Ribs - Hit and Miss

QBabe

Mornin' Folks...[p]I did some baby back ribs yesterday but was unhappy with the results. Dome temp ranged between 250° and 300° and setup was indirect with platesetter and a drip pan to catch the grease. I didn't foil them this time. Flipped them about every hour and the cook was 5 hrs total.[p]The meat never really pulled back on the bones like it should, and when I was flipping, I kept an eye out for the nice bending that you should get when the get to that tender stage, but they never bent right either. I finally gave up and when I took them off and stuck a thermapen in them, they were in the 200° range, obviously done and overdone...[p]Any suggestions?[p]Tonia
:~)

WessB

QBabe,
I got a slab on right now....I also get some high temp readings when checking ribs, so I gave up checking a long time ago, just go by feel and bend etc...I would guess that you just had a stubborn rack this time. Hard to say if more time may have worked or not...Better luck next time. Best to you and Larry and the mini to...LOL[p]Wess

Rumrunner

Tonia,
I've been hearing lots of complaints about cooking Baby Backs that have been injected with the "12%" brine solution, ala WallyWorld, etc. Not sure where you got yours, but the complaints sound the same. I believe it was RRP who first brought it to my attention.

[ul][li]Meat Questions?[/ul]

Nessmuk

QBabe,
I marinate ribs in any, cheap, grapefruit juice overnight.[p]Next, I coat them with mustard, followed by a rub of your choice. Last, I mist them with olive oil & apple juice.[p]I try to cook at 250. Usually end up at 275 due to the personality of the lump.[p]I test doneness by feel, i.e., when they bend, they are done.[p]Reference your first pic on your web page...those ribs are overcooked & would score low in a BBQ Contest. The meat should not have shrunk from the tip of the bone. They look "Frenched."[p]The winning contestents tell me that "all meat isn't equal" & that is what makes it a contest.[p]Nessmuk,
[p]

tach18k

QBabe, I did some the other day. Mine were really good. I never opened the dome for the time they cooked. Mine were done the same as yours, indirect... Mine were covered with "Deli Mustard" and that's it. They sat on their up against a rib roast. Maybe all that flipping caused some problems. I never touch the ribs once they are cooking.

Unknown

QBabe,
I understand why you would use indirect heat and cook the ribs longer, but look at page 36 of the recipe book. It says to use direct heat and 1.5 hours at 225 degrees. But it wants one to boil the ribs and a lot of people won't use that method. I prefer not to boil them but if you don't, you have to cook 'em longer. I am new at the Egg way of cooking. I am going to try this and post the results.

RRP

Rumrunner,
yup it was me who complained about the Tyson ribs having the 12% injection. The first time I cooked them they were a failure and I threw away over half the rack. Since I still had a few more racks in the freezer I got back on the horse. Here's what I found works for me with those injected ribs and have had 3 racks since with great success.[p]You need a higher temp it seems to cook them so I go 325 using a ceramic deflector I got from Dr Chicken and two fire bricks on edge - Gfw's set up using 4 bricks would do the same thing. Then a grate across the bricks and a dry pan underneath. I place them bone sides down like in / I never turn nor peek for 3 hours. At that point I wrap them in foil and return them to the grate for 20 minutes and then snuff the fire. I leave the ribs in the foil for another 25 minutes. By then the temp has come down to 230-240 and I unwrap the ribs and leave them on the grate to firm up a tad for 15 minutes or so or until it's time to eat as the temp keeps going down and they are merely staying warm not hardly even cooking. As they say - it works for me and the foil stage is what really renders that solution out. The juice is colored but not like the orange bright color you normally get from un-injected baby backs.

chuckls

QBabe,[p]Man (I mean gal), you and I must have been in the same parallel world :-)[p]I cooked two slabs of ribs yesterday, following exactly the same process that produces the best ribs I have ever eaten just two weeks ago.[p]Two slabs, coated with yellow mustard and then rubbed with an Elder Ward type rub. Cooked 3-1-1.5, indirect with a pizza stone and drip pan with water. Mopped at the very end.[p]The ribs turned out dry and overcooked. What a disappointment. I believe it was the quality of the meat. Two weeks ago I got Tyson's baby back ribs in a cryovac package, and the ribs yesterday were Safeway ($2.00 off) shrink-wrapped in styrofoam. Last time I do that.[p]Oh, BTW, the cook was on Cowboy lump yesterday because I'm out of Wicked Good. I'm really getting to like that Wicked Good, I'm going to have to order some more.[p]Chuck[p]

Mike in MN

Frank Farkle,
Boiling is for soup. You boil meat/bones to extract the flavor........Steaming has the same effect. You lose flavor to gain EZ chewing. I just had some ribs like that at Applebees....fall off the bone tender, no flavor, except the sauce.[p]I don't think you will get too many positive responses to that method of preparing ribs around here.[p]Mike in MN

Tim M

Frank Farkle,[p]Wow, Hasn't anyone told you to burn that manual? The first step in cooking on your cooker is to find this website and log in. The next step is to burn that book / manual. It is seriously flawed and should not be taken seriously. I think there were a few (2-4) good recipes in there, but the rest are made up or just plain wrong. Ribs is one of the wrong ones. Use it to start your next fire.[p]Tim

MR H

QBabe,
After I ate Ray"s b ribs at Plant City Pig Fest, I know there is a way to turn out this quality of food. We need to get Ray and his people to put on a rib seminar. Sorry to hear about your ordeal.[p]Cheers
MR H
Howard

QBabe

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone. It's frustrating when a cook doesn't come out well, when you've had success in the past. Glad to hear I'm not the only one it's happened to though! That's the really wonderful thing about this board. A great diversity of folks with a wealth of information to share.[p]I'll just keep practicing...![p]Tonia
:~)

drbbq

MR H,[p]Thanks Howard. You and Tonia were too busy spreading the egg gospel to learn how to cook those ribs.[p]Got any pics from Plant City you want to share?[p]

MR H

drbbq,
Ray I have a few picts. First chance I will print them and bring them by.[p]Cheers
Howard

drbbq

MR H,
If they're digital just send them on. I'll put them on my website.[/b]

ravnhaus

QBabe,
I've had a lot of luck with rib lately, although I prefer spare ribs.
Rub em with a bit of mustard, coat with rub of choice, and then put on indirect with drip foil.
Cook at 250° for about three hours or 300° for a bit less.
Avoid over cooking at all cost!
Umm... had some tonight!

JK

QBabe,

ToyCollector

<p />QBabe,[p]I did ribs last night on the Egg. I had marinated them overnight and put on Egg around 4:30PM. Cooked at 300-320 degrees until 7:30 with last hour in foil. They were better than I usually get with my other smoker after cooking even longer. Meet came right off the bone, but I will try the 3/1/1.5 or similar method next time.[p]