Pork Ribs Foil or not?

Kmm

Greetings from England 

I used to use 321 but ended up with pulled pork, so I reduced it to 3/1.5(foil) 0.5 which gave me meat the stayed on the bone,  but what about dispensing with the foil altogether ?

I’m talking about racks of spare ribs, ie with the belly on.

cooking on an egg obviously 

lkapigian

I wrap only when they are done ( for the rest ) cook to tenderness not time ….once in a while, if rushed I’ll wrap towards the end 

4TheGrillOfIt

You absolutely do not have to use foil.  To add additional or more complex flavor, like when wrapping, you can use a mop sauce if desired. 

Kmm

lkapigian said:

I wrap only when they are done ( for the rest ) cook to tenderness not time ….once in a while, if rushed I’ll wrap towards the end 

Thanks 

Mark_B_Good

I'm not sure you're going to get that nice tenderness if you don't wrap. Will it taste good, heck ya! But it will be dryer and a bit tougher.  My suggestion is to wrap, but adjust the time to get the tenderness you are looking for. For me ... 2h wrapped (in the 3-2-1 method) is WAAAAAAY too long ... turns meat into mush, might as well have pulled pork.

lkapigian

Dry Tough = undercooked
Tender Mushy= overcooked 

shtgunal3

^^^Agree^^^

Kmm

Mark_B_Good said:

I'm not sure you're going to get that nice tenderness if you don't wrap. Will it taste good, heck ya! But it will be dryer and a bit tougher.  My suggestion is to wrap, but adjust the time to get the tenderness you are looking for. For me ... 2h wrapped (in the 3-2-1 method) is WAAAAAAY too long ... turns meat into mush, might as well have pulled pork.

sow how long do you wrap them for 

lkapigian said:

I wrap only when they are done ( for the rest ) cook to tenderness not time ….once in a while, if rushed I’ll wrap towards the end 

Thanks 

Kmm

Test 

Langner91

Mark_B_Good said:

I'm not sure you're going to get that nice tenderness if you don't wrap. Will it taste good, heck ya! But it will be dryer and a bit tougher.  My suggestion is to wrap, but adjust the time to get the tenderness you are looking for. For me ... 2h wrapped (in the 3-2-1 method) is WAAAAAAY too long ... turns meat into mush, might as well have pulled pork.

You are doing it wrong. 

I never wrap them, and they aren't dry or tough.  They "bite" off the bone, not fall off the bone.  There are always stains on the front of my shirt, so they aren't dry. 

Nothing wrong with wrapping, but unwrapped ribs don't need to be tough or dry.  

Just like prom night, all it takes is practice!

JohnInCarolina

Langner91 said:

Just like prom night, all it takes is practice!

Kmm

Thanks mate !

fishlessman

i find the foil stage to be too unpredictable for the results i want. stopped foiling along time ago.  i get the best results cooking them raised grid direct over a very small amount of lump but mostly just cook them indirect because its easier

pgprescott

I foil my spares / Stl. Cuts but almost never do baby backs. The baby backs are just so lean to begin with it leaves no room for error and it’s very easy to overcook them. I only foil the spares 45 min - 1 hour. I’m a @275 temp cooker. 

Different techniques to impart layers of flavor. I tend to mop a thin vinegar sauce on my naked BBs. In lieu of the flavor packed foil stage on the spares. Don’t mop too soon if you have any sugar in the mop or you’ll be sorry. Patience is key. Let them get pretty good and dry (set). 

