Smoked Pork Ribs- St. Luis

eggsplorer · June 2015

This weekend I smoked ribs basically using the 3-2-1 method. I just bought my EGG last week so I am feeling my way through this. I prepared the ribs the day before with a thin layer of mustard and a liberal dose of rub then refrigerated until a few hours before cooking. I brought the EGG up to 225 and held it steady there until the smoke went from thick white to thin blue (about half an hour). I put the ribs on and spritzed with apple cider every 45 minutes. After 2.5 hours the meat had pulled away from the bones at the ends by about a .25 inch. I wrapped in foil (after closing the lid I noticed the temp edged up quickly to 250F, I was able to back it off to around 225F) and cooked it for about 1.5 hours. I opened the foil and cooked for another 45 minutes. When I checked them they looked done. I lifted an edge and saw the crack appear on the surface so I removed them.

I definitely enjoyed the subtle smoke taste and bark. The only complaint I had, and it is a serious one, is the meat on the whole was pretty dry. I like my ribs to be juicy. I did not add any sauce to them along the way but I think, done right, it is not necessary to do so.

Any advice from those of you with experience in these matters would be greatly appreciated.

Jeepster47 · June 2015

Baby back ribs or spares?

Okay, now I see it in the title ... spares! Your times add up to 4.75 hrs, your temp was at 225, and you kept cooling the ribs down with the spritzing. My guess is that they were not done yet ... close, but not quite there.

What works for me is a full six hours at 250 degrees grill temp and no spritzing ... most times I'll add some sauce during the last 30 minutes. Since I cut my racks in half, the bend test doesn't work ... have to probe with a toothpick. Could use my Thermopen, but the toothpick test is much easier.

Simcan · June 2015

@jeepster47 I assume spares given the reference to St. Louis. @eggsplorer sounds like you did everything right...Not sure why they were dry but next time you could try more time both at the start and in the foil, to stick with 3-2-1. Proper (in my opinion) ribs have some texture which in some people's view could be interpreted as not juicy. You would probably also find baby backs more juicy than spares. Something else you could try is the turbo approach. All in all, I think it is a question of experimenting and not getting discouraged.

Ladeback69 · June 2015

@eggsplorer, when you wrapped them did you put any moisture in the foil? When I do the 2-2-2 method I cook them between 225 and 250. Not a big thing to worry about 25 degrees. When I foil them I ad a little apple juice, squeeze butter, honey and brown sugar. It's kind of a staple in rib competition cooks. On the last hour I take them all the way out of the foil, put them back on the grill and in the last 30 minutes use a finishing glaze on them. Did this about 3 weeks ago and they were awesome. I found that you should need to spritz ribs or pork butts on the egg, just let it ride for the 2 hours.

Jeepster47 · June 2015

Ladeback69 said:

... I found that you should need to spritz ribs or pork butts on the egg, just let it ride for the 2 hours.

@Ladeback69 ... did you substitute "should" for "do not" in the sentence?

Ladeback69 · June 2015

Jeepster47 said:

Ladeback69 said:

... I found that you should need to spritz ribs or pork butts on the egg, just let it ride for the 2 hours.

@Ladeback69 ... did you substitute "should" for "do not" in the sentence?

Yes, sorry about that.

Smoked Pork Ribs- St. Luis

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