Please help...ribs bad again

O

Oldpro1946

Knows what a fatty is.
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My second try at spares was BAD. The first attempt I cooked for 6 hrs at 250 with water pan, no foiling. Bark tough, thick and chewey. Today I cooked at 250, 3-1-.5, put brown sugar, parkay and honey in the foil. St. Louis ribs were way overcooked, even the bones started cooking and getting soft. Couldn't even see much meat. Bark was fine, terrific. I am at a loss. I am using a Smoke Hollow 30 electric smoker. Temp was steady. I have seen such juicy ribs on this site but mine were awful. Three strikes and I'm out. Please help!
 
be patient. it takes a minute to dial in your cooker times.

try this...

2 hours out of foil @ 260-275. if you see some pullback and pighoney wrap em. if not leave em for another 1/2 to 3/4 hour.

after @ an hour stick a toothpick inbetween the bones, if it sildes in and out easily, you're done, if not leave em in for another 1/2 hour. check again.
 
If I am doing the 250 cook, which I do often, I generally with spares do a 2, 1, .5 cook. I always check the foil after one hour to see the pullback and if after saucing in the last fifteen, they are not to my liking, I let them ride right there for a bit longer. You are doing fine, it just takes a few tries sometimes.
 
I would agree on taking more time and patience. BBQ is the art of patience. I would follow Boggiesnap's advice. Another slower option if to put them in there are 225F, don't foil and let them slow cook until done. Pullback is one clue to being done, another is bend.

I like water in the cooker unless I am doing a lot of meat. I believe added moisture inproves texture and heat control. So I use a water pan in my kettle for all BBQ cooking.
 
boogiesnap said:
be patient. it takes a minute to dial in your cooker times.

try this...

2 hours out of foil @ 260-275. if you see some pullback and pighoney wrap em. if not leave em for another 1/2 to 3/4 hour.

after @ an hour stick a toothpick inbetween the bones, if it sildes in and out easily, you're done, if not leave em in for another 1/2 hour. check again.
Click to expand...

Should I be foiling after some pullback? Also, are you saying I should cook them 2 to 3hrs then foil for 1hr...finished? Thanks.
 
The bones were soft? How confident are you in your thermometer? I've over cooked ribs before :oops: and I've never had the bones soften. There is some cartilage at the end of the bones in spares. Was it the cartilage that you thought was softened bones?

Also, how much did the racks weigh? I like to use racks that are around 2.5 lbs after trimming St. Louis style. I cook min at 250 for 2.5 hours, then foil for 1.5 and then glaze and set for 15 minutes and they are pretty close to just right.
 
Oldpro1946 said:
Should I be foiling after some pullback? Also, are you saying I should cook them 2 to 3hrs then foil for 1hr...finished? Thanks.
Click to expand...

yes, wait for some pull back before foiling. maybe 1/2 inch at most times.

take a look after 2 hours, if you see enough pullback, then foil. if not let 'em ride a bit longer before foiling.

once foiled check after the first 3/4 to 1 hour for done.

if after a full hour in foil still not done, i'd pull em out of foil to finish to avoid mush.
 
boogiesnap said:
yes, wait for some pull back before foiling. maybe 1/2 inch at most times.

take a look after 2 hours, if you see enough pullback, then foil. if not let 'em ride a bit longer before foiling.

once foiled check after the first 3/4 to 1 hour for done.

if after a full hour in foil still not done, i'd pull em out of foil to finish to avoid mush.
Click to expand...

bingo!!!
 
I am going to echo the other comments, especially with regards to temp. Make sure that your temp is accurate. I don't trust the thermometer thats on the lid of my smoker. I have a thermometer at grate level, so I have a more accurate temp.
 
trial and error my friend. trial and error. dont quit! ull get em! either your temp gauge is off or somethings up. i always look for a little pull back before i foil em up. i expect after foiling that the pullback is extensive and the ribs are basically done. if not done completely. then i sauce/glaze em up and put em back in for 15 min (if they are done already from the foil) or i leave em in longer if they werent already done. sometimes up to 45-60 min
 
Ron_L said:
The bones were soft? How confident are you in your thermometer? I've over cooked ribs before :oops: and I've never had the bones soften. There is some cartilage at the end of the bones in spares. Was it the cartilage that you thought was softened bones?

