Did ribs and did not like the turn out!!

[keith]

Had my smoker for about a year before finding this forum. And did ribs a couple times using the 3-2-1 method and never liked how they turned out..After all you convinced me to do the no foil and no peek method. I tried again and again a bad turn out! here is what i did...

-removed membrane trimmed
-mustard and dry rub and wrapped in plastic and in fridge over night
-smoker set at 230, ribs on top and one rack down
-1oz hickory and 1oz sweetwood blend
-door shut and no peek for 5hrs.
-oops!! did peek after 3hrs cause had to add pan of apple juice (forgot)
after 5 1/2hrs remover and wrapped in foil for 1hr and put in cooler with towel

once removed from cooler the ribs seemed burnt and NOT tender and kinda dry!
my question is...was the pan of juice my only fault? cause i don't want to put in longer to tender up like i read alot cause they were burnt enuff, also had a little bitter taste.

one other question...My smoker says number 2 etched on the door but only has 1 door latch. what is it?

 

[DivotMaker]

Hi Kieth, glad to have you out of the shadows, after all this time with your #2!  Sounds like you have one of the first #2s, before the second latch was added.

Your setup, other than no water pan for the first 3 hours, seems good.  Curious what rub you used.  Did it contain salt?  That really helps to "dry brine" the meat when wrapped overnight.  Also, depending on the size of your ribs, you probably want to start checking them earlier than 5 hours.  That's just a "guideline" for big, meaty ribs.  Some of the grocery store ribs I've seen are a little scrawny, to say the least.  Check with a wooden toothpick for tenderness, and pull away from the bone.  Ribs go from not-done to over-done pretty fast.

So, look at the size of your ribs (btw, baby backs or spares?), and gauge your initial peek off of that.  I do ribs a lot, and have never had any over-done.  I also buy quality ribs from Sam's Club.  They are really meaty, and always please.

That's my 2¢, for what it's worth!  I'm sure others will help, too!

 

[Pork Belly]

Your prep on the ribs was perfect I do it the same way. So no problems there.

I may have fell victim the same way but I am not a trusting person. When I read about 5.5 hours I didn't believe it. The thing is there are slight variations in the smokers. We all agree my #3 runs a little hot compared to others. I had suspected it but it was confirmed when I cranked out a butt in record time. Some of the comments on that post were that I did it about two hours ahead of schedule.

So back to the ribs, prep a new batch. Use a water pan this time and get them smoking. Open the door at three hours and look at what you have. If you want to eat them shut it down and have a meal. If not seal it back up and look again at 4 hour, then 4.5 hours.

Perfect ribs for our families preference and my smokers quirks are 4.5 hours @ 235 for meaty racks and 3 hours for skimpy racks. 

Keep at it you will find YOUR perfect meal. Ribs are subjective, texture moisture so many variables. When I read about "Fall off the bone tender" I think of overcooked ribs, others think that they are perfect. Everyone has their own idea what perfect ribs are. It is like eating pizza, every pizza you ever eat is compared to the one in your neighborhood growing up. Other menu items like a pork butt are less complicated, smoke it until it gets to 195 or 200 then pull it apart.

Keep trying you will find what you like.

 

[keith]

The rub i used was Kansas city sweet which contains 125mg per1/4tsp. The ribs seemed pretty meaty to me and they were spare ribs cut to St. Louis

 

[puddle jumper]

Im on the other side of the fence that pork belly is on,,,
He is very right about everyone having there own idea of what they like,,,

Me i would tell you to drop the temp to 220 and mine go anywhere from 6 1/2 hrs to 7hrs and usually break in half when i pull them off the smoker,, but i love them that tender,,, i think you toughness means you need more time in the smoker,, other than the water in from the start everything sounds right to me..
but hey thats what makes this fun for me,  trial and error..

Try this do two sets of ribs, cook one for what time you think they should come out and leave the others in for another hr and them compare the two and see if there is a difference you like...
let us know ..
Good luck  keep at it you will figure it out
PJ
OH, P.S.
My family ate a bunch of tough ribs before I figured it out, you are not alone. now they love them,,,

 

[DivotMaker]

Kieth, great points by Brian and John - 2 sides of the issue!  They are both so right!  Cool thing about our hobby addiction is there are no hard and fast rules!  I love Brian's comparison to pizza!!  There are so many ways that are "right" (according to who's eating it), that you just have to keep experimenting to find what works best for you! 

 

[vetkilr]

With only two ounces of wood used and you said they taste burnt...either you don't like much smoke taste at all or your wood is very dry and ignites to fast and gives off the bad smoke.And are you sure that you are only using 2 oz. or are you guessing?
I personally use pellets now and wrap them in foil with just two holes. Smoke comes out much more consistent, and I use 4 ounces on my ribs.
Two things I would try with your issues you have described.

1.) Try wrapping your ribs in foil at the 3 hr mark and then continue cooking until hours 4.5 to 5.5 depending on rib thickness. The cheap smith-field ribs that are everywhere usually take me 1 hour less to cook then say the ribs that Publix sells that are alot thicker. This should do two things, make your ribs more tender and keep them from getting black or over smoked which seems to be your biggest issues.

2.) When you wrap your ribs add in a splash of apple juice if you like your ribs with a little sweet finish, or what I do is Apple cider vinegar and a little hot sauce mixed together to taste, if you like a more spicy or savory rib.

 

[Pork Belly]

Once removed from cooler the ribs seemed burnt and NOT tender and kinda dry!

This does not sound like a smoke issue, to me this is a description f overcooking.  I have had similar results especially on the smaller end ribs on less meaty racks.

Two final personal opinions:
* There is no "bad smoke" unless your using fresh pine or railroad ties
* In an SI smoker, the foil goes under and on the firebox not on the meat.

 

[NDKoze]

Once removed from cooler the ribs seemed burnt and NOT tender and kinda dry!

This does not sound like a smoke issue, to me this is a description f overcooking.  I have had similar results especially on the smaller end ribs on less meaty racks.

Two final personal opinions:
* There is no "bad smoke" unless your using fresh pine or railroad ties
* In an SI smoker, the foil goes under and on the firebox not on the meat.

I'm with Brian on this one. My guess is that you are using Smithfield or a similar brand ribs that are not as meaty as some of the ones that we use. As was mentioned earlier, for the less meaty ribs, your time will go down.

So, for your next smoke if you use the same brand of ribs, try checking on them 3 hours in and go from there.

Let us know how it goes.