Ribs to tender

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Gasket

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I did my first St. Louie hot n fast cook today in my 22.5 WSM. The temp at grate level was between 275 and 300*. I started the cooker with RO lump using the Minion method with the coffee can in the middle. Started about a half chimney of lump and waited till they were ashed over. I dumped them in the coffee can and waited till the cooker came up to temp. I prepped the ribs removed the membrane and slathered with mustard and then rubbed with my homemade rub. The cooker settled in at 291* for about an hour and was blowing sweet blue. I put 3 racks of St. Louies on the top rack and the temp dropped to 273 and was soon stabilized at 282* I use the foiled pizza pan method over the dry water pan and the ribs were on at 1:15 pm. No spritz, no peeking or nothing until 4:15. Temp was always in between 275 and 300. At 4:15 the ribs did not pass the probe our the bend test though there was about 1/4 inch of pull back on the bones. The ribs were getting there but, not there yet. I checked again at 5:00 pm and the ribs were probe tender and when picked up in the middle were bending nicely and the meat was starting to crack a little. When slicing they had a nice smoke ring ( I used pecan and cherry) and were some of the juiciest. The ribs I have cooked yet. The only thing was they were very tender and when we bit into them their was very little pull and the meat was falling of the bone. The flavor was very good and and over all I was happy with them, I 'm just wondering why they went from not being ready to falling of the bone within a 45 minute period. What could I have done differently?
 
The only advice for that is to pull them just a tad earlier.

You really didn't do anything wrong. Maybe it was just the ribs.
 
very little pull and the meat was falling of the bone
Click to expand...
So whats wrong with that? My family and friends like it that way. I've made almost perfect comp. ribs and nobody really cared for them. Cook what you and your guests like. Heck:oops: I normally leave half a rack on the smoker to basically dry out for myself, then sauce. Ya I like rib Jerky
 
superlazy said:
So whats wrong with that? My family and friends like it that way. I've made almost perfect comp. ribs and nobody really cared for them. Cook what you and your guests like. Heck:oops: I normally leave half a rack on the smoker to basically dry out for myself, then sauce. Ya I like rib Jerky
Click to expand...
Me too!
 
Sounds like you did a great job. If indeed they were to tender for your taste, check them more often. I am guessing with the higher cook temp they are going t change that much quicker.
 
superlazy said:
So whats wrong with that? My family and friends like it that way. I've made almost perfect comp. ribs and nobody really cared for them. Cook what you and your guests like. Heck:oops: I normally leave half a rack on the smoker to basically dry out for myself, then sauce. Ya I like rib Jerky
Click to expand...

Everyone thought they were good. My mom who likes falling off the bone ribs thought they were delicious. My son (who's my biggest critic) thought the flavor was great but they were to tender. My wife (who's from Texas) also thought the flavor was spot on but just a little to tender than my usual low n slow fare.
 
Some of the juiciest ribs ever and they were cooked hot and fast with no foil... hmmm.. The foil gods are rolling over in their grave.

I wouldn't change a thing!
 
Cook for you and your feasters you could cook perfect comp q but if its not what the people you are serving like really don't make sense
 
I guess I'm an uncaring SOB I cook ribs the way I like 'em if they aint to your liking 30 mi up the road is a MacDonald s C'ya. In my limited 30 yr experience of cookin BBQ St Louis trim usually are to my liking ( bite through little tug yielding to a clean bone) in 3.5- 4 hrs at those temps, I don't foil and I use the bend test.
 
Bludawg said:
I guess I'm an uncaring SOB I cook ribs the way I like 'em if they aint to your liking 30 mi up the road is a MacDonald s C'ya. In my limited 30 yr experience of cookin BBQ St Louis trim usually are to my liking ( bite through little tug yielding to a clean bone) in 3.5- 4 hrs at those temps, I don't foil and I use the bend test.
Click to expand...

Ya, but that's the thing. I'm trying to get that bite through,little tug yielding to a clean bone at those temps also. They were done at 4 hrs according to the bend test but, were falling off the bone. So what's up with that. Well at least I hear the McRib is coming back! :becky:
 
I'd ask what YOU thought of them. If you think they were too tender, check and pull them earlier next time.

