Where did I go wrong?

Schlaffer · August 21

Bought a pack of Swift pork loin ribs at Costco. Read on here to either put some oil on or yellow mustard to bind the seasoning to the meat. Used yellow mustard. Sprinkled on Bad Byron's rub. Added BGE lump to what was left from pork butt cook. Got temp to 265. Put two racks on. Left alone for 4.5 hours. Never opened. When opened to slather on sauce it looked very dry. Read that BGE very good at keeping moisture so no need to spritz racks with anything. Twenty minutes later, did the 'bend test'. They just broke in half. Very salty, burned on bone side that I left down. Once I got past the salty bark, the meat inside was actually not too bad. Thoughts? Thank you.

GrateEggspectations · August 21

Sounds like they may have been overcooked.

You may want to ensure your dome thermo is calibrated, as you may have been running hotter than you intended.

What made you put them on and walk away for 4.5 hours? Time is a poor gauge for doneness; I like to check in on ribs at least once an hour to see how things are progressing.

Schlaffer · August 21

From reading on this forum. That 5 hours low and slow is perfect. If you're lookin' you're not cookin'. Maybe try turbo next. Read 2 hours at 350. And I'll be lookin.

Foghorn · August 21

It's great that you did the cook and that you came here for some guidance on how to make the next one better.

With regard to the temperature - is it possible that your ribs were sitting close enough to the tip of the dome thermometer to affect the reading there? When you put a big, cold slab of meat on, if that meat is sitting anywhere near the thermometer, it renders that thermometer pretty useless.

Also, do you have any idea what the meat temp was when they finished?

As for being burned on the bottom - I"ve done that more than once. The platesetter/convEGGtor can be quite a source of radiant heat that can burn the bottom of your meat. That's why many folks recommend a drip pan that has an air gap between it and the ceramic heat blocker. This will be especially necessary if you are going to try a turbo cook next time.

I hope that helps and that you post a follow-up to this cook when you do it.

fishlessman · August 21

im usually flipping the rack and rotating the rack 90 degrees starting at 2 hours in. bad byrons needs to be mixed with other rubs and brown sugar for my tastes, it is salty. im not a fan of that rub.

calracefan · August 22

265F is a little warm for that long, I cook at 250F. You were cooking indirect ? Were the ribs exposed to direct heat ? Bad Byrons in my opinion is salty !

Ozzie_Isaac · August 22

What was your grid setup - was the grid on the fire ring, or at felt level? Direct or indirect?

I find most commercial rubs to salty for me. I like Meat Church Texas Sugar because it has less salt than most.

Hungry Joe · August 22

Did you cook indirect?

tjv · August 22

Never had much luck with Swift ribs, always seem to be super injected with some type of salt solution. Read the Butt Rub label as it too is heavy in salt.

Best thing you can do is start reading labels, especially on pork, poultry and rubs.

Ribs are tricky on the large EGG and convEGGtor, as they hang over the ceramic protection.....

Tom

Ozzie_Isaac · August 22

tjv said:

Never had much luck with Swift ribs, always seem to be super injected with some type of salt solution. Read the Butt Rub label as it too is heavy in salt.

Best thing you can do is start reading labels, especially on pork, poultry and rubs.

Ribs are tricky on the large EGG and convEGGtor, as they hang over the ceramic protection.....

Tom

I tend to avoid the Swift Ribs - didn’t know really why, but they always came out sub-par. The injected with heavy salt would explain that.

fishlessman · August 22

Always stay away from injected ribs and supermarket packaged ribs. Repackaged ribs at the supermarket don't have to tell you about injected added solution by law

WoodworkerBED · August 23

I spritz my ribs heavy every hour after the first hour and apply my first coating of barbecue sauce at hour 4 and second coating at hour 5. Also always use a drip pan, indirect, and BGE rib rack. They always turn out great and seldom are any left over.

CP92 · August 24

Hungry Joe said:

Did you cook indirect?

That's my initial thought. I was hoping he'd reply.

calracefan · August 25

Got a private message from him , it was the Swift Ribs . Second run with other ribs he said turned out well .

