Cant get my ribs right #1
- Thread starter Farnod
- Start date
NDKoze
Moderator
I have never needed to foil and my ribs are always very moist. But, some people still like to do that.
I have found that many if not most times the dryness issue is the result of the quality of the meat especially if you are following the process in the Lazy-Q guide. But, here are some questions that may help us diagnose the issue:
1. What type of ribs are you smoking? Baby Backs, Spare Ribs, St Louis Cut, etc.
2. Where did you buy them? Do they seem thick and meaty for their size? I pretty much all of my meat at Sam's Club and Costco because their meat departments are excellent! If you have a trusty butcher that is awesome too. But, I try to stay away from the Wally Worlds and grocery stores (at least the ones in my area). Butcher shops are great, but usually much higher priced.
3. What type of preparation are you doing? Brining? Overnight mustard/seasoning rub? Or are you just seasoning and onto the smoker?
4. What temp are you smoking at?
5. Are you using a water pan of some sort? I use the cheapo mini tin loaf pans slid right up against the smoker box filled with warm water.
6. When are you first testing your ribs for doneness? And how are you testing? Toothpick method?
7. What is your typical total smoke time?
8. Did you open the smoker at all prior to the initial testing? In most cases, you should not be opening the smoker to test for doneness until AT LEAST the 4-5 hour mark at the earliest for Baby Backs and 5-6 hour mark for Spares/St Louis Cuts.
These questions should get us started at least.
I have found that many if not most times the dryness issue is the result of the quality of the meat especially if you are following the process in the Lazy-Q guide. But, here are some questions that may help us diagnose the issue:
1. What type of ribs are you smoking? Baby Backs, Spare Ribs, St Louis Cut, etc.
2. Where did you buy them? Do they seem thick and meaty for their size? I pretty much all of my meat at Sam's Club and Costco because their meat departments are excellent! If you have a trusty butcher that is awesome too. But, I try to stay away from the Wally Worlds and grocery stores (at least the ones in my area). Butcher shops are great, but usually much higher priced.
3. What type of preparation are you doing? Brining? Overnight mustard/seasoning rub? Or are you just seasoning and onto the smoker?
4. What temp are you smoking at?
5. Are you using a water pan of some sort? I use the cheapo mini tin loaf pans slid right up against the smoker box filled with warm water.
6. When are you first testing your ribs for doneness? And how are you testing? Toothpick method?
7. What is your typical total smoke time?
8. Did you open the smoker at all prior to the initial testing? In most cases, you should not be opening the smoker to test for doneness until AT LEAST the 4-5 hour mark at the earliest for Baby Backs and 5-6 hour mark for Spares/St Louis Cuts.
These questions should get us started at least.
I like to keep it simple and repeat simple to get consistent results ...
As posted recently ....
1. water pan ...water pan ... water pan
Dry rub to start
3 hour smoke @215
2 hour glaze, wrap, back in @ 215
1 hour hold cool down still wrapped in smoker turned off and door slightly open
0 enjoy!
BTW I don't surface salt my ribs anymore as it does pull moisture out of the meat ... just use the normal other spices
Works for us time after time
Good luck ...John
Will add: I use 4oz wood and prefer in no order mixes of Oak, Hickory, Pecan, Cherry, Apple, Maple and Peach chunks. When you lock down your procedures then the wood becomes the flavor variable in the equation and I use them all.
As posted recently ....
1. water pan ...water pan ... water pan
Dry rub to start
3 hour smoke @215
2 hour glaze, wrap, back in @ 215
1 hour hold cool down still wrapped in smoker turned off and door slightly open
0 enjoy!
BTW I don't surface salt my ribs anymore as it does pull moisture out of the meat ... just use the normal other spices
Works for us time after time
Good luck ...John
Will add: I use 4oz wood and prefer in no order mixes of Oak, Hickory, Pecan, Cherry, Apple, Maple and Peach chunks. When you lock down your procedures then the wood becomes the flavor variable in the equation and I use them all.
Grady
New member
Mustard, rub and wrapped in fridge for 18-24 hours prior. Smoke on top shelf, bone side down @235-250. Absolutely use a water tray! Don't touch, don't open, nothing! At 3 1/2 hours (total time), pull the rack AND shut the door (do not leave the door open) smother top with sauce and put back in for 1/2 hr- 45 minutes. I couldn't imagine ever having to cook BB's for more than 4 1/2 hrs.
John, not really 4 oz on 1 rack of ribs?
TX Gent said:
John, not really 4 oz on 1 rack of ribs?
NDKoze
Moderator
Dang, I typed up a whole response about how you were not doing things the Lazy-Q way and then I realized that it was John that was going against the grain here and I was typing my response to the wrong person. So, rather than going through point by point why I (personally) don't care for John's method very much since it goes against the Lazy-Q method in a lot of ways and derailing this thread, I will try to stick with Andrew's dryness issue.
Andrew, you still haven't really given us any detailed information about your smoking process other than saying that you followed the Lazy-Q method. In order to help you with the problem that you are having, we are going to need a LOT more DETAILED information.
To start with, please answer the questions that I asked in my initial response. There are a lot really experienced smokers here willing to help, but we need the information to give some possible causes/solutions.
Andrew, you still haven't really given us any detailed information about your smoking process other than saying that you followed the Lazy-Q method. In order to help you with the problem that you are having, we are going to need a LOT more DETAILED information.
To start with, please answer the questions that I asked in my initial response. There are a lot really experienced smokers here willing to help, but we need the information to give some possible causes/solutions.