Good luck, it’s your journey to enjoy. 

lousubcap

I don't have any real tips on pork (or beef ribs) other than I run around 250-270*F on the calibrated dome thermo.  I run nekked the whole time.  Here's just my general thoughts on rib cooks that you will readily find throughout the forum:
"All rib cooks are some variation around X-0-0 which translates into the following: Basically ribs are cooked as usual (bone side down for me) for the first X hours. Then they are removed from the cooker and wrapped with liquid (Q sauce, some other liquid for flavoring etc) in a foil pouch with the meat side down. This becomes step -0- mentioned above. The sealed ribs are then returned to the cooker.  At the end of the "0" time-frame, the ribs are removed from the foil and then put back on the BGE for the final "0" time-frame.  This is when sauce is added if your desire.  X-X-X defines the cook cycle.  Those of us X-0-0 run without any of the above extras.  It's all in what you like.
Best finish line indicator is the toothpick test-insert it in the meat between the bones and when it pulls clean you are there. FWIW-

Mark_B_Good

Langner91 said:

Mark_B_Good said:

I'm not sure you're going to get that nice tenderness if you don't wrap. Will it taste good, heck ya! But it will be dryer and a bit tougher.  My suggestion is to wrap, but adjust the time to get the tenderness you are looking for. For me ... 2h wrapped (in the 3-2-1 method) is WAAAAAAY too long ... turns meat into mush, might as well have pulled pork.

You are doing it wrong. 

I never wrap them, and they aren't dry or tough.  They "bite" off the bone, not fall off the bone.  There are always stains on the front of my shirt, so they aren't dry. 

Nothing wrong with wrapping, but unwrapped ribs don't need to be tough or dry.  

Just like prom night, all it takes is practice!

I wouldn't say I'm doing it wrong ... I never have made ribs without wrapping them.

It's my buddies who have attempted, and they came out drier than I like. When I say tough ... it's not the underdone tough ... I'm talking about the dried out ends that become like cardboard. 

I have a method that works for me, just like we all do. I have no reason to change my method. 

But perhaps a question here, because I have a premise to my recommendation. Are wrapped ribs easier to get tasty/tender, than un-wrapped ribs? What is the easier path?  I think wrapping is the more forgiving (and hence, easier) path. Now, I read fishlessman says foiling leads to unpredictable outcomes ... I've had exactly the opposite ... if temperature is controlled well, then time is almost consistently achieving the same end result.  It's not like the ribs will go from tender to mush in the course of 3 minutes. There is forgiveness ... you just can't have them wrapped for 2h ... you will get mush.  Wrapped for 1h15min to 1h30min at 275F always leads to a good result for me. 

However, there was another trick I was taught by a killer rib maker at Kelsey's ... he said once you finish BBQing, you have to take those ribs out, uncovered and let them sit for 10 to 15 min, so the meat can tighten back up around the bone ... that is what allows them to hold tight when you cut them. If you cut them straight out of the BBQ, they are still way too tender and break up too easy.

fishlessman

Mark_B_Good said:

Langner91 said:

Mark_B_Good said:

I'm not sure you're going to get that nice tenderness if you don't wrap. Will it taste good, heck ya! But it will be dryer and a bit tougher.  My suggestion is to wrap, but adjust the time to get the tenderness you are looking for. For me ... 2h wrapped (in the 3-2-1 method) is WAAAAAAY too long ... turns meat into mush, might as well have pulled pork.

You are doing it wrong. 

I never wrap them, and they aren't dry or tough.  They "bite" off the bone, not fall off the bone.  There are always stains on the front of my shirt, so they aren't dry. 

Nothing wrong with wrapping, but unwrapped ribs don't need to be tough or dry.  

Just like prom night, all it takes is practice!

I wouldn't say I'm doing it wrong ... I never have made ribs without wrapping them.

It's my buddies who have attempted, and they came out drier than I like. When I say tough ... it's not the underdone tough ... I'm talking about the dried out ends that become like cardboard. 

I have a method that works for me, just like we all do. I have no reason to change my method. 

But perhaps a question here, because I have a premise to my recommendation. Are wrapped ribs easier to get tasty/tender, than un-wrapped ribs? What is the easier path?  I think wrapping is the more forgiving (and hence, easier) path. Now, I read fishlessman says foiling leads to unpredictable outcomes ... I've had exactly the opposite ... if temperature is controlled well, then time is almost consistently achieving the same end result.  It's not like the ribs will go from tender to mush in the course of 3 minutes. There is forgiveness ... you just can't have them wrapped for 2h ... you will get mush.  Wrapped for 1h15min to 1h30min at 275F always leads to a good result for me. 

