Pork Ribs (3-2-1 method or not)

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wayde58

Newbie
Original poster
Nov 24, 2014
18
19
Greetings in advance and thanks for any advice or comments.

I have had my Master Forge smoker since Nov. and it has been great fun and now becoming a huge hobby (not a bad thing)!

I smoke every Sunday for the week ( jerky, butt and ribs). Usually I dry rub the ribs let them rest over night and put on the smoker till done. They turn out great each time.

I tried the 3-2-1 method and found that this method makes them moist, fall off the bone and decent but lack that rib taste.

I have now been challenged to a rib off this Fourth of July so fine tuning the cooking method needs to be figured out. So, smoking ribs each week to find the perfect rack is a necessity, ( I will not lose! Haha).

I have a rack on now and will be posting pics for Qview.

My plan is this: smoke for 1.5-2hours, Foil for 1-1.5, back to the rack for 1.5 then sauce on rack for the remaining 30 min.

If somone has a better method or advice to get the fall off the rack, good bark type ribs, I'm all ears.
Will be posting pics soon.

Thanks again for advice and comments!
 
Try a rack or two not foiled before your contest & see what ya think.... I personally don't foil my ribs & they turn out juicy & tender with just a little bite off the bone ! But that's how we like em... For fall off the bone, you'll probably wanna stick with foiling ! But to firm up the bark ya could maybe set them on a hot grill for a few before eatin, but if saucing be careful to not burn the sauce, especially if it's got sugar in it ! We put sauce on the side when we do ribs.
 
WaterinHoleBrew- that's how I like them. I Prefer sauce on the side so you can taste the meat and I have gottent that little bite off the bone. The foil method I tried last week was ok.

They say out of the mouth of babes... My son told me that they were not my best... So I will leave two racks in foiled and one I will try foil.
I also made a BBQ sauce to have on the side.. Can't wait to try them on the ribs, the sauce alone is great by itself!
 
My plan is this: smoke for 1.5-2hours, Foil for 1-1.5, back to the rack for 1.5 then sauce on rack for the remaining 30 min.

If somone has a better method or advice to get the fall off the rack, good bark type ribs, I'm all ears.
Will be posting pics soon.

Thanks again for advice and comments!
Before we can address your plan we need a bit more info.

What ribs are they- baby backs or trimmed spares and how much do they weigh?

What is your cooking temperature?

After looking at your pics, why did you cut them into 3 pieces?
 
Atomic- I've had success with that method too. Maybe I should stick with what works and not tweak it at this point. Lol!
 
Ribs are trimmed spare ribs- 3 lbs, one full rack cut in threes to fit on one rack ( smoker will not fit full rack on the grate - small smoker but works well) for the contest, I will be using 3racks of ribs ( about 9 lbs)

Cooking temp range is 215-225, for 5-6 hours total cooking time until they get done.

I like a good bark, with sauce on the side... A little bite of off the bone or easy bite off the bone.
 
No foil....only way I will do my ribs. Moist....fall off the bone and great bark.
The above post is spot on.....What I've found by foregoing the foil is that you get all the intended flavors of great BBQ with none of the hassle of futzing around with the product during the smoke. No mopping, no spritzing, no adding juice.....Let the smoker do the work for you.
 
Well.. I think I found my winner. Foiled one set (only for an hour), then put it back on the rach with the other two.. They seem similar but there is an obvious taste and texture difference.

No foil wins, hands down. And they are ready to be pulled/fall of the bone. Thanks for all of the advice and post!

 
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Well.. I think I found my winner. Foiled one set (only for an hour), then put it back on the rach with the other two.. They seem similar but there is an obvious taste and texture difference.

No foil wins, hands down. And they are ready to be pulled/fall of the bone. Thanks for all of the advice and post!


Nice job !

:beercheer:
 
Wade , vey nice job, and good choice on the Naked Ribs , after all I'm the one hat taught these Guys to do them Naked . . .
ROTF.gif


Seriously though , to get a beautiful Rib , you need to keep your Smoke clean .

  have Thin , Blue Smoke

will look like this with good smoke and no foil.

until when picked-up they bend like this . . . now if you want 'tenderer' Ribs ,

let them go until you pick them up in the middle and they do this , or more bite when you have to pick-up the Ribs by the end . . .

Here's a hint , try rolling the whole rack like a loose jelly roll . You can then cook a whole Rib Rack in your cooker . When you take them out and flatten them , they will

show the tenderness  .

Have fun and . . .
 
Thanks everyone.

I have three weeks until the backyard Rib Off on the fourth of July.  Naked is the way I will go! 

OldSchoolBbq: I will try rolling the next rack and see what results I get.  I have also made a home made BBQ sauce that is pretty good, and I am on the hunt for at least another recipe to try. I think this last batch should have stayed on a little bit longer but it was enjoyed by the family. I am on the right track.  I agree with you about the smoke.  I use a combination of two different woods (Hickory chunks and Cherry chips).  The cherry burns pretty good at first and the hickory is the star maintaining that steady slow smoke.  I finally got that right.

I will be doing another rack or two this week and will post results..so be on the look out! 
 
I have used their rub but never tried this. I will have to pick up some and give it s a try. Thanks!
 
 
Wade , vey nice job, and good choice on the Naked Ribs , after all I'm the one hat taught these Guys to do them Naked . . .
ROTF.gif


Seriously though , to get a beautiful Rib , you need to keep your Smoke clean .

  have Thin , Blue Smoke

will look like this with good smoke and no foil.

until when picked-up they bend like this . . . now if you want 'tenderer' Ribs ,

let them go until you pick them up in the middle and they do this , or more bite when you have to pick-up the Ribs by the end . . .

Here's a hint , try rolling the whole rack like a loose jelly roll . You can then cook a whole Rib Rack in your cooker . When you take them out and flatten them , they will

show the tenderness  .

Have fun and . . .
That is a great idea to roll the ribs up,,a nice space saver on the pit. Thanks for the idea,.
 
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