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Ribs help

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sppatel
sppatel Posts: 5
in Pork
Hi, I recently purchased an egg and I'm struggling with being able to make great ribs.  Both times I smoked at 225 (dome), rubbed with mustard and a dry rub.  The first time I took the 2-1-1 approach and the ribs had great flavor but they seemed a little tough even though they had a perfect smoke ring and white center.  The second time I took the 2-2-1 approach.  This time I don't think the rub penetrated the meat too much and once again where tough.  I had again a good smoke ring, but many of the ribs had a grey (not white) center.  Also I can never seem to get it to pass the bounce test where I bounce the ribs to get it to crack.

Any advice on what to try next?  Any help would be appreciated.
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  • henapple
    henapple Posts: 16,025
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    Cook them till they pass the test. Every time I've gone wrong on pork it was under done.
    Green egg, dead animal and alcohol. The "Boro".. TN 
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  • Hi54putty
    Hi54putty Posts: 1,873
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    I agree. I cook them uncovered at 275-300 for five hours or until the pass all the usual tests.
    XL,L,S 
    Winston-Salem, NC 
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  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,337
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    Here's another option-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-. 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 you desire.  X-X-X defines the cook cycle.  Those of us X-0-0 run without any of the above extras.  The key is the bend or toothpick test-if you pick up a full rack and it bends around 90* you are finished-for less than a full rack insert a toothpick into the thickest meaty part of a rib-no resistance-finished. It's all in what you like-experiment and enjoy the journey.

    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
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  • ribnrun
    ribnrun Posts: 174
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    I find that the bend test is less accurate when using the foil methods. The foil braises the ribs and makes them flexible but not necessarily tender. The bend test works for me when I have cooked them without foil. What kind of ribs are you smoking? I usually wait to see some good pullback of the meat from the bones when I use foil. Spareribs generally take longer than loin backs.

    Try this approach. Cook them till you think they are done. Then sauce them and leave em on for another 30 minutes. Keep trying, and don't rely on the timing. Cook till done, not time.
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  • Richard Fl
    Richard Fl Posts: 8,297
    edited January 2013
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    I have done ribs, bb, St,  full brisket  and beef just about every way except pre boiling over the past 10+years and have in the last year or so started doing rocket ribs.


    Called them rocket ribs 'cause it only took 90 minutes at 375F indirect, notice they were full slabs ripped down the middle. Helps the cooking time and they are just as great as 225-250F for 5-6 hours IMHO. I have also done them being ripped into thirds and cooked 375F they only take 45-50 minutes.:
    image

    Here they are ready to eat:
    image 

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  • sola
    sola Posts: 118
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    I use a method I found on here, turbo ribs. Indirect, 350 for 2 hours. Fool proof, obviously.....
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  • ChokeOnSmoke
    ChokeOnSmoke Posts: 1,942
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    Way too low a cooking temp in my opinion, you were probably only hitting just over 200 at the grid level.  Also, the amount of time will help you ballpark, but you need to use one of these tests to get them right:


    Packerland, Wisconsin

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  • Brownie
    Brownie Posts: 1,023
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    I'm guessing you were doing baby backs by the time. Try shootin for 250* dome for that timeline, and sauce after they pass the finished test of your choice.

    As you can see there are many ways, temps, and times to achieve great ribs. Give it another try with the given suggestions and you'll be cooking perfect ribs in no time.
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  • Dave in Florida
    Dave in Florida Posts: 1,157
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    BB's or Spares, it's turbo for me.

    http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1144307/my-turbo-ribs-tonight#latest
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Welcome to the Swamp.....GO GATORS!!!!
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  • gdawgs24
    gdawgs24 Posts: 21
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    TRY PULLING THE SKIN MEMBRANE OFF THE BONE SIDE OF THE RIBS.

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