Rib question? need help ..sorry a little long

jad · April 2013

First want to say the family likes fall off the bone ribs....
before owning the BGE our rib cook would go something like this.....
- remove membrane add a little garlic power, salt & pepper
- use foil bags or just put ribs in pan covered with foil with sliced onion and beer.
- cook in oven at 350 for about an hour
- remove ribs (falling off the bone) and but on the gas grill with some BBQ sauce to brown.

The ribs were always tender and juicy

Now i have an BGE
My first attempt at ribs I followed the 3-2-1 and felt the ribs were overdone and dry:( I also used a rub that was to overpowering which added to the failure.
tried it again this weekend got the baby backs BOGO at Fresh Market
- removed membrane little salt pepper & garlic power
- put on rib rack and cooked indirect @250 on the egg for about 90min.
- foiled and added a little liquid into the foil pocket and back in the rack on the grill for 1 hr.
- removed from foil added sauce and grilled direct to brown up ..about 10 - 15 min

Tried to adjust the cook times down on each step and they were better then my first try but not yet falling off the bone tender and juicy?
should I foil them longer? but then I fear of overcooking? does 1-2-1 make since.
even thought about starting the ribs in the foil with liquid then direct on the grill to brown, but then I assume we won't get any smoke or will I if I go maybe 1 hour in foil then one hour (or until done) direct on grill. Might try this next time...
any suggestions?

thanks

SmokeyPitt · April 2013

I think the problem is just the time and temp. 3-2-1 is typically around 250 but 3 hours in the smoker, 2 hours in foil, 1 hour back on the smoke (3-2-1). This is a total of 6 hours cooking. Based on the times you posted, you did a 1.5-1-.25

.

Personally, I think the 3-2-1 might be a little too much. I have found what works for me is 275 dome temp, 3 hours in the smoker, 90ish minutes in foil, then 20-30 minutes back on the egg to apply sauce (3-1.5-.5).

You can also raise the temp up more if you don't want to go as long. Key is to cook them until you see the meat is pulling back from the bones, and they pass the "bend test" (pick up one side and they should fold in half.

dpittard · April 2013

@SmokeyPitt Thanks, I'm drooling on my keyboard now.

jad · April 2013

SmokeyPitt,

I'm assuming its the first part of the cook that might be drying out the ribs? your method has the ribs on 3 hrs @275 in the egg, you don't find them dry?

SmokeyPitt · April 2013

jad said:

SmokeyPitt,

I'm assuming its the first part of the cook that might be drying out the ribs? your method has the ribs on 3 hrs @275 in the egg, you don't find them dry?

Not at all. There are plenty of folks who cook ribs in the smoke the entire time (no foil, no liquid). Search "Car Wash Mike" rib method and you will find many examples. Although, CWM method does involve spritzing the ribs.

Using the foil stage with liquid certainly helps to prevent drying out (and adds moisture back). When they are cooked long enough the fat/collagen will break down and release moisture from the meat. The foil stage helps speed up this process, but again isn't a "necessity"...just makes it easier. IMO, dry ribs are usually a result of not cooking them long enough.

SmokeyPitt · April 2013

SmokeyPitt said:

jad said:

SmokeyPitt,

I'm assuming its the first part of the cook that might be drying out the ribs? your method has the ribs on 3 hrs @275 in the egg, you don't find them dry?

Not at all. There are plenty of folks who cook ribs in the smoke the entire time (no foil, no liquid). Search "Car Wash Mike" rib method and you will find many examples. Although, CWM method does involve spritzing the ribs.

Using the foil stage with liquid certainly helps to prevent drying out (and adds moisture back). When they are cooked long enough the fat/collagen will break down and release moisture from the meat. The foil stage helps speed up this process, but again isn't a "necessity"...just makes it easier. IMO, dry ribs are usually a result of not cooking them long enough.

Just to present another option...you can certainly kick up the temperature if you want to reduce the time.

@Mickey will be along soon to tell you about Turbo Ribs

.

jad · April 2013

I read about teh Turbo ribs

so let me get this straight... (example ) if I cook some ribs for 2 hours and they seem dry if I cooked them for 3 hrs they could be more juicy?
Interesting... the concept of cooking meat longer so it gets juicer just seems to be backwards to me

I guess the trick is to find the magic number assuming there is such a thing as overcooking
Boy I have a lot to learn.

Foghorn · April 2013

jad said:

I read about teh Turbo ribs
so let me get this straight... (example ) if I cook some ribs for 2 hours and they seem dry if I cooked them for 3 hrs they could be more juicy?
Interesting... the concept of cooking meat longer so it gets juicer just seems to be backwards to me I guess the trick is to find the magic number assuming there is such a thing as overcooking
Boy I have a lot to learn.

It's probably better to think of it as "tougher" or "softer" rather than "drier" vs "juicier". Ribs generally soften up to a point - just like you have to get beef or pork shoulder up to about 200 degrees before it is soft enough to pull - and get what is probably best described as "mushy" before they dry out - especially if you take measures to keep them moist (spray with juice/whatever, foil in liquid, etc). However, I found out yesterday that if one doesn't take steps to keep them moist and adds a glaze/sauce that tends to dry up into a black coal-like substance when left unmonitored for a while (i.e. too long while one is distracted by visiting family and friends), one can definitely overcook the ribs and the sauce to the point that everything is dry.....

SmokeyPitt · April 2013

jad said:

I read about teh Turbo ribs
so let me get this straight... (example ) if I cook some ribs for 2 hours and they seem dry if I cooked them for 3 hrs they could be more juicy?
Interesting... the concept of cooking meat longer so it gets juicer just seems to be backwards to me I guess the trick is to find the magic number assuming there is such a thing as overcooking
Boy I have a lot to learn.

I realize it does seem a little counter-intuitive, but yes- I think that is correct. My understanding is that as you cook the ribs there is moisture in the meat and that basically gets driven out. However, as you cook them longer the fat/collagen "melts" and it gets them moist again. If you stop cooking in that in-between stage (moisture left the meat but the fat hasn't melted), then they will be dry.

I guess you could take a pork butt as another example. Pork is safe to eat at 145 *F internal temp, but most cook pork put up to 195-205. We basically over-cook the heck out of it until all the fat melts so it is tender and pull-able.

This only works for food with high fat content (pork butt, ribs, brisket). A lean cut such as boneless pork loin starts to dry out once it get's over 145ish...and just keeps getting dryer!

tazcrash · April 2013

OK, it looks like your second attempt were with Baby backs, which I made 4 racks of this weekend. (sorry no pics)

With the egg stable at about 250 I put all 4 racks, with the membrane removed, on for 2 hours, then I wrapped 2 in foil and put in some apple juice, sealed foil. After 2 more hours, I took the foiled ones out of the wrap, and the meat was totally falling off the bone and apart. I had a hard time putting them back on.

overall, the non-foil ribs went faster. I think people liked being able to just pull the meat off the bone cleanly as opposed to trying to get the meat in their mouth without it falling away.

Rib question? need help ..sorry a little long

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