First Rib Attempt

Jaymet73

I have to say thanks to this forum i pulled off a decent rack off ribs first time out on my new LBGE. I need some improvement(not much off a smoke ring) but i would not have come anywhere close to the results with out all the great info on this forum. They were St. Louis style cut cooked at 250-275 for 5 1/2 hours spritzed every hour with 50/50 apple juice/apple cider vinegar. They pulled not fell off the bone which I was trying for. A little bit of apple and cherry chips for smoke, stubbs to finish it off.

Adjustable Rig R&B combo worked awesome.

Aviator

Dude, I think you nailed it. Looks super good from here.

Ribs are funny. They vary cook to cook. Do it more often if you and family like, then you will get the pace. Outstanding work, so far.

What else have you done?

Jaymet73

I did some burgers over the weekend to try to get a hang of the temp control, but that's it. Looking forward to learning a whole lot on here and putting my new egg to work.

Duganboy

Jaymet73 said:

I did some burgers over the weekend to try to get a hang of the temp control, but that's it. Looking forward to learning a whole lot on here and putting my new egg to work.

Just remember that air flow equals temperature control. More air, higher temp. Less air, lower temp.  Also, let your BGE settle on the temp for a half hour or so before putting on the meat, especially in a long cook like ribs.

Just practice a little and it will be like turning on an oven.

Aggie96_Egger

Nice work! I just got the R&B combo for Father's Day. I haven't had time to use it yet. Looking forward to some down time.

BBQJDUB

Very Nice!!  As a new egghead myself, I hope my first rack comes out like that.  I hope to do ribs very soon.  Thanks for the post!

BBQJDUB

TexanOfTheNorth

Nice looking ribs @Jaymet73

gdenby

A fine 1st attempt. Smoke rings might be pretty, but they don't add anything to the flavor. Once the surface of the meat reaches 140F, the ring stops forming. W. thinner pieces of meat like ribs, that is not a long time. Next time, bring the slabs from the fridge tight before putting on the Egg. Start at 250 dome, and let the temp creep up.

I don't think spritzing does much for either moistness or flavor. But it will definitely cool the surface some, and the Egg temp will drop. Makes a slow cook even slower.

From the pics, and your comment about tenderness, I'd guess you pulled the ribs a little too early. The amount the meat draws away from the bone ends is often a good sign the meat is ready. And, there is enough exposed bone that you can pinch the end, and give a tug. The bone will start tearing out. While most mass produced ribs are very close in size and weight, there still is enough variation that every slabs cooks slightly differently. Thus, dinners ready when the slab passes the bend test.

I've noticed that when one is finished w. some really good ribs, the bones will look dry, and pale. With ribs that have been cooked so that the meat ends up tender, but mushy, the ribs still are slick, and may have very small bits of meat on them. The way I look at it is that the meat should not fall off the bone. That can be done by steaming the meat till the protein completely denatures, and turns to mush. What should happen is that bones fall out of the meat. They have become hot enough that the connective tissue holding them in the meat has melted away.

At any rate, there's always room for improvement. It took me a few months, but I finally got to the point where most of the rib joints just aren't worth visiting. But really superb is still almost a fluke.

Firemanyz

Looks great. When can I come over for some?

jaydub58

Great pics of a very successful cook!

I wouldn't change a thing............................including finishing with Stubb's.  Did you use Original or one of the newer variations?  Love Stubb's!

Aviator

gdenby said:

A fine 1st attempt. Smoke rings might be pretty, but they don't add anything to the flavor. Once the surface of the meat reaches 140F, the ring stops forming. W. thinner pieces of meat like ribs, that is not a long time. Next time, bring the slabs from the fridge tight before putting on the Egg. Start at 250 dome, and let the temp creep up.

I don't think spritzing does much for either moistness or flavor. But it will definitely cool the surface some, and the Egg temp will drop. Makes a slow cook even slower.

From the pics, and your comment about tenderness, I'd guess you pulled the ribs a little too early. The amount the meat draws away from the bone ends is often a good sign the meat is ready. And, there is enough exposed bone that you can pinch the end, and give a tug. The bone will start tearing out. While most mass produced ribs are very close in size and weight, there still is enough variation that every slabs cooks slightly differently. Thus, dinners ready when the slab passes the bend test.

I've noticed that when one is finished w. some really good ribs, the bones will look dry, and pale. With ribs that have been cooked so that the meat ends up tender, but mushy, the ribs still are slick, and may have very small bits of meat on them. The way I look at it is that the meat should not fall off the bone. That can be done by steaming the meat till the protein completely denatures, and turns to mush. What should happen is that bones fall out of the meat. They have become hot enough that the connective tissue holding them in the meat has melted away.

At any rate, there's always room for improvement. It took me a few months, but I finally got to the point where most of the rib joints just aren't worth visiting. But really superb is still almost a fluke.

I don't want to say I disagree or agree. You took a lot of trouble to type it all in.

Let me tell you a story, and I might just be blowin smoke.

If you go see pit masters at Dreamland BBQ etc, (not that they are Gods creation for it) they always have a regular garden hose with nozzle next to the pit. I know one pit master in Huntsville (Dreamland) who has let me play with the stuff and taught me a thing or two. They always spray and cool it down. It makes for a more slow cooked and juicy, not dried out rack.

Try it. Please.