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Well that was embarrassing...

hotwheels
hotwheels Posts: 73
edited July 2013 in EggHead Forum

So I ask some new friends in to try some smoked ribs on the BGE. I'm pretty confident as all previous rib cooks were good.  I serve the ribs. They are super super tough and oddly, each rack is twisted like a corkscrew. Dry. I cannot get the meat off the bone.  Embarrassing

I cooked these ribs exactly as I've cooked others, 290-300F pulled at 191F.  the only difference was (1) they were frozen and well thawed, (2) different butcher shop. Actually third difference was I used the large spider with ceramic stone rather than the platesetter.

 I'm guessing a very poor grade of meat. any opiinions? 

BTW At hour two I notice the bones in the rib rack are starting to twist and the probe is not easy to push in.  That's when I started to get worried. 

People say that Television is bad for you.  It's that bloody Fridge, that's killing me.

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Comments

  • Sub par meat seldom produces great results all things being equal from previous cooks.
    Flint, Michigan
  • sumoconnell
    sumoconnell Posts: 1,932
    Weird wild stuff!

    Was one side cooked more than the other? All I can think of is if the stone wasn't centered on the spider and one side was hotter. Then one side is almost cooking direct, while the other was indirect. I'd think you'd need to be pretty far off center for that to happen.
    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++
    Austin, Texas.  I'm the guy holding a beer.
  • Tjcoley
    Tjcoley Posts: 3,551
    Did you remove the membrane?
    __________________________________________
    It's not a science, it's an art. And it's flawed.
    - Camp Hill, PA
  • hotwheels
    hotwheels Posts: 73
    "Weird wild stuff! Was one side cooked more than the other? All I can think of is if the stone wasn't centered on the spider and one side was hotter. Then one side is almost cooking direct, while the other was indirect. I'd think you'd need to be pretty far off center for that to happen."
     
     
    I used the spider with stone which was centered although I did not flip from side to side as I cooked with the bone side down

    Tjcoley said:
    "Did you remove the membrane?"
     
    yes I sure did.  I'm kind of at a loss on this

    People say that Television is bad for you.  It's that bloody Fridge, that's killing me.

  • hotwheels
    hotwheels Posts: 73

    I got it.  Horsemeat

    People say that Television is bad for you.  It's that bloody Fridge, that's killing me.

  • jccbone62
    jccbone62 Posts: 248
    Wow I've never seen something like that. They look dried out. Was your temp gauge off?
    XL owner in Wichita, KS
  • Botch
    Botch Posts: 15,429
    Is this how Dizzy Pig got their moniker?
     
    Seriousry, I've never seen/heard of this before and haven't a clue... 
    :-O
    _____________

    "I mean, I don't just kill guys, I'm notorious for doing in houseplants."  - Maggie, Northern Exposure


  • hotwheels said:

    I got it.  Horsemeat

    Yeah you have to baste horsemeat pretty often or it dries out. Try saddlesoap next time.

    Little Rock, AR

  • hotwheels
    hotwheels Posts: 73
    jccbone62 said:
    Wow I've never seen something like that. They look dried out. Was your temp gauge off?

    DigiQ Guru and BGE thermometer were within 4F. DigiQ meat probe was broke so I used a backup and did not check it with the Thermopen.   So i's possible,but improbable.  Besides at the the 2 hour mark the flat of ribs were starting to twist and bow as if the meat was tensing.

    I'll try to duplicate this cook this week, and double check with the Thermopen.  But I kind of think it's the meat. Really odd that no one else has had a rack of ribs go into 'corkscrew contortions'.  

    People say that Television is bad for you.  It's that bloody Fridge, that's killing me.

  • I even searched around on internet and cant find anything about ribs twisting like that. Thats just strange. I have seen pork chops try to tense if they arent trimmed right. Never ribs though.

    Little Rock, AR

  • sumoconnell
    sumoconnell Posts: 1,932
    +1 on horsemeat. Should have known. Well, I hear it makes great lasagna.
    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++
    Austin, Texas.  I'm the guy holding a beer.
  • Hungry Joe
    Hungry Joe Posts: 1,566
    Sounds like some ribs I ate in Playa del Carmen. I will never travel outside the resort if I ever go back to Mexico again. Me and my BIL paid for that meal for at least four weeks.
  • Sounds like some ribs I ate in Playa del Carmen. I will never travel outside the resort if I ever go back to Mexico again. Me and my BIL paid for that meal for at least four weeks.

    Where did you stay down there?

    Little Rock, AR

  • Hungry Joe
    Hungry Joe Posts: 1,566
    Sounds like some ribs I ate in Playa del Carmen. I will never travel outside the resort if I ever go back to Mexico again. Me and my BIL paid for that meal for at least four weeks.
    Where did you stay down there?
    We stayed in Cancun but did a day trip to Playa del Carmen. The fact that there were signs telling you not to flush paper down the toilet but instead put it in a trash can would have been enough warning but we didn't see that until the meal was over. That was about 10 years ago and I doubt I will ever go back with all the problems going on down there lately.
  • td66snrf
    td66snrf Posts: 1,821

    I never cook my ribs that hot or cook them meat side down. I always cook them meat up/bone down.  I don't cook ribs that hot either. About 225-250 works well for me. Another thing is forget the thermometer. Look for the meat receding from the bone or use your feel on the meat between the bone like you would a steak. I'm not criticizing just trying to be helpful.

    XLBGE, LBGE, MBGE, SMALL, MINI, 2 Kubs, Fire Magic Gasser
  • boatbum
    boatbum Posts: 1,273

    been there - done that - have a t  shirt somewhere

     

    Cookin in Texas
  • SMITTYtheSMOKER
    SMITTYtheSMOKER Posts: 2,668

    Okay, I'll take a stab at this situation....looks like you cooked the sh*t out of them.  Check your temp gauge?

