2-2-1 St. Louis Spares

[Plowboy]

Trying to improve my spare rib skills. Tried a 2-2-1 cook today at 225 on the pellet cooker with our Plowboy Pork rub. ScottD, I have to agree with you that this batch had a little heat to it. It was perfect for my tastes, but I like hot. My wife doesn't like hot... but she cleaned up every rib bone.

I'm still not sold on my spares. Seem to be better at babybacks, but I'm not giving up. Didn't use sauce on these ribs. There's so much brown sugar in the rub that it acted as a glaze on its own. Plus, I wanted to taste the rub for what it was without masking with sauce. They were good. 2-2-1 seemed to be the perfect method to get them done right for tenderness. I think where I was disappointed was the bark. they were a little mushy yet for me. Maybe I'll try a 3-1-1 next time and a "drier" rub. All of the brown sugar may have given them that mushy texture. I'm not giving up.

[tkuehn5410]

Those ribs really look delish - I am worried about mine cooked for the whole family - 30m peeps on Thursday. If mine look half as goood and taste good as well I think I will be in the money

[swamprb]

I'm not a big rib eater, so I probably wouldn't know a good one if I had it, and I've cooked mine in a GOSM, BGE, and the UDS all with different results. I try to stay within a 3/2/1 time frame, but tell me why I want to have a bark on the ribs?

[Smokin Gator]

Plowboy,

I hesitate to give any advice to someone with your experience... but I will.

I really like to have a good bark on my ribs. I don't think 2-2-1 gives enough time exposed to allow for that bark to form.

This past weekend the ones I did on my new UDS had great bark but were a little soft for my liking. I am thinking 3-1-1 like you said will be about right.

[Kung Fu BBQ]

The first time i tried this method I had my temps running at high at 250. My ribs were mushy, however I had really good color. Oh yeah and I had huge shiners. I need to try this again at the correct temps and less foil time.

[Puppyboy]

Ok, after last weeks "Name Change" thread about spares and now this one, I am feeling preety darn good about my next spare attempt.

It's nice to know spares are just one of those cuts that even the seasoned veterans have issuses with as well.

[Steppenwolf]

A lot of it is simply a preference issue, especially in the way of texture. But any combo of 3 steps will give you good chow. Just make changes to your tase. I like mine a bit less mush so I foil it less.time than 2 hours. Like a little tug on my dentures, lol.

[Plowboy]

Originally Posted by Steppenwolf

A lot of it is simply a preference issue, especially in the way of texure. But any combo of 3 steps will give you good chow. Just make changes to your tase. I like mine a bit less mush so I foil it less.time than 2 hours. Like a little tug on my dentures, lol.

I agree. A lot of it comes down to personal taste, but its all good. Family enjoyed the ribs last night. They were gone in a flash. Most of the tweaking we all do to recipes and cooking process is that search for perfection... whatever that is to us.

[Fredbird]

I cook my spares for 6 hours unwrapped on the lowest rack in a Spicewine smoker. I get enough moisture from the water pan to keep the meat tender. The ribs have a good bark on them. I have to watch the amount of sugar in the rub or the ribs will get too dark.

[Q_Egg]

Originally Posted by Plowboy

Trying to improve my spare rib skills. Tried a 2-2-1 cook today at 225 on the pellet cooker with our Plowboy Pork rub. ... I think where I was disappointed was the bark. they were a little mushy yet for me. Maybe I'll try a 3-1-1 next time and a "drier" rub. All of the brown sugar may have given them that mushy texture. I'm not giving up.

Looks like you used the 'raised' grate on firebrick, along with drip pan?? I'm doing spares on Sunday and not sure whether to raise them or go 3-1-1 at normal height but with pan.

[Plowboy]

Originally Posted by Q_Egg

Looks like you used the 'raised' grate on firebrick, along with drip pan?? I'm doing spares on Sunday and not sure whether to raise them or go 3-1-1 at normal height but with pan.

I like the raised grate because removes some of that direct heat. The next spares I do, which might be tomorrow, will be 3-1-1 with the same setup.

I'm thinking about putting tiles below the drip plate to keep more of that heat in. I was reading the thread about maintaining heat and thought I'd try that. Unfortunately, its the top of the 075 where the heat is lost, but I'm going on the "it can't hurt" line of thinking.

[backyardchef]

Originally Posted by swamprb

I'm not a big rib eater, so I probably wouldn't know a good one if I had it, and I've cooked mine in a GOSM, BGE, and the UDS all with different results. I try to stay within a 3/2/1 time frame, but tell me why I want to have a bark on the ribs?

Flavor development, texture and color are some of the big reasons to "want" bark on your ribs. It's all a matter of preference on how you think yours turn out best.

[MoKanMeathead]

Todd,
Someone, who is a great cook (top ten KCBS TOY) told me that ribs can take some heat (more than other cuts). He told me to not be afraid to try temps in the 275 to 300 range. We cook our ribs in the hotest part of the Lang and it seems to work pretty good.

Just something to try in all your experimenting. The good news about all this is that we get to eat our practices. :)

[Plowboy]

Did 3-1-1 spare rack and three fatties. Just pulled them off. Fatties were dry and overcooked. The plain ones were black and looked like chit. I'm probably going to scrap these and try again for tomorrow's pizzas. I still think a 3 hour fatty works best for me.

Will try the ribs later. The few bites of sausage filled me up. Small tank. They look like they might be over done, too, but just can't tell until I eat them. Cooked a little hotter at 275 as someone sugggested.

[DeanC]

These are some 3-1/2-1 spares that I just pulled off along with the trimmings/rib tips. Temps were around 240 to 260. I have been cooking them like this for some time and really like the results.