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Ribs help! High altitude dilemma

Mantoothian
Mantoothian Posts: 85
in EggHead Forum
Yesterday was my third cook on my new LBGE, and I tried 3 rack of baby's, using car wash mike's recipe. I followed the prep and process to a "T" and my ribs we cooked, but slightly tough. The "pull back" was only about 1/2 inch and the bark was quite dark. It dawned on me that my cooking temps should probably be changed slightly since I am cooking at ~5,300 ft above sea level (Denver). Could the toughness of the meat indicate that they were not cooked long enough? The meat wasn't dry, just not very tender. Any help here would be awesome. I've cooked 2 5lb turbo butts, and a couple T-rex strip steaks without any issue. Ribs are my favorite so this is quite a disappointment :(
Denver, CO
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Comments

  • poster
    poster Posts: 1,348

    I don't think pressure affects bbq? 250 at sea level or at 5000' is the same thing. only the temp that water boils at would change.

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  • Mantoothian
    Mantoothian Posts: 85
    @poster I agree, but shouldn't the connective tissue breakdown, either faster or slower, which would change the cooking time?
    Denver, CO
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  • Ladeback69
    Ladeback69 Posts: 4,484
    What temp were you cooking at and what is car wash mike's recipe?  If it has a lot of sugar in it you have to be careful on what temp you are cooking at or it could burn.  From your description they don't sound done.  How long were they on, what method and did you use, did you do the bend test or tooth pick to check to see if they were done.  BB's can take a little longer then spares, because they can have more meat on them.
    XL, WSM, Coleman Road Trip Gas Grill

    Kansas City, Mo.
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  • Carolina Q
    Carolina Q Posts: 14,831
    I rarely eat ribs, but as for cooking in general, have you calibrated your dome thermometer? Boiling point at 5300' is approx 202°. And yes, it is affected by barometric pressure, though apparently not much.

    http://www.thermoworks.com/learning/foodservice101_boiling_point.html

    I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

    Michael 
    Central Connecticut 

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  • Mantoothian
    Mantoothian Posts: 85
    @Ladebeck69 They went for 3hr at ~220, then bumped up to ~250 for another 90 minutes. I was spraying with AJ/ACV mix every hour for the first 3hr, then every 30 min for the last 90min. After 4.5hr they were only bending about 45 degrees so I let them go another 30min at 250. After that, they bent 90 degrees and the bark broke when picked up. The toothpick test required a little effort to get into the meat between bones, but I assumed they were done asince they passed the bend test.
    Denver, CO
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