overcooked ribs followup

Dawgtired

I hate to start another thread but I know some older posts don't get very many responses. I'm not trying for competition ribs just good egged ribs. When I saw the pictures of someone cooking ribs "JJ" style, the ribs weren't even beginning to pull away from the bone after the initial 3 hr. cook and mine definetly were. Next in the photos they were pulling away a little after the one hr. foil wrap and mine were falling apart. Don't get me wrong, they were still good and not dried out. I was just curious because if I had continued the cook another hour and a half, as per JJ's method, they would have been dry. Once again, I monitored the temp. along with making sure the thermometer was calibrated correctly. Am I doing something wrong or is there a better method to use?
Thanks again for all your help!!!

Unknown

dawgtired,[p]I'll be good tonight.[p]According to JJ's recipe, he cooks spare ribs direct for 3.5 to 4 hours. Babybacks take less time to cook than spares. I've never cooked baby backs direct so I'm not sure how long they'd take using JJ's method, but yours being done after 3 hours doesn't sound too far off. Lot's of different ways to cook them. Even the popular 3-1-1 method (3 hours indirect, 1 wrapped, 1 direct) is just a rough guideline. I seldom go the entire last hour direct when cooking 3-1-1.

Luvmyegg

dawgtired,
I do babyback ribs all the time and they turn out really well. I use a rib rack, platesetter and drip pan. Grill indirect at 250 - 300 for 2 hours, turning midway. The ribs should be nicely browned and tips of bones showing about 1/8 of an inch. Brush BBQ sauce on it if you want and wrap in foil, grill indirect for another hour. Then unwrap, remove platesetter and grill directly over the coals for about 5 min each side to brown and dry the sauce. I saw a BBQ program on Food Network and the owner of a BBQ place said ribs are perfectly cooked when you bend the rack and the meat splits exposing the bone. That's what you get! Really moist, not dry or burnt at all. Try it.

fishlessman

dawgtired,
there are lots of methods to use. sometimes i cook direct raised grill, sometimes inderect. i dont foil anymore and i cook at 225-250 dome. i dont cook the babybacks, i cook spares. the spares take anywhere from 5-7 hours and i check them frequently after 4.5 hours. the trick is to find the method you like that produces the results you want.