     

    -SMITTY     

    from SANTA CLARA, CA

  • hotwheels
    hotwheels Posts: 73
    edited July 2013
    td66snrf said:

    I never cook my ribs that hot or cook them meat side down. I always cook them meat up/bone down.  I don't cook ribs that hot either. About 225-250 works well for me. Another thing is forget the thermometer. Look for the meat receding from the bone or use your feel on the meat between the bone like you would a steak. I'm not criticizing just trying to be helpful.

    I'll give it a try at 225-250, if I can maintain the low of a temp.  thanks for the advice 

    BTW, roughly how long is a riib cook at 225-250?  (I need to time it roughly with when the wife wants to serve the meal.)
     

    Okay, I'll take a stab at this situation....looks like you cooked the sh*t out of them.  Check your temp gauge?

    Yes, that's the plan for Friday. Having other friends over for BGE ribs.  The ones who were serve "corkscrew" ribs will probably never come over again, lol

    People say that Television is bad for you.  It's that bloody Fridge, that's killing me.

  • gerhardk
    gerhardk Posts: 942
    I agree the eggs temperature must have been higher than you thought.  When I do ribs I don't check their temperature but do it by feel and look.

    Gerhard
  • hotwheels
    hotwheels Posts: 73
    gerhardk said:
    I agree the eggs temperature must have been higher than you thought.  When I do ribs I don't check their temperature but do it by feel and look.

    Gerhard

    I guess I'll start using the feel and look measurement.  The egg temp was right on as I used both the Egg thermometer and the BBQ Guru pit probe to keep it at 190-200F. However I used a $14 back up meat probe as the BBQ Guru meat probe was not working.  So although I pulled it off at 191 internal, it's possible it was higher.

    People say that Television is bad for you.  It's that bloody Fridge, that's killing me.

  • hotwheels
    hotwheels Posts: 73
    BTW, roughly how long is a riib cook at 225-250?  (I need to time it roughly with when the wife wants to serve the meal.)

    People say that Television is bad for you.  It's that bloody Fridge, that's killing me.

  • Only thing I can think of is they were creamated.Too hot too long. Do you have a big dog?
    San Angelo, texas
  • johann
    johann Posts: 111
    6 Hours @ 225 for spare ribs, 5 hours for baby backs. 

    I just did baby backs the other day for about 4.5 hours. Had no trouble keeping temp around 225. Though I did have a 500* spike when I was fiddling with airflow and getting by bike ready at the same time to try and give myself heat stroke, but that was brief, less than 5 minutes. 

    They turned out as probably my best effort so far on the egg. 

  • Grillmagic
    Grillmagic Posts: 1,600
    Sounds like some ribs I ate in Playa del Carmen. I will never travel outside the resort if I ever go back to Mexico again. Me and my BIL paid for that meal for at least four weeks.
    Hey Hungry Joe, I stay in Playa Del Carmen several months a year for my job and  for the last 6 years and have never gotten sick, granted anything can happen anywhere but that's a pretty broad statement. I can see how it could happen but I have never experienced it myself, I have gotten sick once at a US fast food chain and found out that Chalupas is Spanish for sh-t your pants. I'm staying in Playa right now until August 9th, maybe I just know the right places to eat. I do miss my EGG back home!
    Charlotte, Michigan XL BGE
  • Hungry Joe
    Hungry Joe Posts: 1,566

    Those ribs just don't look right, at the very least I would look for a new source and then take some of the excellent advice given above.

     

    I buy babyback ribs at either Sam's or Costco's and have had them take 5+ hours at 250 to finish. I was not a fan of foiling but after having guests sitting around waiting because my ribs were not cooperating I started putting them on super early and when the bones just start to pull back I will take them off and wrap them in foil until my guests arrive then throw them back on and sauce them for the last hour. Since I started doing that my ribs have been a lot better.

  • smokeyj
    smokeyj Posts: 340
    Were they the same ribs you always buy? I bought some different ones once, they were Danish ribs and they were terrible to cook.
  • Lit
    Lit Posts: 9,053
    The bones look wrong. Looks more like beef ribs to me from the shape of the bone.
  • gdenby
    gdenby Posts: 6,239
    Lit said:
    The bones look wrong. Looks more like beef ribs to me from the shape of the bone.
    Yeah, the overall shape is wrong for pork, unless it was a half rack, and then the bones were cut in half. (There's a market near me that does that.) But, just 7 ribs overlaps the plate. Not like any pork rib I've encountered.

    Still, why the curl? Even if they were overcooked. I wonder if there was some freezer burn in the meat.


  • hotwheels
    hotwheels Posts: 73

    Well..., I paid for Beef Back ribs... but I got tough ribs was like out of a horse,  a water buffalo or donkey.  

     

    "overcoooked?'  Good question but the ribs started to go into a contortion or" death curl" at an internal temperature of 160 which is well before meat goes into overcook. 

    "freezer burn"?  They were in that Cyrovac? plastic from the butcher and only in my freezer about two weeks.

    Wish I had the abiliity to get a DNA check to see what it was. lol

    I'm amazed that with the thousands of ribs done just by the guys on this forum, no one has seen this happen before.

    People say that Television is bad for you.  It's that bloody Fridge, that's killing me.

  • hotwheels
    hotwheels Posts: 73
    Only thing I can think of is they were creamated.Too hot too long. Do you have a big dog?

    Dog? Good idea, but I don't think you realize how tough these were.. There's no dog on this earth that could chew these.

    People say that Television is bad for you.  It's that bloody Fridge, that's killing me.