Help with ribs

[Mike - CSBBBQ]

Does anyone do well without foiling. I hate foiling ribs. Have been working on ways to not. So far has not worked well for me. Middle of the pack as far as my competitions go. Have not given up. keith

I foil butt know of two VERY good rib cooks that do not foil.

 

[Mike - CSBBBQ]

I agree....Dan give us your secrets:clap2::clap2::clap2:

Mike...can we get your brisket secrets?

For those making time and temp recommendations...what are you cooking...baby backs or spares? I think tenderness issues need to take into account which cut you are usinf.

We cook spares 275/300 and pull when done. As for our brisket we did have a really good year and are debating if we want to do a class so I'll hold off :icon_blush:

 

[Sledneck]

Do you use this stuff in place of or in addition to sauce?

i've brushed it on over sauce and the rib was waaaay too saucy.

but then again, i don't really set my sauce on the cooker.

however, steve is a far better rib cook than myself, so he may do it differently and or better.

In addition to in the last 15 minutes. A few coats. Comes out looking like they were lacquered . You need a sweet sauce base underneath first IMHO. Amazing glaze has a bit of a kick to it.

 

[Nick_is_BBQ]

We cook spares 275/300 and pull when done. As for our brisket we did have a really good year and are debating if we want to do a class so I'll hold off :icon_blush:

I think the secret is the "and pull when done" part of it. If you stick to a specific time frame you will get different result. Also for competition you need to know how they keep the containers until judging. There's a big difference between straight to the table and kept in a cooler for half an hour. You can ask the organizers after the cooks meeting.

 

[Sledneck]

The secret is overcook them

 

[Pack-A-Smokes]

Our rib scores were all over the place this year. Started way down then were mediocre. Was not until I got desperate that we started scoring higher. I had put rub on the ribs and was thinking about how they had not done very well. I then pulled out a rub that I had been making for years that I think is a bit spicy for competition. I put that rub on top of a commerical one I had used and dang if it didn't work.
I feel like we were nailing tenderness, but the ribs lacked flavor. When I tasted the ribs I thought they would bomb due to being a little spicy, but it worked and continued working. I just wish I had thought of it early in the year.

 

[AUBBQ]

I had a decent practice cook on Friday. Two slabs with a different rub on each. I used the same sweet sauce I’ve used all year on both and cooked them at 275. Flavor wise they were very similar. Tenderness was what I’d prefer to eat, but I think they were a little over cooked. I’m cooking two more slabs this Sunday. Texture wise I couldn’t tell a difference from cooking them at 275 vs my usual temp of 250.

 

[Dan - 3eyzbbq]

We cook spares 275/300 and pull when done. As for our brisket we did have a really good year and are debating if we want to do a class so I'll hold off :icon_blush:

I highly recommend doing the class. I'm in :-D

 

[Dan - 3eyzbbq]

Hoping Dan Hixon (3 Eyz) will post :-D Mine stink most of the time and he is the best rib cook I know!

Sorry, sleeping on the job here. I've said it time and time again. Nobody believes me. The secret is using our rub and cooking them right.

:behindsofa:

 

[boogiesnap]

Sorry, sleeping on the job here. I've said it time and time again. Nobody believes me. The secret is using our rub and cooking them right.

:behindsofa:

i believe you....

just need a bit more detail on the "cook them right" part. :becky:

 

[Kit R]

Sorry, sleeping on the job here. I've said it time and time again. Nobody believes me. The secret is using our rub and cooking them right.

:behindsofa:

Cooking on a WSM with a broken door handle and lots of fanning and babysitting to keep temps up seemed to work at times for us in 2011. Unfortunately we were up against the master on multiple occasions and thus came up short.....

 

[Big Ugly's BBQ]

Mike, anytime you want to do a class, I'm there!!

 

[Slamdunkpro]

I highly recommend doing the class. I'm in :-D

I'll play, just tell me where and when

 

[Big Ugly's BBQ]

I'll play, just tell me where and when

Empire theme music playing..........
Wouldn't that violate some MM rule or agreement you have???????:becky::becky::becky:
End of music............

 

[Carnivorous Endeavors BBQ]

Hey Mike,

If you do some classes, consider doing one in Louisiana. You could do it around the Hammond and Slidell contests. We don't get many offers for classes around here so i'm sure it would sellout quickly.

Clint
P.S. I was across from you at the sam's club baton rouge last year. Got my first top 10 (7th chicken) and my first DAL(pork), did 11th brisket and poorly in ribs. Could use a class from a team like yours!!

 

[BBQ Nuts]

What brand ribs are teams having success with?

 

[Lake Dogs]

I had a decent practice cook on Friday. Two slabs with a different rub on each. I used the same sweet sauce I’ve used all year on both and cooked them at 275. Flavor wise they were very similar. Tenderness was what I’d prefer to eat, but I think they were a little over cooked. I’m cooking two more slabs this Sunday. Texture wise I couldn’t tell a difference from cooking them at 275 vs my usual temp of 250.

If you have to err, it's better to err on the slightly over-cooked rib vs. slightly under-cooked where it's too tough to bite through. Frankly, they tend to firm-up a little as they cool.

Good job.

 

[Uncle T]

I been reading and learning here. Different from what I am used to. Or maybe a nice marinate and a rub? Why do you all use sauce on your Ribs? I would think just a nice meat enhancing rub would be better. Then a sauce that would cover the meat and smoke taste.. Or am I thinking wrong here with how much sauce you are basting with. Forgive me for being such a newb. Also are the times they give at each Smoke off the same? 4 hours to me is really a short time.