3-2-1 butts, ribs & loins

Billy P · May 28, 2009

Ok I understand the concept of 3-2-1; 3hr smoke, 2hr foil, 1hr cooler. But what temp. do y'all cook at? I've been told to cook at 200° to 250° and I've been told 250° to 300° and higher. I'm soooooo confused. Ive been cooking for some time now and just can't seem to get butts and lions to come out the way I think they should. My ribs slways turn out great and I've been told my ribs are better than "Dreamland BBQ's" ribs; which in my neck of the woods is saying alot. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

HeSmellsLikeSmoke · May 28, 2009

Billy P said:
Ok I understand the concept of 3-2-1; 3hr smoke, 2hr foil, 1hr cooler. But what temp. do y'all cook at? I've been told to cook at 200° to 250° and I've been told 250° to 300° and higher. I'm soooooo confused. Ive been cooking for some time now and just can't seem to get butts and lions to come out the way I think they should. My ribs slways turn out great and I've been told my ribs are better than "Dreamland BBQ's" ribs; which in my neck of the woods is saying alot. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

The last number in the 3-2-1 is one hour back on the smoker to firm them up. The cooler or resting part is in addition to those numbers. For me two hours in the foil is too long and over cooks them. You need to find your own ratio and cooking temperature by experimenting. Different smokers cook faster than others too, even at the same grate temps.

Edit: This applies to spare ribs only. I too have never seen the 3-2-1 method used for butts or loins.

71-South · May 28, 2009

Hey Billy,

Welcome aboard!

The 3-2-1 doesn't apply to butts. They take longer than that normally.

I cook at around 230°, but anywhere in the range you mentioned should be fine.

Check out this thread, scroll down, read, and learn, learn, learn. I spent a couple of days following stuff off of the Roadmap thread when I first started. That one thread, and the places it'll lead you, can teach a man to BBQ like a pro.

Good luck,
Bret

thillin · May 28, 2009

Are you trying 3-2-1 on butts and loins? I'm a little confused. I try to cook around 225-250 for just about anything except chicken.

3-2-1 is used mainly on spare ribs. Shorter time for baby backs. Look at the forum road map linked aboved. Butts are going to take about 1.5 hours per pound unless you go hat and fast.

Rick's Tropical Delight · May 28, 2009

i'm cornfused too. :|

a person experimented in 2004 and cooked a fatty 3 hours in the smoke, two hours in foil with additional liquid, and rested 1 hour in a cooler and all of a sudden, this method applies to everything?

read the roadmap threads for your initial cooks and learning. experiment later once you get the hang of it. don't tweak a recipe or method until after you try it as the original recipe states. don't cook to a specific time so much but rather a target internal meat temperature.

Barbarian · May 28, 2009

Oh Willkat98 where are you??????????

Crüe-B-Cüe · May 28, 2009

Billy P said:
I've been told my ribs are better than "Dreamland BBQ's" ribs; which in my neck of the woods is saying alot.

Hopefully the one there is better than the one here in Mobile. The one here is awful. At least to me. I guess for the people who have never had real bbq it is good.

Mark · May 28, 2009

Billy P said: just can't seem to get butts and lions to come out the way I think they should.

Which begs the question how do you think they should come out. Butts and loins should come out completely different. Butts are for pulling whereas loins don't pull for $hit.

bigabyte · May 28, 2009

I use the 3-2-1 method as a method to keep from eating too fast. In between bites I say 3-2-1.

3-2-1 is good on spares when cooked around 225*. Outside of that, 3-2-1 doesn't apply to anything really.

For butts, cook them to 200 internal and see if that bone will slide right out, or if twisting a fork in it turns with no resistance. If so, it's done. Don't bother foiling. You can later, but start off by getting the meat right.

jswordy · May 29, 2009

Originally Posted by Billy P

I've been told my ribs are better than "Dreamland BBQ's" ribs; which in my neck of the woods is saying alot.

Hopefully the one there is better than the one here in Mobile. The one here is awful. At least to me. I guess for the people who have never had real bbq it is good.

The Huntsville location did not make the 10 finalists in the local paper's "Best BBQ" contest.

3-2-1 butts, ribs & loins

Billy P

Guest

HeSmellsLikeSmoke

somebody shut me the fark up.

71-South

is Blowin Smoke!

thillin

somebody shut me the fark up.

Rick's Tropical Delight

Guest

Barbarian

Guest

Crüe-B-Cüe

is Blowin Smoke!

Mark

somebody shut me the fark up.

bigabyte

somebody shut me the fark up.

jswordy

Guest

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