Baby Backs question

Dawgtired · June 2020

I put mine on at 1:30 (225) and it’s now 9 and the thermopen is showing 149. I realize it’s not the ideal way to check doneness but just looking at them I’m thinking they aren’t close to being done. I actually wrapped in foil for 1.5 hours in case there was a stall. Anyone else run into this?

Mark_B_Good · June 2020

I do a 3h smoke, followed by 3h wrap in foil.

I used to do 2h wrap, but found they weren't tender enough, so I went to 3h and perfect, fall off the bone.

I keep temperature at 250 to 275F the whole time.

StillH2OEgger · June 2020

I have never taken temp when doing ribs so I suppose I can't say for sure but a stall with ribs seems unlikely, certainly not an extended one. Bend test will work, but tooth pick test is the go-to for me. I can't imagine baby backs taking 7 1/2 hours, even at 225 degrees.

Dondgc · June 2020

I am far from a rib expert but 7.5 hours and no signs of doneness sounds odd. Unless you’re planning on ribs for breakfast you may want to kick up the heat - a lot.

RRP · June 2020

Assuming this isn’t a joke then your thermometer is WAY off, your fire went out a LONG time ago and/or both...but I still think this might just be a joke thread started on a Saturday! Having a belly laugh yet, @Dawgtired ?

Mickey · June 2020

100 mins till done = Turbo

pgprescott · June 2020

Ribs done at 200-205 just like everything else. You have an issue. No possible way they are cooking at that temp for that long and are only 150. Thermometer is not right or something. BTW , bump to 250-275 when doing ribs for faster and more predictable results. 225 is not needed for egg cooking. Your food is in a moist environment and won’t dry out.

Dawgtired · June 2020

I finally pulled the ribs after 8 hours and they were fine. The bend test, my usual go to, wasn’t working because the ribs had a linear crease/cut on them. There was also, what I would consider, an extra amount of fat on them, maybe causing a long stall. I’m just not sure what was going on. I’ve cooked a ton of ribs on my BGE over the years and this was a first for me.

Dawgtired · June 2020

RRP said:

No sir...not a joke at all. Thermometers were dead on. FlameBoss and dome thermometer were both at 225 for the entire cook.

pgprescott · June 2020

Must have been frozen when you put them on. Huh. Where was your flame boss temp probe placed? Grate level adjacent to the ribs? Up in dome clipped to thermo stem?

Dawgtired · June 2020

Certainly not frozen. Probe was clipped to the thermometer stem in the dome.

MotownVol · June 2020

Wrap them with butter, brown sugar, a dab of honey and apple juice. The steam will significantly speed the cook.

pgprescott · June 2020

That could be a big part of the problem imo. Could be 50 degree difference between grid and dome. Means you may have been rolling at 175. If you aren’t monitoring the temp at the cooking location or as close as possible without touching the food, you aren’t monitoring the cooking conditions. This is especially significant when cooking at such a low temp as 225. If you were at 275 dome you might be at 225 grid or so. My frozen comment was obviously tongue in cheek. That said, it doesn’t take 8 hours to cook ribs, particularly baby backs, at 225. Additionally, you wrapped them which should accelerate the cook significantly. Your actual grid level cooking temp was no where near 225.

Dawgtired · June 2020

pgprescott said:

That could be a big part of the problem imo. Could be 50 degree difference between grid and dome. Means you may have been rolling at 175. If you aren’t monitoring the temp at the cooking location or as close as possible without touching the food, you aren’t monitoring the cooking conditions. This is especially significant when cooking at such a low temp as 225. If you were at 275 dome you might be at 225 grid or so. My frozen comment was obviously tongue in cheek. That said, it doesn’t take 8 hours to cook ribs, particularly baby backs, at 225. Additionally, you wrapped them which should accelerate the cook significantly. Your actual grid level cooking temp was no where near 225.

Makes sense...thanks for the advice. I’ll move the probe to the grid next time.

Mattman3969 · June 2020

pgprescott said:

That could be a big part of the problem imo. Could be 50 degree difference between grid and dome. Means you may have been rolling at 175. If you aren’t monitoring the temp at the cooking location or as close as possible without touching the food, you aren’t monitoring the cooking conditions. This is especially significant when cooking at such a low temp as 225. If you were at 275 dome you might be at 225 grid or so. My frozen comment was obviously tongue in cheek. That said, it doesn’t take 8 hours to cook ribs, particularly baby backs, at 225. Additionally, you wrapped them which should accelerate the cook significantly. Your actual grid level cooking temp was no where near 225.

