Smoking Ribs

This is what I do. Works for me. I smoke them for 2 hrs around 225-250. Pull and wrap in foil for about 2 more hrs. in the smoker at the same temp. Course I apply rub and everything else b4 hand

gunzilla said:

I have found that the longer my ribs stay in the smoker, the less tender they are. Tomorrow I will do two racks with exactly the same rub. They are already wrappen in the fridge. I will hit them with smoke hard for 15 minutes and double wrap them in foil. Next one will go in the oven for 3 hours at 200 and the other one i will keep wrapped in the smoker for 3 hours.

All comments are welcome. I am trying to figure out if the ribs that fall off the bone are because of...

• consistent low temp (200 in the oven)
  or
• not being smoked for too long

Bring it...

Click to expand...

That is unusual. Usually the longer you smoke them, the mushier they get. Unless they are burnt, I could see how those would be tough.

gunzilla said:

I have found that the longer my ribs stay in the smoker, the less tender they are. Tomorrow I will do two racks with exactly the same rub. They are already wrappen in the fridge. I will hit them with smoke hard for 15 minutes and double wrap them in foil. Next one will go in the oven for 3 hours at 200 and the other one i will keep wrapped in the smoker for 3 hours.

All comments are welcome. I am trying to figure out if the ribs that fall off the bone are because of...

• consistent low temp (200 in the oven)
  or
• not being smoked for too long

Bring it...

Click to expand...

Admittedly, I am an idiot. But I don't get it.

In both your tests, you are wrapping the ribs for most of the cook. Did you mean to say the ones in the smoker will not be wrapped in foil? If not, you are just cooking ribs at 200 in two different places. but the samre relative (foiled) conditions.

If so, you need to add a third and fourth subject to the test: No foil at all in smoke, and no foil at all in Oven.

Bear in mind, as stated above, I am not so smart.

There was a method when I first signed on here that works fairly well called 3-2-1. 3 hours in the smoke, 2 in foil, 1 back in the smoke. Sometimes mine get a little too tender that way so I cut it to 2.5-2-1.

Spares = 3-2-1
Loin Ribs=2-2-1(or less)

I have adopted the 3-2-1 method also. What do you mean by "hitting them hard for 15 min" ? Great big pillowy white smoke is not what we are looking for, that will make the ribs bitter. A Grey or blueish tinted smoke and not alot coming out the smoker is what to get to.

jgh1204 said:

Spares = 3-2-1
Loin Ribs=2-2-1(or less)

Click to expand...

This of course is the standard. It does not look anything liek what he is talking about above. I am just trying to figure out what he is 'planning on trying' and not the 'standrad way to cook ribs. I still don't get it.

Welcome, stop by Cattle Call and introduce yourself. Make sure you include the cookers you are using so we can give you good advice to your questions.

As to this one, I would ask what temp do you keep in the smoker, and what do you ribs look like when they are done?

I'm not quite sure the cooking method is sound. Cooking ribs in foil for 3 hrs is only going to net you mushy, falling apart, steamed ribs. "Hitting them hard" with smoke for 15 minutes first will at best give you next to nothing or at worst a nasty taste on your steamed ribs. I'm no expert but if you feel that you must foil, try something like this:
-Get the cooker ready first, meaning up to temp and with light smoke coming out of it. Even if the smoke dies down to nothing as the cook progresses, it will be OK. Shoot for temps between 225 and 275. Don't overdo it with the smoke wood. (Letting us know what kind of cooker you have will make it easier for us to help you out on this one).
-Place the seasoned ribs in the cooker for a couple of hours until they're the color you want. 2 hrs or so for baby backs, 3 or so for spares.
-Wrap the ribs in foil (put a little apple juice in the foil package too, if you like) and put them back in the cooker until they are tender. 45 minutes to an hour, max. Check with a toothpick or a fork or something. It should go in with little resistance.
-Unwrap the ribs and put them back in the cooker until they firm up a little, anywhere up to an hour, and sauce them when they're almost ready. That's the 3 criteria for each step in the cooking process. All times are approximate, your mileage may vary.
-Eat the presumably tasty and tender ribs.
-Repeat as necessary.

Good luck and let us know if you have any more questions.

Yep on the 3-2-1 sorta. I also have dropped to more of a 2ish-2-1

Azinine said:

what Kirk said...

Click to expand...

Ditto

Oh, and you also may want to wrap them after 2 hours in smoke (I think some of the other guys may have said this so if so disregard :wink:

Gunzilla, it sounds to me like you are cooking them at to low a temp. Ribs need 230 at least (even while smoking). I made this mistake early on as well. I figured the lower the temp the more tender but after 6 hours they were still tough. Make sure its 230 at the grate.

For the most part, I do 3-2-1 and it works just fine. Sometimes, I don't foil at all and just let the ribs smoke at 250*. This usually takes 6-7 hours depending on how meaty the ribs are. They come off competition tender and an unbelievable taste in my opinion.

Tony

Welcome!

It sounds to me like there are a couple of areas for improvement:

1. Don't hit them hard with anything, especially not thick smoke. As others have said, get a stable fire going with little or no visible smoke, and you will get a much better taste result.

2. Try to keep your smoke chamber temp at around 225, and not more than 250F. I could see the result being kind of dry if you stay too low on the temperature for the whole cook.

Also, as others have said, please let us know what kind of smoker you are using. This will help us recommend techniques for getting the best results.

smokinbadger said:

Also, as others have said, please let us know what kind of smoker you are using. This will help us recommend techniques for getting the best results.

Click to expand...

Looks like he's got a Bandera:
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=25377
Think someone here can help him out? :-D