Rib Problem

Unknown

4 lbs of side ribs (not back). rubbed with garlic, bone dust, kosher salt, dry mustard, soya sauce and marinated in root beer. A chunk of apple wood and assorted chips to produce a good smoke. Cooked direct (regular or lower grill setting) 235 - 250 degrees for 3 1/2 hours turned every 45 minutes and finished with a good barbie sauce. The problem: the ribs are tasty but stringy and rather tough. I find it rather hard to tell if they are over done or under done (hard to tell on egg-food). I sure could use a comment from an eggspert.
Thanks, Bully

The Naked Whiz

Bully,
I'm not a rib expert, but I predict that you are gonna get told to cook them longer than you did. We'll see....[p]TNW

Basselope

I'm now expert (far from it) but I did mine just like baby backs 3/1.5/1.5, and they were real close to damn good. Not quite falling off the bone, that is how my family likes them.

Earl

Bully,
First question,what made you think they were ready to eat,length of time,visual, meat shrinking from bone ends?
As The Naked Wiz mentioned, i think that due to the fact the ribs were sides ( more meat) & not backs , they may not have been on long enough. Not sure how long you had the ribs in root beer, might have something to do with the texture being stringy. These are only my thoughs, so wait & read others to see if you can see a pattern.[p]Earl

Unknown

Basselope, please elaborate on the 3/1.5/1.5. Also what tempature did you use?

Mop

Bully, 3.5 hours is a pretty fast for sides, specially if they are a little on the fatty side..[p]Having said that, you did cook them 'direct' which would aid in speeding them up, I know there are some really good cooks in here that cook ribs direct and have great results but I`m not one...a great cook OR lucky with 'direct' ribs.
To me its like slappin them on the grill after a good rolling boil and grilling them up,,,it kills em..
(Darryl, I know you cook direct and have great luck, this is not a jab at ya)[p]Just for fun, try them 'indirect' over firebricks etc with an aluminum drip tray on the bricks at 250º for a little longer.
When you pick the rack up from the centre and it bends down to the point where the ends touch and the meat 'tears' from the bone, they are done...[p]give er a try some time, also I find backs easier to cook and gauge 'doneness'[p]Mop.
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Vegas Slim

Bully, 3 hours indirect turn every 45 mins if no rib rack 1.5 hours in foil then i split the last 1.5 hours between indirect/direct with sauce on in the last half always works for us

Basselope

I followed GFW's 3/1/1.5 baby back recipe except I left them in the foil a little longer due to the larger size.
so here goes:
I apply rub two or three times over the 12 hours before the cook.
Cut rib racks in half for a better fit in egg.
Indirect at 250 on a rib rack over a drip pan sitting on fire bricks. I put some liquid in the drip pan. Water, apple juice whatever. at about 1.5 hours I flipped the ribs so the other side would be up for a while.
At 3 hours the ribs are removed in placed in foil. Not more than two layers. Add about 1 TBSP of liquid to each foil packet and fold tightly. return back to the fire.
Turn packets over in 45 minutes. After 1.5 hours remove packets from fire.
Remove the drip pan and firebricks. Remove ribs from packets. Return ribs to egg. If you are doing multiple racks you may have to stack ribs on top of each other, this is OK. Turn every so oftern to get all side exposed to the fire. (Every 15 minutes or so) YOu may want to kick up the fire a bit here to say 300 for a better crust.
If you like sauce, sauce about 15-30 minutes before the end.
If you like them with heavy sauce, you might want to sauce them twice. My family like them on the drier side, so I just brush them lightly once.
When I did these the first time, my wife asked me what I was gonna cook next. Because I now had ribs dialed in tight.

Unknown

Bully,
I'm not an Eggspert or a Rib Master. I only cook St. Louis trimmed spares and have taken a 2nd and 3rd place in competition. Nothing against backs ribs I just have zero experience with them.[p]I think you may have gone overboard on the prep. Many teams with better credentials than apply a very light coat of French's mustard, then a heavy coating of rub and then let sit for 2 hours, which is what I do. [p]Smoked indirect in a rack rotating on the hour with an Apple juice mist at 225-275. I normally buy IBP cryovacs with three packer cut slabs at just over 12 lbs. I trim them down and figure 4 to 6 hours. I love my Digital Probe thermometer. I'm looking for around 180 +/- internal and the probe going through the meat like it was soft butter. With the digital probe thermometer there is no guessing if it was under or over cooked.[p]When they are cooked I slather on finishing sauce, wrap in film and foil and a dry towel and place in a small dry cooler to keep warm. 20 minutes before serving back on the smoker for two layers of finishing sauce at 250 10 minutes apart. Use a very sharp Granton slicer 12" minimum and the bones facing up so you can see to cut between them. If you really want falling off the bone soft then when they are ready foil with a heavy coat of finishing sauce and cook for thirty minutes foiled. I don't care for that soft myself.
~Teddy Bear

djm5x9

Mop:[p]My experience with direct cooks is it yeilds better texture and flavor. I feel it is the indirect cooks that hint of boiled ribs![p]The secret to a successful direct cook on a BGE is to put some distance from the cooking grid and the fire. Keep the grid temperature as close to 200º as possible. Regardless of cooker, there is plenty of convection activity in the upper dome area. Properly utilized during direct cooks, this convection activity and the moisture retention properties of ceramic cookers produce great ribs without the assistance of foil.[p]Next time you do ribs on your BGE try this technique . . . Let me know how they come out.

Stogie

Bully,[p]Anytime a rib is tough, 99% of the time it is because it has not been cooked long enough.[p]Look for the meat to pull back from the ends of the bone AND a toothpick inserted between the bones should slide thru easily.[p]Good Luck![p]Stogie