I know, I know…its all part of the learning curve..

[TwoWheeler]

…but I don’t like this part.

I’ve never smoked short ribs before - mostly because I like Kalbi so damned much - but decided to take a whack at it yesterday.

I usually do my briskets hot and fast, so they take about 6-8 hours. Pork ribs usually take me 6-ish hours, so I figured the beef ribs ought to be in the same ballpark, right? Target time for supper was 4PM-ish, so I started up the GreaseFire at 8 AM. Plenty of time…

I planned the other dishes -pig shots, cheesy corn and dump cake - around that time frame.

A few hours in, both racks stalled - on at 140-ish, the other at 160-ish. I decided to try butcher papering the bigger (lower temp) rack. My grand plan was to try to get them to finish at the same time, plus it would allow me a side-by-side comparison between wrapped and unwrapped.

I went about constructing the pig shots and cheesy corn, and put them on at the appropriate times. Realizing I wasn’t going to have room for the dump cake, I stuck that one the gasser…and forgot to set a timer.

The pig shots were on the allotted hour and a half, but I thought they still looked a little “flabby” so I left them on longer.

I ended up pulling the corn and pig shots off…and the ribs weren’t anywhere near done. Then I remembered the dump cake… A bit burnt around the edges and black in spots on top. :mmph:

The corn came out really good, but the bacon on the pig shots had gone from “flabby” to “chewy”. :mmph:

…and the ribs were still a long way from being done.

So we had chewy pig shots, cheesy corn and semi-burnt dump cake for dinner.

…and the ribs still weren’t above 190.

I ended up literally pulling the plug on them and shoving them in the fridge.

Lessons learned:

Because I’ve always had really good luck estimating when a cook will be done, I didn’t heed the maxim “better to have to food wait for the diners than the other way ‘round” and didn’t start the ribs anywhere near early enough.

Also, attempting four new dishes in the same day was just plain dumb.

I ate my penance for supper tonight: I popped the ribs in the Instant Pot for five minutes and had somewhat dried out pot roast-like short ribs for supper.

 

[Titch]

Been there, Do we learn, ? not always

 

[TwoWheeler]

Been there, Do we learn, ? not always

Learn? Aw hell no…:wink:

It was a good reality b*tch slap. I’d been drinking my own Koolaid that I was getting pretty good…

 

[SMOKE FREAK]

I think your DumpsterFire is lying to you about temps...I dunno...

 

[93_confirmed]

Beef ribs and brisket can rest for a LONG time so it's always better to get an early start when shooting for specific serving times

 

[TwoWheeler]

I think your DumpsterFire is lying to you about temps...I dunno...

According to the Smoke pit temp probe I have on it, the temps are usually 25-50 degrees higher than set temp.

 

[txsmkmstr]

…
Also, attempting four new dishes in the same day was just plain dumb.

Best bit of learning out of everything......:doh:

 

[pjtexas1]

At 300 beef ribs normally take me 4-5 hours. Sorry Murphys law chose you as his latest victim. But he gets around to all of us eventually. Some of us get a visit regularly.

Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk

 

[bschoen]

I smoke in the 250 degree range and find spareribs are around the 5 hour mark, beef plate ribs come in at 8 to 9 hours.

 

[sudsandswine]

My rule is usually that I won’t try something new for guests without having done it at least once prior. As time has gone on and my cooking skills have honed, I’ll yolo stuff now and it usually works out fine. There’s really not much I haven’t cooked at least once at this point, but I did wing a paella last weekend and there was no plan B so luckily it worked out fine.

Barbecue in particular lends itself really well to cooking or finishing in advance. Sometimes I’ll do my brisket and pork days in advance, vacuum package, and sous vide reheat day of. The other benefit to this is I haven’t had smoke in my face all day and some bbq actually sounds appetizing. Even without cooking in advance, it also can be held for hours and hours prior to the guests arriving, which usually helps improve the end result anyway.

Lesson learned, lick your wounds, and hop back in the saddle :thumb:

 

[jzadski]

Well that really sux and of course I have been there as well. Now that you know where all your mistakes were you can try the same thing this weekend :grin:

 

[TwoWheeler]

Best bit of learning out of everything......:doh:

I think the implied lesson “No, Mr. Smartypants, you DON’T know everything” was most important.:wink:

 

[TwoWheeler]

My rule is usually that I won’t try something new for guests without having done it at least once prior.

Actually, to my credit, this was a bit of a dry run for future use. We’re supposed to get together with my sister for brisket at some point and (apart from the ribs) these were the dishes and cook plan I had in mind.

Barbecue in particular lends itself really well to cooking or finishing in advance.

I know this! I’ve heard it a bunch of times, see all the threads on here about holding times and methods…and ignored it anyway. :doh: That, I suppose was my real crime.

 

[ModelMaker]

Buy a notebook and fill it chuck full of times, temps, this, and that and you will have a data base to draw upon. The second time!!
Ed

 

[Music Junkie]

Been there, done that! There are lots of lumps in this hobby (pun intended). When that happened to me, I found out from some great folks on this site to cook early and use a longer hold. Tried that and screwed that up too!:shock: Finally learned how to hold correctly and now I just cook early if I am unsure. The good thing is that we do learn, and the food is usually still good.