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New to the egg. Dry rib disappointment.

mike365365
mike365365 Posts: 6
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
Hi there.

I got my Large BGE about 3 weeks ago. I've had some nice successes with cedar plank salmon, grilled chicken thighs, whole trout, steaks and burgers. I was finally ready to dedicate an afternoon to my first try at a low and slow cook with some baby back ribs. I took off the membrane, coated with some yellow mustard, put on the dry rub (I made it myself from paprika, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and brown sugar), wrapped them in foil for an hour before I put them on the egg. I put about 2 cups of soaked hickory chips in with the lump, got it stabilized at around 220, and put the ribs on the grate with the place setter underneath. I put a drip pan on the plate setter with some apple juice.

I let the temps fall a bit too much perhaps, but the ribs were on for 5 1/2 hours at 200 to 225 degrees. I brushed bbq sauce on and cooked for another 30 minutes.

The ribs were a bit dry and not very tender at all. Still tasted good, but not what I expected. I know there is a technique to smoke for a few hours, then use foil/honey/apple juice etc, but I wanted to see If I could improve on the long cook technique.

Just hoping for some advice.

Thanks

Comments

  • Fidel
    Fidel Posts: 10,172
    Sounds to me like they weren't done.

    Baby backs generally take 5-6 hours at 250, sometimes even longer. At 200-225 yours were probably not quite there yet. Was the meat pulled back on the bone about 1/2" or so? That's usually a pretty good indicator.

    These were close to done:

    Almost800.jpg
  • They're done when the meat starts peeling back from the bone. Try a little hotter (maybe 275), or, if you have the patience and time, longer.....
  • They're done when the meat starts peeling back from the bone. Try a little hotter (maybe 275), or, if you have the patience and time, longer.....
  • FatMike
    FatMike Posts: 464
    I have been having the same results with the ends of the ribs hanging over the plate setter. They would be very dry and the middle few were good. I tried to put tinfoil on the grid where the ribs hang over and the ends of the ribs were great and the middle was dry. I'm with you on the rib thing. I just can't get them right on the egg.
  • BBQMaven
    BBQMaven Posts: 1,041
    When you pick a slab up with tongs on one end, it should bend in the middle (meat is tender) almost 90 degrees...
    Kent Madison MS
  • thirdeye
    thirdeye Posts: 7,428
    Hmmm. Did you cook them in the foil the entire time, up until you sauced them?

    There is a difference between the dome temp and the actual cooking temp, the actual temp is 20 or 30 degrees lower. This means you were cooking at a real low temp.
    Happy Trails
    ~thirdeye~

    Barbecue is not rocket surgery
  • Mike,
    Just did 3 racks today myself. Turned out awesome.
    My prep is different than yours however.
    I marinade overnight in apple juice. Drain juice next day and pat dry. Rub them up. Fire up the Egg to 225-250. On they go. Spray with apple juice every 30 mins. After 3 hours, baste with Margerine. 30 mins later, honey. Then sauced and wrapped in foil for final 30 to 60 mins. Total cook time 5 hours. Fall off the bone.
    Give that a go and see what you think.
  • thanks for the pic, that will help. I think you're right about the temperature. Next week I'll definitely bump it up.
  • not soaking will save me some time, thanks.
  • 5-6 hours about exhausted my patience, so I'll take your advice and go hotter. thanks.
  • SmokeyPitt
    SmokeyPitt Posts: 10,490
    I'm a newb myself and I have only tried ribs twice. I tried this method yesterday:

    http://vimeo.com/928412 (c) Uncle Phil

    I was keeping the temp in 250-275 range most of the cook, so I went 3 hours out of foil, 2 hours in foil, then put them directly on the grid and sauced.

    They turned out really good. I used sweet baby rays sauce, so they were a little on the "sweet and sticky" side; but the fam loved them.

    One other tip is to try to make sure the ribs aren't hanging over the edge of the platesetter while smoking. I cut my racks in half and use a rib rack to keep them in the middle.


    Which came first the chicken or the egg?  I egged the chicken and then I ate his leg. 

  • tach18k
    tach18k Posts: 1,607
    no real need for a drip pan of juice or water for that matter, if you really need the juice, put some in a clean spray bottle and spray the ribs every so often. part of the Egg seal as mentioned above, this also allows the mositure to stay inside the Egg and not vaporize like it would in a steel cooking. also I let my ribs go for about 5 hours at 250 dome and no foils, thiner ribs maybe less. Pratice is fun, but at times every rib cook will be different.
  • A Couple of thoughts.
    Have you calibrated the thermometer?
    I did three racks of St. Louis this weekend. I used Adam Perry Lang BBQ25 recipe. Which a little faster and hotter, 300 for 2 hrs, foil and return for 1.25 hrs, sauce and return to the grill for 30 minutes. I got great results. I used a rib rack, cut the racks into two sections.
    Good luck on you next cook.

    Dave in Plumas County
  • I have had 3 great sets of smoking ribs with the 3 hour smoke, 2 hours foil w/sauce @ 225-250.
    Meat was so tasty and tender and falling off the bone!
  • WessB
    WessB Posts: 6,937
    also put the plate setter and the drip pan with juice in when you light the egg...not at the same time you add the meat...Keep trying..you can see the foil method in the cooks section of my website if it will help you any...
  • Thanks for the tips and the video Smokey.
  • Maybe not what you want to hear, but you could just go with spare ribs next time. For me, they have more meat, more flavor, are less expensive and are much more forgiving. If you like sleek presentation, you (or your butcher) can slice off the flat and the riblet section, to get St. Louis style ribs. Smoke up these extra pieces, and chop us for sandwiches, or, my favorite, a pot of beans.

    I just made my first rack of spare ribs on the Egg between 215-245, averaging 225, and they were the moistest ribs I have ever made. Took 5 hours on the egg. My years on the Weber just practice for the game-changing Egg.

    One trick you can try with any ribs is to wrap them in aluminum foil after you take them off the Egg, and leave them in a sealed cooler for an hour before serving. This should help redistribute the juices to make a more moist end product. Ribs will also be the perfect temperature for serving (for me, anyway).
  • Jai-Bo
    Jai-Bo Posts: 584
    I cook my rubbed ribs at about 250....every 45 minutes to an hour or so I spray w/ applejuice. When the rib meat peels back from the bone, I take off and wrap in foil w/ honey and brown sugar and put back on fer about 45 minutes to an hour. Sometimes I like fall off the bone and sometimes I like em so you can cut them apart to make the presentation cleaner looking....Don't get discouraged, think of cooking as an experiment and keep at it!!
    Hunting-Fishing-Cookin' on my EGG! Nothing else compares!