ColbyLang · August 25

2 slabs, 250° indirect. 3-1-1 method. There ain’t none left. Can’t remember if they were swift or not. Local grocery store, not a butcher

Schlaffer · August 25

Thanks to everyone for all the help. As I mentioned to a couple people on here, I bought two racks of baby backs from a butcher. Made a batch of 'Carolina Dirt' rub and put them on. Temp at 250. Spritzed with apple juice at 1,3,4 hour mark. Slathered on bbq sauce at 4.5 and left for another half hour. Thought the rub was a little bland for my taste but the wife liked it. Not salty though. Thanks again everyone. You all were very helpful.

lousubcap · August 25

@Schlaffer - thanks for closing the loop here. Too many times the outcome from requested suggestions is never return served.

tjv · August 25

fishlessman said:

Always stay away from injected ribs and supermarket packaged ribs. Repackaged ribs at the supermarket don't have to tell you about injected added solution by law

that's another thing I don't buy - packages in the general meat cases that look to be special packaged (repackaged) onsite.

Case in point, one of our major grocery stores started selling full packer briskets at prices/lb higher than other stores. Next thing you see next to the packers are repackaged brisket flats and points. My best guess is the packers ran up on the sell by date, so repackage to resell.

t

fishlessman · August 25

tjv said:

fishlessman said:

Always stay away from injected ribs and supermarket packaged ribs. Repackaged ribs at the supermarket don't have to tell you about injected added solution by law

that's another thing I don't buy - packages in the general meat cases that look to be special packaged (repackaged) onsite.

Case in point, one of our major grocery stores started selling full packer briskets at prices/lb higher than other stores. Next thing you see next to the packers are repackaged brisket flats and points. My best guess is the packers ran up on the sell by date, so repackage to resell.

t

our main supermarket repackages hormel ribs under the market basket brand, absolutely terrible.......maybe if i boiled them for a few hours before hitting the grill, maybe not

Mickey · August 27

At least you found something in yours to eat. Sometimes it doesn’t work out that well.

Adult beverage, very slow Dallas game & nap says it all. Oh, wings if you couldn’t see them.

Mickey · August 27

I do party ribs now in 30/40 minutes cook. I like the cooked all over and the pull ( not a fan of fall off the bone).

They are Costco ribs

Pull membrane
Cut individual ribs
Worcestershire or mustard
Salt & Pepper
Raised direct cook
TURN EVERY 10 MINUTES
If you want sauce do last 10 min. I like sauce on the table if i want at all.
350/375°
Also do the same with the beef ribs at Costco.

Teefus · August 27

FWIW, I’ve procured Swift brand Loin Ribs at Costco a number of times and always found them to be excellent. I normally do a 3-1-1 cook, or a variant thereof. If I want to slide out the bones and eat with a fork I go 3-2-1. Never not yummy.

fishlessman · August 27

Teefus said:

FWIW, I’ve procured Swift brand Loin Ribs at Costco a number of times and always found them to be excellent. I normally do a 3-1-1 cook, or a variant thereof. If I want to slide out the bones and eat with a fork I go 3-2-1. Never not yummy.

i think the swift is ok, smithfield does add solution to some of the ribs though. i think the ops mistake was over rubbing with a mustard binder, you can get alot to stick with mustard

Teefus · August 28

fishlessman said:

Teefus said:

FWIW, I’ve procured Swift brand Loin Ribs at Costco a number of times and always found them to be excellent. I normally do a 3-1-1 cook, or a variant thereof. If I want to slide out the bones and eat with a fork I go 3-2-1. Never not yummy.

i think the swift is ok, smithfield does add solution to some of the ribs though. i think the ops mistake was over rubbing with a mustard binder, you can get alot to stick with mustard

Good point. I’ve made the mistake of too much rub a couple times. Too salty. I find the best flavor usually is associated with modest amounts of rub. It lets the smoke and the meat flavors be the stars of the show.

Where did I go wrong?

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