I did address Andrew's dryness issues Greg with a smoking profile which works and gives moist, tender ribs each and every time. Maybe not the way you would, but I tried to provide a detailed procedure to help the gentleman without any further information provided on his part.
Backhanded put downs by a moderator of a member trying to help another ... really Greg?
I'll just bow out gracefully and let y'all sort out Andrews dryness issues.
All the best to all gentlemen
Backhanded put downs by a moderator of a member trying to help another ... really Greg?
I'll just bow out gracefully and let y'all sort out Andrews dryness issues.
All the best to all gentlemen
NDKoze
Moderator
TX Gent said:
Whoa, hold on here John! This was not meant to be a put down at all!!! I was just saying that your method goes against the Lazy-Q Guide, which is what the OP said that he was using. The Lazy-Q Guide is NOT the ONLY way to do things, and I totally acknowledge that. It is a great starting point for new owners of the Smokin-It smokers that explains some of the techniques that have been found to work that are a little different that what many people coming from other styles of smokers are not used to. But, smoking and cooking in gereral is very subjective and there are numerous ways of doing the same/similar things. The Lazy-Q Method is just "my" preferred way after trying the others and that is all that I was trying to say. So, my sincere apologies to you and anyone else that might have been offended.
BTW, I have and will always welcome opposing viewpoints to the way I do things. It is my hope and intent that we can have spirited discussions I (we have had many) over processes (with opposing viewpoints) that will ultimately help everyone in the group to learn new ways of doing things. Some methods may work for some, while not for others, and that is just the nature of things. Some of these methods and taste profiles are very subjective and we all need to remember that (me included).
So, back to John's suggested method; yes, this method may very well work and could be a viable solution for Andrew because many of the steps in this method are geared toward reducing dryness, and might just be a very good option for Andrew to try, because whatever he is doing is not working for him, especially since we do not really know the details yet.
Hopefully, Andrew will come back with some details so that we can help him with his issue because that is the ultimate goal right? And John, I hope you stick with us here on this thread in case Andrew has some questions about your suggested method.
Happy Smoking All!
Hey guys, thank you for the feedback. Heres some more details,
I rub with mustard and a dry rub the night before. I use 2.5oz of wood chips soaked for 30 minutes, and a mini loaf pan with apple cider. I usually smoke 2 or three racks of st louis style ribs at a time. I have a model 1 so i have to cut the ribs to fit on three racks. I usually do 225 for 4.5 hours and ive had mixed results. One tim the came out great and other times i thought they were too dry. Everyone says that they are good, but i have too high of standards i guess and want them to be perfect. Today im doing three racks (from costco, ive usually just picked them up at a grocery store) at 205ish. These are for someone else so im hoping they come out right. I'll update with pics. Thanks again for all your feedback. Wih me luck
Andrew
I rub with mustard and a dry rub the night before. I use 2.5oz of wood chips soaked for 30 minutes, and a mini loaf pan with apple cider. I usually smoke 2 or three racks of st louis style ribs at a time. I have a model 1 so i have to cut the ribs to fit on three racks. I usually do 225 for 4.5 hours and ive had mixed results. One tim the came out great and other times i thought they were too dry. Everyone says that they are good, but i have too high of standards i guess and want them to be perfect. Today im doing three racks (from costco, ive usually just picked them up at a grocery store) at 205ish. These are for someone else so im hoping they come out right. I'll update with pics. Thanks again for all your feedback. Wih me luck
Andrew
Pork Belly
Moderator
This does add a layer of flavor but it can also pull some moisture.
Soaked chips steam, your better off tossing in a chunk of wood and getting good smoke from the start. Also the majority of chips sold are old junk.
This may or may not be necessary but is not hurting anything.
Each cut you make allows some additional drying on those ends, but do to size you have to do it.
Turn the heat up and go shorter. I consistently make Baby-back ribs at 250 for 4 hours.
Find a source for good meat and stick with them, also buy a consistent size of rib. I always smoke
2 3/4lb & down Baby-backs. This means all the racks are between 2 1/4 to 2 3/4 pounds. You are likely not going to buy ribs by the case if you do they are sorted to an average weight. You can tell the butcher or read the labels and get racks as close in weight as possible.
Bearsmoke
New member
You might try less time, at least check them for pullback on the bones and do the toothpick test. For some reason everything I smoke gets done much sooner than everyone else here. Baby backs take 2 hrs 15 min @210, butts 7-8 hours max. I can't figure why my smokes are faster but it's not a bad thing, maybe yours are the same.
Stevegardner
New member
I never foil, I never use a water pan for anything....meats are always moist. I sometimes wonder if it is in the rub, too much salt can dry meat out. These cookers are meant to be pretty darn moist, hence the need for a fan when making jerky. Also, if you open the door a lot that may be causing some moisture to leave the cooker.
Update,
The ribs came out perfect, i forgot to take pictures because they were for someone else. But one of the guys they were for said they were the best ribs he ever had. I rubbed with duckfat spray (instead of mustard) and a "Cimarron Docs" dry rub overnight. Had three racks from costco at 210ish for 4.5 hours. 2.6 oz combo of pecan and apple wood chips. Best ribs ive ever made. Thanks for all your feedback
The ribs came out perfect, i forgot to take pictures because they were for someone else. But one of the guys they were for said they were the best ribs he ever had. I rubbed with duckfat spray (instead of mustard) and a "Cimarron Docs" dry rub overnight. Had three racks from costco at 210ish for 4.5 hours. 2.6 oz combo of pecan and apple wood chips. Best ribs ive ever made. Thanks for all your feedback
