Pork - Blasphemy???

Scott, is all about what YOU like. If you think it is over cooked, it is. Try backing off your times and get the flavors that you like.

Are you doing any brining or injections? That helps to get the flavors deep inside where the rubs cannot reach.

taste is like noses -- they're all different

You gotta go for your tastebud target -- some peeps swear by the 3-2-1 and some (me) like the straight 4 hours (no foil) -- tender, tasty but still bone in ribs.

I like to use my hands and eat the meat off the ribs - not with a fork -- all personal taste. Be sure to pull the membrane.

Mule

Sounds like to long, to high or not enuf.

The 3-2-1 methood is a guideline for spares. (Dont ever do that for babybacks.) A guideline, not a rule. Tender is a texture and feel of the meat, not a unit of time or temperature. I always try to stress, go by feel, not time, not temps. Use time and temps as guide as to WHEN to start to feel for tenderness. If its tender and you havent reached the written temp, or the alloted time.. Who cares? its done!! .

For ribs, ** IF I am going to foil them, I foil them when the meat starts to pull back from the ends of the bone by about 1/4-3/8 of an inch. A guide for this is a little under 2 hours for babybacks and 3 hours for spares. But it could be more, or less. No alarms are going off and meat isnt cooked by appointment. After foiling(about 45 mins for babybacks or 90 miutes for spares) I start to check the racks by lifting then from the end(still foiled). You can start to "feel" for tenderness by the amount they flex. You dont want them to be so tender that they cannot hold their shape. Its your preference how far beyond tender you want to go. To long in the foil will produce a steamed mushy product. When you feel the rack start to flex easily, some time in the cooler will fiinish them. Or remove them from the foil and return them to the heat to glaze a little, or a quick hit over the coals if you want.

Butts, I treat like a brisket. at 180, I start poking it with a probe to check for tencderness. It does not matter how long or what temperature it is, but I wont go over 190-195. If it does not feel tender to the probe at 193-195, i remove it, (foil it if i havent allready) and cooler it. It WILL get tender. if in an hour its not getting tender, back to the heat for alittle while foiled.

Pork butts will be blan inside if you dont use and injection. They are just to thick for rub to get deep inside. I do however, use ALOT of rub on a butt. More than I would on ribs. I give the butts a vinegar bath and use the dry rub heavily continously rubbing it in and adding more. Even then, without being injected, the centers will not have alot of flavor from the rubs. Thats why I like using a boneless butts. The butterfly cut from removing the bone gives you more surface area to cover with rub and lets you get inside.

Another way to get flavor inside is to put slits in it and push cloves of garlic inside, or other herbs.. even some rub..


*** Foiling is just to accelerate tenderizing, but not required to produce a great product. The same can be done by lowering the temps a little and mopping or spraying often. It will just take a little longer.

Don't know how to quote properly but this is Grand Poobah's.

bbqchef33 said:

meat isnt cooked by appointment.

Click to expand...

That is classic.

Kevin said:

Don't know how to quote properly but this is Grand Poobah's.

bbqchef33 said:

meat isnt cooked by appointment.

Click to expand...

That is classic.

Click to expand...

Great quote, but he still needs to work on his spelling.........

Ol' Poobah knows how to cook pork..........no doubt about that......

Scott, there is nothing wrong with you or your methods. It seems like you have the same problems that I run into around here all the time. In the case of ribs, my son and I like them with no sauce, and meat on the bone. Wife, daughters, son in law, fall off the bone, heavy sauce. Pork butt, Same problem, son and I tend to lean more towards spicy, the rest more towards, heavily sauced. It seems to me, that your family, friends like their que one way, and you lean to something else. Keep working at it, sooner or later you will find the happy medium, or do like me, and cook batches, for the family, and batches for yourself. The good thing is that you are Queing.

jgh1204 said:

Scott, is all about what YOU like. If you think it is over cooked, it is. Try backing off your times and get the flavors that you like.

.

Click to expand...

Agree, but alot of us are also cooking for others. I like mine competition, slight tug to the bone before rib meat comes off.

Wife and daughter, water to flick the bones out with their finger, then eat the meat (sometimes with a fork!!)

Next time, cook a rack for the family, and put yours on an hour later.

As far as the rub loosing flavor and going bland, are you using enough AND long enough. I like to rub everything the night before, wrap in ClingWrap, then cook. I always am able to detect the flavors.

Just a thought, don't know if I'm off base on that though

BBQchef33 said:

The 3-2-1 methood is a guideline for spares. (Dont ever do that for babybacks.) A guideline, not a rule.

Click to expand...

Have to disagree with you Pooh.

3-2-1 is always for bbacks at my house. Again, agree on the guideline, but you forgot to mention pit temp.

I prefer to slow smoke ribs as long as possible. That means the smoker is stacked as lower turkey, middle brisket, top ribs.

I'll even go longer on the ribs, waiting for the meat to pull back before wrapping.

So I smoke ribs at a level where temps will run 208-213.

I think your more of a 220-230 guys, which at 230, I agree that the "guidleline" for bb's might be 2-2-1.

And dont forget to SPRAY!!!

willkat98 said:

BBQchef33 said:

The 3-2-1 methood is a guideline for spares. (Dont ever do that for babybacks.) A guideline, not a rule.

Click to expand...

Have to disagree with you Pooh.

3-2-1 is always for bbacks at my house. Again, agree on the guideline, but you forgot to mention pit temp.
So I smoke ribs at a level where temps will run 208-213.

I think your more of a 220-230 guys, which at 230, I agree that the "guidleline" for bb's might be 2-2-1.

And dont forget to SPRAY!!!

Click to expand...

yup... u r right.. I forgot to mention i cook at 225-250. BB's at 250 doing 3-2-1 will produce pork paste. BBs are done in 4 hours average at my pit temps. if im going to foil them.. its about 2 hours in heat. 45 -60 in foil and the rest in dry heat(out of foil) or foiled in the cooler. I did 3 racks today that pulled back form the bone in 2.5 hours. They were in the foil for about 45 minutes and then back out of the foil and in the heat for about another 30. Very tender, still attached to the bone, but the bones pulled oiut easy and clean.


But again, my point is that its more important to use time as a guide, not a deciding factor. Go by the feel and texture of the meat, not the time on the alarm clock.

I go even longer and lower with spare ribs. My temps for spares are in the 180-210 range and yes I cook them up high in the 'dera. The spares I smoked Sundaywere on for 4 1/2 hrs. befor foiling for 3 more hours and they still had to be tugged a little with the teeth. Very tender but you had to bite the meat off the bone. Scott, do you remove the membrane on the back side of the ribs? I always do but I know some like to leave it on then remove it afterwards.

I cook BB's at about 220° and I go 2-1-1. They're not quite fall off the bone, but probably a little past competition-tight.
I love 'em and the family loves 'em so it all comes back to doin' it the way you like it!