Rib Temperature vs 300
 

I want to start using 300 as my target for all my smokes but was thinking that this approach might not be optimal for Ribs. Am I off base with this thought or not? Do you have a target temperature for everything or specific temps for specific meats? Mac

I run my Traeger at 275 with ribs and I think I push close to 300 with grate temps. The bottoms get a little crunchy with the rub I use but they are still good. I would not compete at those temperature though with ribs I don't think judges would like the "bottom bark"

I cook everything at 275°/300° Mac, excellent results in quicker time...

Run a rack at 300° and see what ya think, in the end it's personal preference anyway :thumb:

Nothing wrong with 300 degrees, My Man. In this country, MOST ribs are cooked at 300+ degrees. That is, they are grilled. Fact! 300+ does not mean you will not get tasty ribs, especially if you are Smoking and not Grilling. It's like driving. The faster you drive - the faster you will get there. Cook Hotter and the meat gets done faster. They are pluses and minuses to both. If you are Driving fast, you may get a ticket and you will definitely burn a lot of gas. If you are Cooking Hotter, you run the risk of overcooking your meat, especially if you grilling.

My suggestion for your 300 degree cook:

1. Practice 2. Practice some more 3. Repeat steps 1 and 2.

You will quickly figure out how to accomplish the "300" cook and produce a quality product.

I tend to use different temperatures ranging from 225 to 275 for different products.

I think comp guys cook ribs at 300 until they get color they like, and then wrap to protect from burning. You could try that too!

You will definitely will have more bark on the bottom of your ribs, which isn't a bad thing depending on preference. You could have inconsistent results if you have thin racks along with hot spots etc.. Bark may turn to char. However if you watch how much sugar you put on your ribs and use a heat diffuser you could avoid that charred bottom.

I am a 250 guy for everything. But that is just my preference and what I am used to. I see absolutely no reason why you can't do ribs at 300. You'll just have to practice a lot and sample the results. And that doesn't exactly suck!

I've cooked plenty of racks at 300, found I had more consistent results cooking for 2hrs naked then wrap for 1hr than just cooking racks naked the whole cook. I like to hang them and prefer to cook ribs naked so I have backed my cook temp down to around 275, cook naked for 4hrs give or take, giving them a spritz every 45min. I have been very happy with the results so that is my target temp for ribs everything else is cooked at 300+ so I'm a believer of HNF.

As said above give it a try and see what you think.

To all who posted, thanks for your comments.

Kevin - I am going to try my hand at hanging various Proteins once my hanging rack gets fabricated. I like the idea of hanging them naked with just enough spritz to keep them moist and hope I can make that work in my Deep South. I am trying to perfect a hands off approach once placed in the smoker. Less handling is best in my book! Do to wrap your ribs when hanging them or did I not understand your comment?

I was hanging Ribs unwrapped at 300 but wasn't getting consistent results so I tried hanging the Ribs for 2hrs at 300 then replacing the hanging rack with a regular grate letting the Ribs cook flat on the grate meat side down wrapped with a little bit of apple juice in the wrap for the last hour. I found this to give me a more consistency with the Ribs cooking more evenly throughout the whole rack and better color.

I don't like wrapping Ribs and when I bumped the temp back down to 275 and started using a spritz I've been very happy with the results, when cooking at 300 naked they weren't bad I just knew they could be better, I'm my own worst critic so when I'm happy with a cook I know they're good.

You may find cooking on the Deep South you can cook your Ribs at 300 without wrapping, I'm sure your cook chamber provides a moister cooking environment than my Drum. Give it a try and see what you think.

Good info, will try this technique on my next PBC ribs :thumb:

i have cooked ribs at 300 in my GF, cabinet, offset, jimmy and they all come out good. if you experience the bottom coming out too dark try leaving the membrane on. it melts off at higher temps so maybe that will give the bottom a little protection. i don't wrap my ribs any more.

Interesting take on the membrane. I do remove mine but never really gave much thought to leaving them on and letting the heat "Melt" them off! Mac

After reading Aaron Franklin's Meat Smoking Manifesto, 275 now for anything on the smoker.