After the 7 1/2hrs of cook time he listed in my experience the grate and the dome would be very similar in temps. Either way 225 is crazy low cooking in an Egg.

Dawgtired · June 2020

225 was what Meathead at Amazing Ribs had stated as the best cook temperature. https://amazingribs.com/best-barbecue-ribs-recipe

pgprescott · June 2020

Mattman3969 said:

pgprescott said:

That could be a big part of the problem imo. Could be 50 degree difference between grid and dome. Means you may have been rolling at 175. If you aren’t monitoring the temp at the cooking location or as close as possible without touching the food, you aren’t monitoring the cooking conditions. This is especially significant when cooking at such a low temp as 225. If you were at 275 dome you might be at 225 grid or so. My frozen comment was obviously tongue in cheek. That said, it doesn’t take 8 hours to cook ribs, particularly baby backs, at 225. Additionally, you wrapped them which should accelerate the cook significantly. Your actual grid level cooking temp was no where near 225.

After the 7 1/2hrs of cook time he listed in my experience the grate and the dome would be very similar in temps. Either way 225 is crazy low cooking in an Egg.

Maybe. I see the heat going around the plate setter and exiting the top. It’s almost always hotter at the top. I think that This is especially true at very low temps. I know there is a school of thought that the whole chamber will eventually settle in at the same temp, but I’m not sure I buy that. Similarly, if you somehow place the probe directly below the plate setter, it would always be hotter as well. It’s similar to vertical cabinet smokers with a heat shield. The temps are way cooler at the bottom even though it is closer to the heat source. The heat is directed up and around the lower grids. Either way, somehow the temp was considerably lower than even 225. Who knows I guess.

lousubcap · June 2020

Dawgtired said:

225 was what Meathead at Amazing Ribs had stated as the best cook temperature. https://amazingribs.com/best-barbecue-ribs-recipe

@Dawgtired - the article does not talk about cooking on a ceramic grill in my cursory glance. As noted above, there are thermal gradients in all cookers (including the clock box). I run solely on the dome thermo as that is the one instrument all BGE's have. Once you figure out how your rig cooks with a suggested single temperature reference (no need for information overload) you will be fine.
Given the initial dome to grate off-set on L&S cooks most here let the BGE settle where it lands in the 250-280*F range on the dome especially for us luddites who run manual. FWIW-

Dawgtired · June 2020

So question arises from this. If the directions say cook at 350, does that mean you compensate somehow using the dome thermometer? Or, when someone says 350, they mean the dome temperature to begin with. I wasn’t aware that there could be a 50 degree disparity between the dome and grid temperatures.

Mattman3969 · June 2020

Unless otherwise noted the temp should be considered dome temp. Not everyone checks grid temps I know I quit checking it several yrs ago just because it was nothing more than information overload. Pick one an run with what suits your style of egg’n best

Dondgc · June 2020

Dawgtired said:

I wasn’t aware that there could be a 50 degree disparity between the dome and grid temperatures.

Yes and it will drive you crazy if you try to watch both temps. CRAZY. So pick one and go with it. I usually monitor at the grate but I think it Is far more common to measure at the dome. Because temps in the dome seem to have less fluctuation - and because most of the people on this forum know more than I do - I am thinking of changing my approach.

pgprescott · June 2020

I’m all for monitoring the dome as it is easy. I would just suggest that one should be aware of the approximate grid temp and figure that in their calculus as many people adapt recipes from the intewebz that use an actual temperature at the point of cooking.

Mark_B_Good · June 2020

At beginning of cook, 50F difference between dome and grill is basically what I saw when I cooked brisket last week. But toward end when brisket was above 160F, the temperatures came together, within a couple degrees from each other.

Mark_B_Good · June 2020

Anyhow, i think 225F dome is way too low for ribs. Like others have said, grill could have been at 175F. But I just go by 275F dome for 3h, then wrap for another 2h to 3h ... they're always done and always tender.

fishepa · June 2020

I usually cook ribs, pork butt, and brisket anywhere from 275-300 and it all comes out delicious.

Baby Backs question

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