3-2-1 Ribs! (Pics)

butert

It has been a few weeks since i've fired up the egg, way too long!!  My Wife and I went to Sam's Club two weeks ago and picked up some Baby Backs!

Rubbed with some Dizzy Dust

Put on the Egg at 225 for 3 hours, misting with apple juice every 30 min.

More Pics to come as progress is made!!

Jeremiah

Just an opinion here but 6 hrs is too long for me on baby backs. Maybe a 3-1-1 but to each his own.

butert

What is your reasoning for the 3-1-1 over the 3-2-1 method @Jeremiah?  This is only my 2nd time cooking ribs on my egg and am looking for all the advice I can get!

Jeremiah

They don't have the fat that spares have so they dry out faster.

grege345

Try not spritzing next time. The magic of the egg happens with the egg closed. Fwiw.

butert

Ahh ok, so the 3-2-1 method is more for spare ribs.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

I've quit with baby backs altogether and just do St. Louis spares now, and just do them straight through, no foil crutch.

Jeepster47

@Jeremiah ... what's a good time to aim for cooking straight through on baby backs?  Grill at 250 degrees.  Thinking about a mix of baby backs and spares ... would throw the baby backs on after the spares are partially done ... trying to finish at the same time.

butert

I'm smoking at 225 for the 3hrs, 250 for 1 hr, then 275 for the last hour with the sauce.

grege345

My BB go 275 straight thru 4 hours. Plus 20 min for sauce at end. Turbo go 1.5 hours at 350 with some sauce time at end

butert

Do you flip the ribs over and sauce the bone side as well in the last hour?  Or just sauce the top meat side?

Jeremiah

Jeepster47 said:

@Jeremiah ... what's a good time to aim for cooking straight through on baby backs?  Grill at 250 degrees.  Thinking about a mix of baby backs and spares ... would throw the baby backs on after the spares are partially done ... trying to finish at the same time.

Honestly I can't say for certain, but 5 hrs would be my guess. @butert‌ no I just sauce the top, and not much at that as I don't want to overcast the rub.

butert

ok, thanks for the tip @Jeremiah

butert

Coated the ribs with brown sugar and honey, wrapped in foil with some apple juice, and placed back on the egg for another hr.

Jeremiah

Looking good man.

butert

Thanks!

butert

All Done!

Jeepster47

butert ... you've got to show us the inside ... good smoke ring?

butert

They turned out alright, not the best nor the worst ribs I've ever had.  Something to build on.

Jeremiah

They look great man. :-bd

Jeepster47

I'll be happy if my first baby backs look that moist.  Good work.

jaydub58

Very good looking ribs................nice smoke ring.

butert

Thanks!  If it was not for @Jeremiah they would have been cooked an hour longer and would not have been very moist!

gerhardk

Actually an hour more and they would have seemed moister and the meat would have fallen off the bone.  I prefer the ribs to still hold together yet pull clean from the bone.  It means sometimes you go 3 2 1 other times 3 1 1 but you get a feel for it after some practice.

Gerhard

butert

They were not fall off the bone so maybe I needed to go longer yet.

Jeremiah

If you want them to "fall off the bone" extend the foil crutch, not the total time. Again, just an opinion as everyone does them different.

AD18

I'm with Jeremiah on the time and setup for back ribs.  Seldom if ever go longer than 4 hours @225-250.  I foil sometimes, but usually not.  Experiment and adjust to what suits you best.  Looks like you did a good job one way or the other:)

SmokeyPitt

I agree with what Jeremiah said above- if you want more of a fall off the bone extend the foil stage.   I have found that at 250-275 3 hour in the smoke, 1.5 in foil, and then in the last stage just cook them as long as they need.  I typically find they are pretty much done after the foil stage so I only put them back on to sauce them and give the sauce time to set (15 minutes or so).  

One other tip is to adjust the time based on how they look just before you foil them.  If they are already getting bendy and some bone is exposed then you may want to cut back on the time in the foil.  

KentuckyBoy

I do my baby backs with the legs up on the plate setter. Is there an advantge with either legs up or down???

butert

Thanks for the advice, I was smoking at 225 for the first three hours, then bumped it up to 250 for the foil stage.  Maybe I need to start at 250 and go up from there.

moo4me

@butert‌ I think you are good to start at 225. For back ribs I like to do 2-2-1, with all stages around 220-240. I also do honey with brown sugar before wrapping in foil, and throw in some slices of unsalted margarine. Then the last hour it depends on how patient your guests are but usually 1 hour is sufficient. Sauce them with about 20 min to go. Lots of different ideas out there but the fun comes in experimenting!