3-2-1 baby back ribs dried out

hvhunter

Yesterday I did a rack of baby back ribs using the 3-2-1 method. I cut the rack in half so they fit in the dome.

Used the plate setter legs downs, PSWoo extender. Temp was avg 250-275. After two hours in foil with apple
juice, when I removed them the protruding bones were slightly burnt, and the tops had a little burn on them. 
Finished them off with some sauce after the foil. 

The ribs were dry and a failure.  I think I should have put the plate setter legs up, to give more space between the protein and ps rack. 

Any idea's what went wrong?

Mattman3969

If you had the ribs on the extender they should’ve been about 3 1/2-4” above the PS even with the legs down so I don’t think that was the issue.Did you have a raised drip pan on the PS? With the extender being 3 1/2 - 4” above felt line and close to the dome I believe the reflective heat may have got you. Stuff just cooks quicker being that close to the dome.  

How did you judge when the ribs were done?  Generally probing for tenderness or the bend test will yield best results. Were the ribs just dry or were they crumbly?   

RRP

Have you checked the calibration of your dome thermometer? 

scdaf

That's about 2 hours too long for baby backs.  At 250, 3-2-1 is too long for full spares.

PigBeanUs

It’s really 2-1-1... but over time, it often gets misremembered or passed along as 3-2-1, maybe because it sounds like a count down. 

Truth be told, even 2-1-1 can be too long for baby backs

Another tricky bit is that dry tough ribs can actually be underdone. 

Dry and crunchy, brittle, are overdone, sure. But many times the complaint is that the ribs are dry and still clinging tight to the bone, tough to chew. Those are underdone

Wooderson

Turbo ribs!!

4TheGrillOfIt

I think 3-2-1 is at 225F.  So you were too hot.  I think 275 is a good temp, but it’s more like 1.5,  1, .5, but times are always just rough guides.  Look for visual cues throughout the cook like bark being set before wrapping, bone pullback etc.  

jdMyers

Ive done tons a baby backs at that temp and 3.2.1.  Heck I cant seam to get my egg down below 250 anyway. 

  My tips.  Peel membrane.  Put ribs on edge bones up n down.  Ibuse plate setter or pizza stone never really matters.  Use a drip tray and dont let run empty, for About 3 hours.  Basically once the color gets where you want it and the existing seasoning is sorta caked on no longer loose.  During this phase I spray i cant believe its not butter on both sides about every 30 min. 

  Now  wrap in double foil along with a spill of fluid, orange juice, apple juice what ever and additional seasoning or dry rub for two hours about.  At this point i dont remove drip pan but usually dump it so the burns dont add bitter flavor.  At about 1hr 20 min start checking bones for twist and not to over cook.  If bones are still tight keep going

Remove foiled ribs set aside, take out plate setter drip pans etc and set up for direct cooking with what ever coals are left.

Remove from foil.  Hit with any sugars.  Brown sugar, bbq sauce etc and put on grill to Carmelize the sugars or cook in your sauce.  Thats about 45 min to an hour because at this point the coals are about gone and temp is pretty low anyway.  Usually 200 to 250.  

So nearly 3.2.1 come out perfect everytime and buttery




Also same when I do it over open fire, no drip pan or fluid.  Spray often with something.  

TEXASBGE2018

Pork ribs of any kind cooked at 250-275 will be done in 3-4 hours depending on the size, so you cooked them at too high a temp for too long. Also there really is no point in wrapping them. With that quick of a cook time I've never noticed one bit of difference in the end product when I've wrapped versus not. It's just extra work for nothing gained. If you are really worried about drying out spritz them with apple juice or apple cider vinegar at about the 2hr mark. Other than that cook them unwrapped at that 250-275 temp for 3-4 hours. And see if you notice the difference. Always always do the bend/toothpick test for doneness

RRP

To each his own - but an old method that works for me - including today is one posted many years ago by an egger named JSlott. It is extremely simple, no hassle at all!  - indirect 300º no peek, no flip! It has yet to fail me!

dbCooper

RRP said:

To each his own - but an old method that works for me - including today is one posted many years ago by an egger named JSlott. It is extremely simple, no hassle at all!  - indirect 300º no peek, no flip! It has yet to fail me!

300 for how long and how high up in the dome?  And on what size egg?

SonVolt

Don't wrap baby backs. Remember, these are just pork chop bones at the end of the day, not the fatty collagen rich spare ribs that need the wrap to help break down. 

RRP

dbCooper said:

RRP said:

To each his own - but an old method that works for me - including today is one posted many years ago by an egger named JSlott. It is extremely simple, no hassle at all!  - indirect 300º no peek, no flip! It has yet to fail me!

300 for how long and how high up in the dome?  And on what size egg?

Slapping my head repeatedly...3 major errors on my part...this is the foolproof method shared years ago by JSlot - not JSlott (error #1) this was for St Louis style spare ribs NOT baby backs (error #2) and the time is 3 hours (error #3).

Just the same I am NOT standing corrected as these ribs today as always ROCKED and are so simple vs. all the fiddle and farting efforts some people go through!

RyanStl

I feel your pain. I totally ruined short ribs yesterday trying to use my Weber Q gasser I rarely use and did pay enough attention to what was going on. Plus they were terrible cuts anyway with not a lot of meat on the bone. Was using the gasser because we just moved and the Eggs are in the garage corner waiting for a patio rebuild/expansion.

Mark_B_Good

I do not finish with 1h uncovered ... too much of a risk.
After I pull from the wrap, I high temperature sear each side for a few minutes at best.

They've been coming out great for me.

Here's my detailed recipe.

https://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1224829/ribs-insane-round-2#latest.

Ribs will be moist, fall off the bone, and tasty!

Botch

SonVolt said:

Don't wrap baby backs. Remember, these are just pork chop bones at the end of the day, not the fatty collagen rich spare ribs that need the wrap to help break down. 

That simple post may have just solved my issue with ribs.  Many thanks, @SonVolt !!  

Mark_B_Good

I don't know about that. Pork is unforgiving ... and without much meat on ribs, it's easy to go wrong. I find the wrap just is a way more forgiving method ... hard to overcook them when they're wrapped. You will always end up with moist ribs even if you had them on for 30 minutes too long ... the worst that happens is they are too loose around the bone ... to delicate and don't hold together ... but you'll still have the flavor.

I'd rather have that, then a rib that is bone dry and hard as a brick.  

I really think it's simple ... 3, 2 method ... and forget about that last 1h unwrapped ... just a high temperature quick sear after apply some BBQ sauce (30 seconds to a few minutes each side MAX) and you will not be dissapointed!

SonVolt

You can certainly produce amazing baby backs wrap or no wrap. I've just personally found it unnecessary. That said, I don't have issues with them drying out. Maybe for new cooks or if you can't keep an eye on them, wrapping can be more forgiving, assuming they don't spend too long steaming themselves into mush. 

lkapigian

Just cook the fvckers.........no detailed recipe BS, Salt Pepper Garlic , leave the sauce for the table

https://eggheadforum.com/discussion/comment/2569957#Comment_2569957

stv8r

3-2-1 is way too long!  Experiment with 2-2-1 or maybe even 2-1-1 if using baby backs

Mark_B_Good

I'm actually more of a 2.5/1.5/0.1 guy. Lol.