Just threw away the first ribs I tried on my egg.
Disclaimer: fault of the cook not the egg or seasonings.
Tough, dried out and uneatable. I've been reading everything I could on doing baby backs and tried a combination of them. Sorry Wess should have done as you told me. The technique:
Prepared ribs by removing membrane then seasoned with Dizzy Dust and that's the last thing I did right. I did this last evening and wrapped in plastic and stuck in the frig until this afternoon. Then read a posting on the forum that they shouldn't be left for more than an hour or so or they'll get mushy. Oh yeah, I cut slits between the ribs after seeing that on some web site. Hey, get sauce/seasoning on more of the meat. :S Guess it may work in an oven but NOT on an egg.
Cooked for three hours indirect at 225-235
but didn't look like WessB's. Decided not to foil because I read on another site that foiling may contribute to mushiness. Remember these were seasoned about 16 hours before cooking.
After 4 1/2 hours decided they were shot but finished them with homemade balsamic vinegar bbq sauce. Didn't look too bad but... couldn't be eaten.
Moral of the story. RTFM and then follow it. Good thing I had some left over thighs from yesterday which were very good.
--Dave
Comments
Better luck next time. Everyone cooks a clunker from time to time. Getting ready to put on 6 slabs right now for an auction at church tomorrow.
H
Next time try the 3-1-1 method.
# hours in the smoke, 1 hour in foil and up to one hour back in the smoke.
Rub them up 2 or 3 hours before you want to start cooking them. During the foil stage add some parkay and honey. Dour the final hour keep an eye on them. You can start saucing them during this stage.
They are done when you can stick them with a toothpick and the toothpick comes out easily. One other test is to pick them up by tongs along the bones. If the the rack bend 90% they are done.
You description of preparation and seasoning sounds fine.
I do reseason lightly when they are waiting to be cooked that long, which I think is a great method.
I stopped using the V rack and lay flat bone down for the cook.
Time for me at that temp is about 3 to 4 hours. The 'bend' test doesn't seem to ever work for me, but I watch for meat pull back on the bone - about a quarter of an inch is what I look for. Or I till thermopen the meat between the bone. I am looking for temperature as well as tenderness.
Some times I will pull some meat and eat it to see if it is where I like it. I have a hard time knowing when done really is with ribs.
From the looks it seems like they still should have been OK.
Before seasoning I use mustard on the meat. But that doesn't affect the taste.
Sorry to hear the results.
GG
Nope! Back to the store tomorrow for more ribs and a couple of butts.
--Dave
Mike
Re-gasketing America one yard at a time
Ron
What exactly, was the problem with the finished ribs? Too dry? tough? mushy? flavor issues?
Hang in- you will get better. And what a chance to learn from mistakes! You have access to some great rib help here, so take advantage of the suggestions.
If you have a Sam's/BJ's/Costco Membership get them there. If you don't WHY NOT??? :woohoo:
They were very dry which may have come from too long in the seasoning and slits I cut into them. Dizzy Dust lists salt pretty far down the list of ingredients so they may not be drying out too much from the seasoning.
I have another I seasoned, vacuum sealed and froze. Any hope for them? At least I didn't cut the slits.
--Dave
If not, thaw them out in water as quickly as possible.
Once the meat is frozen the spices will pretty much stop penetrating the meat.
BJ's Ribs are not enhanced. Still think most of your problem was the length of time you cook the ribs. If you cooked them longer I think they would have been better.
Also spritz them with Apple Juice every 30 minutes or so while they are in the 3 hour smoke stage.
I did just check the dome thermometer and it was reading about 10 degrees low.
I have a Redi Check and had the pit probe down the daisy wheel a few inches and it was reading about 300 when the dome was reading 250. Was just using it to monitor for temp changes not cooking temps. Any thoughts? Good, bad, waste of batteries??
--Dave
Gently bend the solder end around the pit probe. Now you can clip the pit probe to the stem of the dome thermometer.
I still prefer Spares..
Going for spares next. Well right after butts. Pulled pork has got to be my favorite and one of major reasons for getting an egg. Going to bake some no-knead bread tomorrow. Switched out the phenolic knob with a stainless steel kitchen drawer pull in order to use a Lodge dutch oven at 500.
--Dave
Take a looksee at the two baby back recipes in the PORK section on my site. The Car Wash Mike method takes about 5-1/2 hours and does not use foil. It calls for a 250° temp and gets a sauced finish. Very traditional and makes wonderful ribs.
The EZBB ribs only take about 3-1/2 hours of cooking, but at higher temps, plus some resting. This method uses a foil finish and the ribs have a light stickiness to them. They are sauced, if needed, at the table. The time in the foil can be varied to give you the exact tenderness you want.
In short, two very different methods, both produce end results that are very good.
Thanks for the suggestions on the temp probe.
No-knead bread starts out at 500 then drops to 425 to complete. Lodge knobs are only good for 350.
I've done this in my oven and am hoping it works in the egg. Supposed to drop temp to 425 after pre-heating the dutch oven. Don't know if the egg will drop fast enough but am going to try.
--Dave