In comps, we let the ribs rest in a loose foil tent to tighten up, which they always do. Perhaps that might help as well. You could just put them on a tray/sheet and cover that to let em hang out for 15-20 minutes if you think they feel too loose. This, however, is a "feel thing" and comes with experience too. I've just had racks of ribs come off the smoker (foiled mind you) and be really tender feeling, then we'll sauce and let them rest for a bit, covered and when I go to slice, they've tightened up.
 
Wampus said:
I'd ask what YOU thought of them. If you think they were too tender, check and pull them earlier next time.

In comps, we let the ribs rest in a loose foil tent to tighten up, which they always do. Perhaps that might help as well. You could just put them on a tray/sheet and cover that to let em hang out for 15-20 minutes if you think they feel too loose. This, however, is a "feel thing" and comes with experience too. I've just had racks of ribs come off the smoker (foiled mind you) and be really tender feeling, then we'll sauce and let them rest for a bit, covered and when I go to slice, they've tightened up.
Click to expand...

I thought they were pretty darn good. I guess I'm just trying to get that perfect balance of bite through and tenderness that I normally get with my usual low and slow cooks. I like the texture of the bark more on these ribs than the low and slow ones, though the ends did get a little crunchy but I like that too! I'm a new comer to this hot n fast stuff but it just seems to make more sense to me. I did let the racks rest covered on a sheet pan with foil for about 15 mins.
 
Forget all the long answers. Your ribs were simply slightly over cooked - adjust for next batch (either shorter cooking or lower temperature).
John
 
I am not sure if you think their is a magic 1 time that works for all ribs, but their isnt.

You can have 1 rack overdone, 1 rack not there yet on the same cooker same times.

You have the answer already, check more often. have fun with it, take notes, on how they bend, they are done when they are done, but that is different to everyone. You make the call, and yes hotter means less time in the sweet spot, just have to catch it sooner.

Its only BBQ...
 
> The temp at grate level was between 275 and 300*

Still low n slow, IMHO. Not terribly low, and not terribly slow (hence your 45 minute window from undercooked to very cooked).


> I 'm just wondering why they went from not being ready to falling of the bone within a 45 minute period. What could I have done differently?

I cook babybacks mostly, at 265-280 degrees. There's about a 10 minute window for me when they're done to when they're falling apart. Ribs are thin, so there's a very short window there.
 
Gasket said:
I did my first St. Louie hot n fast cook today in my 22.5 WSM. The temp at grate level was between 275 and 300*. I started the cooker with RO lump using the Minion method with the coffee can in the middle. Started about a half chimney of lump and waited till they were ashed over. I dumped them in the coffee can and waited till the cooker came up to temp. I prepped the ribs removed the membrane and slathered with mustard and then rubbed with my homemade rub. The cooker settled in at 291* for about an hour and was blowing sweet blue. I put 3 racks of St. Louies on the top rack and the temp dropped to 273 and was soon stabilized at 282* I use the foiled pizza pan method over the dry water pan and the ribs were on at 1:15 pm. No spritz, no peeking or nothing until 4:15. Temp was always in between 275 and 300. At 4:15 the ribs did not pass the probe our the bend test though there was about 1/4 inch of pull back on the bones. The ribs were getting there but, not there yet. I checked again at 5:00 pm and the ribs were probe tender and when picked up in the middle were bending nicely and the meat was starting to crack a little. When slicing they had a nice smoke ring ( I used pecan and cherry) and were some of the juiciest. The ribs I have cooked yet. The only thing was they were very tender and when we bit into them their was very little pull and the meat was falling of the bone. The flavor was very good and and over all I was happy with them, I 'm just wondering why they went from not being ready to falling of the bone within a 45 minute period. What could I have done differently?
Click to expand...

You waited a little too long to pull them. It's all in the timing.
You didn't mention using foil, Did you?
(Sometimes when you foil the meat will literally fall off the bone).

I prefer to have to bite it off the bone.
I don't like to use foil on ribs. I just watch them close and sauce
them about 30-45 minutes before I pull them. I want the sauce to set up
on the ribs. I always do some without sauce, because my wife
likes hers that way.
REGARDLESS: The last hour will determine the fate of your ribs.
 
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