Baby Backs (pr0n)

Bob, I gotta say, them ribs look darn fine!

Nice work

KC

Ribs looks good.

Nice pr0n!

I love baby backs. Great Job.

Ribs look good and I'm still frustrated we can't get Yuengling here in Texas!

doom those look good

Quick question:

I am wondering if foiling my ribs will help me overcome a problem that I've been having.

I've been cooking my baby back ribs at 250 for 2 hours and then back down the heat to 225 for another 2 hours or so. Generally I take them off when they are toothpick tender and do the "bend test" as well.

Usually I marinade them overnight and then put on a dry rub for an hour before smoking. I also glaze them with BBQ sauce 1/2 hour before taking them off the smoker.

The ribs turn out great but I have noticed that the smaller ribs have a drier, "stringy" quality. These smaller ribs taste more like a caramelized "pig candy/jerky" than the meatier, moister larger ribs.

Some have said that the issue is really that the heat is too low to tenderize the collagen in the rib meat, and suggest I ramp up the heat to 275/250, etc.

I am willing to try that but I am also wondering if I am just losing too much moisture over the cook? I realize that this is probably part of a "foil/no foil" debate but just want to explore my options. I have not used foil to date and don't have this problem with any of the other cuts of meat that I BBQ.

Thriller said:

Ribs look good and I'm still frustrated we can't get Yuengling here in Texas!

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100% agree

lhommedieu said:

Quick question:

I am wondering if foiling my ribs will help me overcome a problem that I've been having.......... .

Click to expand...

To an extent, yes, but simple thermal dynamics dictate that smaller parts/ends of the ribs will get cooked more than the larger ones if subjected to the same heat/time.

I will often times save those for the chef and eat them myself if I'm real concerned about it.

P.S. To the OP ....ribs look awesome. Nice smoker too! And good beer choice. :grin:

Thanks for the input. I think that I've narrowed down the problem: I've been using a smaller (imported) cut of babyback ribs that probably don't need the amount of time/heat that I've been giving them. Newbie mistake. I am not sure where they are "imported" from but this time around I'm using American St. Louis ribs.

OP - nice ribs and beer is always a plus.

Those look outstanding. I've never really been a BabyBack fan, but a few more pics like your's and I might need to reconsider.

Nice job on the ribs!

Nice looking ribs Bob, I want some