However, there was another trick I was taught by a killer rib maker at Kelsey's ... he said once you finish BBQing, you have to take those ribs out, uncovered and let them sit for 10 to 15 min, so the meat can tighten back up around the bone ... that is what allows them to hold tight when you cut them. If you cut them straight out of the BBQ, they are still way too tender and break up too easy.

i think it has to do with personal preference more than anything once you learn how to tell when they are done. for me, foil adds a weird texture between slightly rubbery to pulled pork like, indirect usually dries the ribs out on the ends too much, direct cooks them more evenly but the temp has to be low say 235 max for dome temp and literally a double handful of lump to maximize the distance between the ribs and the fire. i wont even consider cooking a baby back rack any more, i like the smaller spare racks better and avoid the large ones when i can. sometimes i sacrifice because of ease and convenience, sometimes i buckle down and pay attention to what i really want. its like a steak cook, i cook a strip to 123f or slightly under but a ribeye gets cooked to 127 f or slightly over. i can get picky (probably the only thing i can get anal about)  but its MY preference

dbCooper

@Mark_B_Good - If you and your guests enjoy the results they're being done right.  Many ways to cook them and all can deliver great tasting food.

lkapigian

dbCooper said:

@Mark_B_Good - If you and your guests enjoy the results they're being done right.  Many ways to cook them and all can deliver great tasting food.

For sure, there is no wrong way 

Kmm

lousubcap said:

I don't have any real tips on pork (or beef ribs) other than I run around 250-270*F on the calibrated dome thermo.  I run nekked the whole time.  Here's just my general thoughts on rib cooks that you will readily find throughout the forum:
"All rib cooks are some variation around X-0-0 which translates into the following: Basically ribs are cooked as usual (bone side down for me) for the first X hours. Then they are removed from the cooker and wrapped with liquid (Q sauce, some other liquid for flavoring etc) in a foil pouch with the meat side down. This becomes step -0- mentioned above. The sealed ribs are then returned to the cooker.  At the end of the "0" time-frame, the ribs are removed from the foil and then put back on the BGE for the final "0" time-frame.  This is when sauce is added if your desire.  X-X-X defines the cook cycle.  Those of us X-0-0 run without any of the above extras.  It's all in what you like.
Best finish line indicator is the toothpick test-insert it in the meat between the bones and when it pulls clean you are there. FWIW-

Thanks for your reply 

StillH2OEgger

There is a wide range of what people want from their ribs. My advice is to make adjustments until you dial in a method that produces what you're looking for. For me (usually do St. Louis style spares), one hour in foil is about right. Sometimes I will add brown sugar or pepper jelly for the foil stage, but never liquid because that makes them mushy. But again, people like what they like so I think trial and error is more useful than trying to find consensus (where it largely doesn't exist) on a forum. Regardless, good luck and I hope you'll share your results. It's always a fun cook and I'm sure they'll be better than 95 percent of the places you'll order from at a restaurant.

pgprescott

StillH2OEgger said:

There is a wide range of what people want from their ribs. My advice is to make adjustments until you dial in a method that produces what you're looking for. For me (usually do St. Louis style spares), one hour in foil is about right. Sometimes I will add brown sugar or pepper jelly for the foil stage, but never liquid because that makes them mushy. But again, people like what they like so I think trial and error is more useful than trying to find consensus (where it largely doesn't exist) on a forum. Regardless, good luck and I hope you'll share your results. It's always a fun cook and I'm sure they'll be better than 95 percent of the places you'll order from at a restaurant.

Just a note: brown sugar and the rendered fat are liquids at the temperature inside the foil. Just for future reference. The time is however key as you point out correctly. 

StillH2OEgger

pgprescott said:

Just a note: brown sugar and the rendered fat are liquids at the temperature inside the foil. Just for future reference. The time is however key as you point out correctly. 

Yep, but not enough to turn them mushy in my experience.