Newbie in New York

[Vipester531]

Hello Brethren, I have been a long time lurker here and decided to make an account so I could get more involved with the forum and try to absorb some of your wisdom.

I'm pretty new to smoking meats and have only attempted a few cooks with varying amounts of success. I have had some chickens turn out relatively well but the first time I tried ribs they turned out very dry. This weekend I will be attempting ribs again and will try to use the 3-2-1 method I have been reading all about. I will be back this weekend with some status photos and hopefully I dont bug you all with too many questions about what to do.

Here are some of the pictures I took while I was attempting my first ribs. I was trying a memphis style dry rub and following directions from a couple different sites online. I was smoking on a weber kettel and I think it was just getting too hot and the directions said basting/spraying with vinegar/juice was not needed. Hopefully this weekend goes better.

Beginning


I think I took this after 2/3hrs


End Result. They were dry and not very tender.

 

[toymaster]

Welcome to The Brethren from a fellow New Yorker. The 3-2-1 method will help with moisture/tenderness issues but it's not absolutely necessary. You didn't say what temp you cooked the ribs or for how long. You may not have cooked them at a high enough temp. Usually the meat pulls back from the end on the bone after 2 or 3 hours. Your finished ribs don't look like the meat pulled back at all. You should try this method again to figure out what went wrong before switching to 3-2-1. I cook my ribs at 250 and as high as 300. My ribs take me 4 1/2 hours but I cook comp ribs. If you want fall off the bone, it will take longer. Ask all the questions you want. we're here to help.

 

[cowgirl]

Welcome to the forum!

 

[BillN]

Welcome to the forum from sunny SE Az.

 

[Vipester531]

Thanks for the tips toymaster, i have seen a few posts for cooking between 250 and 275.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk

 

[Titch]

Welcome to the forum from down here in Victoria.
Nice friendly bunch here that are very sharing with information.
Enjoy your time here, I sure have

 

[Bigbears BBQ]

Welcome from NJ , at the bottom of your screen is a search button look up bend test, good luck on your next try and keep us posted.

 

[IamMadMan]

Welcome aboard, glad to have you as a fellow Brethren here.

I hope to see you in the Q-Talk forum soon. You'll find help on almost every topic from cooking your first Pork Butt to curing and smoking your own ham and bacon.

If you can't find the topic you need help with, or have questions about, just start a new thread in "Q-Talk". There are many people with years of experience that are willing to answer your questions and guide you in the right direction.

 

[Stlsportster]

Welcome to the forum from St Louis. You'll soon see that experimenting and posting on this site with results is the best way to get feedback and learn to improve. Sometimes the suggestions are counter intuitive but I've learned a ton and my que has improved!

 

[bluetang]

Welcome, come on in, take your shoes off and sit a spell.

 

[Bob S]

Welcome to the Brethren!

 

[Melissaredhead]

 

[Vipester531]

Here is my second attempt for ribs from over the weekend.
TLDR - I think I cooked too hot and too long.

This time I tried to fit two racks on the weber which was very tight. I went with a simple rub consisting mainly of pepper and salt with some garlic and onion powder thrown in for good measure.





I set up the grill with a charcoal "snake" on one side and a big water/drip pan underneath the ribs. I was trying to hit ~250F but the grill wouldnt really stay that low and wanted to be closer to the 300F side of things. I think next time I will use a little less charcoal in the snake.



I didnt manage to get any pictures throughout the cook because I was trying to get everything sauced/wrapped as quickly as possible and then get the lid back on. Temp fluctuated between 265-290F. They spent about 2.25hrs out of foil, 2hrs in foil, then no time back on the grill out of the foil since they were definitely more than done.

Here is how they turned out in the end. Alot of pull back and there were many bones that were sticking through afterwards. They were also falling off the bones and I couldnt really lift up the rack without a section breaking off. But they were tender and the flavor was great so overall I think it was a step in the right direction.








In my next attempt I think I will try to use a little less charcoal in the snake and rotate the grill grate so one side of the ribs doesnt get more heat than the other (in the beginning I think I was almost grilling one end on a rack that was closest to the charcoal). I also think I will wrap a little bit sooner but they only spent about 2.25ish hours out of the foil and I was trying for the 3-2-1.

Sorry for such a long post but any feedback would be greatly appreciated.