Also, how much did the racks weigh? I like to use racks that are around 2.5 lbs after trimming St. Louis style. I cook min at 250 for 2.5 hours, then foil for 1.5 and then glaze and set for 15 minutes and they are pretty close to just right.
Click to expand...

My smoker is new and I did cook a brisket that turned out well. So I believe the thermometer is fine. At the end of the bone there was a couple of areas that was soft. I don't know how to explain it. the bones, I guess, weren't actually soft but at one end of 2 bones it was a little "dug out"??? I trimmed the spares in to St. Louis ribs and they looked kind of average size. Could I have had too much smoke? This smokin" stuff is harder than I thought. I thought what could be so hard; right temp, right length of time, right smoke.....easy. Boy was I wrong.
 
jcpetro97 said:
I am going to echo the other comments, especially with regards to temp. Make sure that your temp is accurate. I don't trust the thermometer thats on the lid of my smoker. I have a thermometer at grate level, so I have a more accurate temp.
Click to expand...

Could I use a regular meat thermometer?
 
DirtyDirty00 said:
trial and error my friend. trial and error. dont quit! ull get em! either your temp gauge is off or somethings up. i always look for a little pull back before i foil em up. i expect after foiling that the pullback is extensive and the ribs are basically done. if not done completely. then i sauce/glaze em up and put em back in for 15 min (if they are done already from the foil) or i leave em in longer if they werent already done. sometimes up to 45-60 min
Click to expand...

What was unusual was that there was hardly any meat on the ribs after I cooked them. It was like the meat melted off with the fat. As I said before; this smokin' thing is harder than it looks!!!
 
it is, but it'll get real easy after a few times.

except for farkin' brisket.
 
Oldpro1946 said:
Could I use a regular meat thermometer?
Click to expand...


well. i think it depends on the thermometer to be honest. here is what I do. I have a digital thermometer, that has a pretty decent length probe.

Amazon.com: Taylor 1470 Digital Cooking Thermometer/Timer: Kitchen & Dining@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41DppVFaqzL.@@AMEPARAM@@41DppVFaqzL

Then what I do, is take some foil, make a crumble it up into a ball, stick the probe through the ball, then put that ball on the grate. Then i get a pretty good reading at grate level. If you search the forums here, you will see that many of the folks here don't trust the stock thermometers that come with their smokers. Many either do what I did, or they replace the stock thermometer. Just something to think about.

I had a similar issue to what you are talking about... and I was using the stock lid thermometer. When i took a class, I brought that up, and the issues I had been having, and that is where I learned the tip I just shared. The first time I did the thermometer on the grate method, I was surprised at the difference in temps.

Now, that being said, there is also the other side of the coin, where you just have to keep "practicing" and learn to know the nuances of your smoker. You can adjust cooking times, temps, etc and eventually, you will make ribs you are happy with.

Good Luck!!
 
anyone suggest the bendy test to decide when to foil?

and when to unfoil?
 
boogiesnap said:
too much fussn for me. easier to look and poke with a toothpick.
Click to expand...


Thanks


I think I will try both techniques for a while. As a rookie, it can't hurt getting three opinions (thermometer, bendy & toothpick) to get a good idea of what done should feel like.

One thing I learned is to let the meat tell you when it's done, not the other way around.

BTW, the virtual bullet guy highly recommends you cook a few slabs at first for different times to compare the final results.
 
Me personally, I tried the 3-2-1 method, but altered it to be 3-1-1 method, mainly because when I cooked it in the 3-2-1 method, the meat was more like pulled pork, than ribs.. Anyhoo.. good luck!
 
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