First Smoke 3D..Mixed results.

[kona77]

This is late but I finally had a chance to do my first smoke two weekends ago. Have been wanting real smoked ribs for a long time and I started with two slabs of St Louis. Did the mustard base and rub wrap overnight in the fridge. Put in at noon at 235 and did not check them until 5pm. Did the toothpick test and they were not ready yet. Added some sauce and put back in for an hour. Tried the toothpick test at 6:00 and thought they were ready. They ended up being on the dry side and definitely not "fall of the bone". They were still OK but not like the reports I have seen posted by other folks on the forum. I did put most of the 2nd slab in a crockpot for a few hours two days later and they were great (fall of the bone). I thought if I kept them on longer they may have been even drier? Used 3.5oz on hickory that came with the unit

These were bought frozen from a local grocery store and I saw some comments on a different post about this being a potential cause for less than desirable ribs. Thoughts/comments??

 

[DivotMaker]

Kona, did you use a water pan?  Spares definitely take longer than back ribs.  I believe your less-than-optimal results were most-likely due to your choice of meat.  Next time, try to find fresh ribs from either Sam's, Costco or your local butcher.  Often, the ribs that most grocery stores carry are just not that great; I know I've never had good results from any of them. 

If you didn't, be sure to use a water pan on the floor of the smoker, up against the wood box.  It really helps with retaining moisture in the meat.  Congrats on the 3D!

 

[40 caliber]

DM is right, water pan to the rescue
I also use babybacks. they seem to be more forgiving.

I have done the 2-2-1 technique many times without a water pan. if you go no peek the water pan is a must!
personally,  after discovering how well no  peek works, I never want the hassle of foiling again.
that being said, as a beginner you could try baby backs and 2-2-1 as an alternate method.

I also try not to use frozen ribs but all of mine come from the local grocery  store with great success.

tom

 

[kona77]

Tony/Tom;

Thanks for the feedback. I forgot to mention that I did use a water pan with some apple juice.
I did buy two more slabs of the same St Louis ribs and will need to use them up. Will try a longer smoke and then if needed, put them in the crock pot.. They were really good after the extra work.

Our local grocery store (Piggly Wiggly) usually has good meat, but I definitely will try fresh ribs
with my next attempt.

Looking forward to the pulled pork sandwiches tomorrow with the butt I have going right now. Used the brine recipe that Tony has posted here.

 

[kona77]

Tried ribs again yesterday and the results were great. Used the frozen ribs I had left from my first attempt and had a mix of cherry/hickory. Used the pre-programmed 3-D setting for no-peak ribs with apple juice. Checked the ribs at 5-hours and applied a home made sauce and back in the 3-D for one more hour. I pulled at 6 hours and let rest for an hour. Meat was moist with a good bark and they were delicious (sorry no pictures this time).

Not sure why these turned out so much better than my first attempt but will chalk it up to my learning curve and the quality of ribs.

 

[DivotMaker]

Great news, Kona!  Gotta love a success story!