Baby backs

schafe98

A few pics from my baby back cook yesterday.  I was shooting for 2-2-1 method but after the 2 hours in the foil these things were falling off the bone.  I only had them on for 15 minutes or so afterwards to heat the sauce through.  I cooked them at a steady 250.  I'm thinking at that temp 2-1-0.5 might be better?  Interested to hear your thoughts.

DMW

Max foil time for me is 45 minutes now. And that is only if I need to speed things up. If possible I prefer to just let them ride until they get happy and leave the foil in the pantry.

Tinyfish

I'm with @DMW. I cook my baby backs at 225f  for about 4 to 5 hours depending on thickness and I leave the foil in the pantry too.

jhl192

+1 for no foil,  too hard to judge the right time to pull them off.  I use the bend test.  Oh, and I forgot to mention, your ribs look excellent.  

tonyled

im in the no foil corner

schafe98

Thanks all!  I'll give it a go without foil next time.

pgprescott

I'm about four hours bones down with no foil or 3 1/2 hours with a 45 minute foil. I like to foil, but don't always do it because it does require a little more effort. I like the texture and extra flavor I can get with the short foil. I think the bark gets too tough for me with out the short foil period. I also like to add some sauce, honey, brown sugar, butter, and rub to my foil pack. It just imparts the flavor and moisture i personally like. Your ribs look pretty good to me, I'd eat those! 

YEMTrey

Yep. No foil at all here.  Rub ribs with Meat Church Honey Hog and Honey Hog Hot.  On the rack at 275, start checking for tenderness and applying Blues Hog Smokey Mountain BBQ sauce at about the 4 1/2 hour mark and keep applying checking until they're finished.  As simple as it gets and perfect ribs every time. 

Focker

Current foil camp member here.  Former foil camp, and no foil camp member.  
2 hr braise is too much IMO, one hour max.

tonyled

YEMTrey said:

Yep. No foil at all here.  Rub ribs with Meat Church Honey Hog and Honey Hog Hot.  On the rack at 275, start checking for tenderness and applying Blues Hog Smokey Mountain BBQ sauce at about the 4 1/2 hour mark and keep applying checking until they're finished.  As simple as it gets and perfect ribs every time. 

i do mine the exact same way with same ingredients

spharveybuck

Ok, This settles it for me. Every time I foil, it turns into basically pulled rib meat. Thoughts on the membrane?

dmchicago

spharveybuck said:

Ok, This settles it for me. Every time I foil, it turns into basically pulled rib meat. Thoughts on the membrane?

Insane. 

Pull it. 

StillH2OEgger

I've always removed the membrane. It really helps to take them out of the fridge for 20 minutes or before removing and the membrane comes off much easier. As for the smoking, I also have had better results with foil, but never more than an hour. People have different preferences for ribs and my suggestion is to keep experimenting until you find your sweet spot.

bikesAndBBQ

Keep in mind that a lot of BBQ recipes and techniques are meant for different styles of smokers. What works for an offset may not work for an egg and vice versa. I honestly think foiling is too much work. I’d rather keep the lid closed, moisture in and let the egg do its thing. If I am pressed for time, the egg does great at higher temperatures like 300+. Again, that may not work for an offset or pellet smoker, but works great on an egg. It really comes down to your preference. The only wrong thing to do is not have fun.