 45 degrees from the middle.....pull those bad boys. If they aren't ready then check again in 30-45 mins.

It sounds like I had the door open for a while but the first two checks only take about 10 seconds max.

The biggest mistake I've made since I got my cookshack has been oversmoking ribs due to the small amount needed for good smoke flavor. I bought them so I ate them, but I'll tell ya....I've never done it again.

When all else fails, I've found that fresh - not frozen - always turns out better. I also avoid any meat that has been 'injected' with whatever.

Unless you know your butcher.. I'd guess you don't know what you're getting. Tom's always wonderful posts says a market hog are good.. but sausage sows.. not so good.

I have NEVER had a complaint form meat I've purchased from Costco.. always good quality.. IMHO..

Well I turned it up all the way tonight (250) and they were awesome. Took 5 hours 40 min for two racks of baby backs that I got from Costco.

The previous ribs were from a local grocery chain that has absolutely top notch meat. I'm thinking I was trying to go a bit two slow (225 on my 55). I also noticed that there wasn't a lot of water in my pan this time. Something that still bafles me from the previous two batches.

Awesome!! Always like to hear when peeps food gets better after the very next smoke!

Yeah the Costco meat is "Choice" grade and very nice. It beats anything the supermarkets in my area sell hands down.