I just used my MES for the first time today. I did 2 racks of ribs and 5 links of italian sausage. I followed the 2-2-1 at 225 and they tasted wonderful but seemed a tad dry. The sausage was great not dry at all. Any feedback would be great.
Ribs
- Thread starter jr48047
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smokinstevo27
Master of the Pit
hmmm, are you using a separate thermo to verify your smoker temp a lot of times the stock thermo on your smoker can be way off. There are a ton of very knowledgeable MES owners here and I'm sure someone will be along that can help better than me.
Did you have the ribs on the bottom racks close to the heating element? That could have done it it would run hotter toward the bottom. did you foil them after2 hours and add a little moisture? did you use water in the water pan?
I didn't use a different thermo. I need to get one of those. I had them on the 2nd and 3rd rack for 2 hours took them off and foiled them and added apple juice then back in for 2 hours then took them out gave them a good coat of sauce and back on for 1 hour.
Hmmm might be that your thremo is off like stevo said,dont trust the stock thremos i havent found one yet that works,and runs true.You have have been runing hotter than you thought you were.you can also use a cheap oven thremo to see how your running.also were they baby backs or st.louis? bb would be more of a 2-1.5-1 or something closer to that
Last edited:
- Mar 12, 2009
- 14,477
- 58
There could be a couple of reasons for the dry ribs. One is the thermo meter and if you have tested it yet? The next one could have been the time that the ribs spend in the smoker on the last leg maybe you need to shorten that time. I use more of a 2-1.5-.45 sometimes less depending on what the ribs look like. That will come soon enough and with more smoking experience.
smokinstevo27
Master of the Pit
yep you dont have to buy a fancy remote thermo if you pay attention to what the oven thermo that costs 5 dollars tells ya.
Good call on adjusting the cooking times mballi3011. IMHO not enough emphasis is placed on the size of the racks when discussing the 2-2-1 method. Loin back rib racks can vary in size from 1 3/4 lbs to over 3lbs, you should adjust your times accordingly. 2-2-1 works well for me when the racks are in the 2 1/2 to 2 3/4 lb range, smaller racks get a 2-1-1 and larger go to 2.5-2-1.
There could be a couple of reasons for the dry ribs. One is the thermo meter and if you have tested it yet? The next one could have been the time that the ribs spend in the smoker on the last leg maybe you need to shorten that time. I use more of a 2-1.5-.45 sometimes less depending on what the ribs look like. That will come soon enough and with more smoking experience.
I agree on adjusting the cook times, but also the control on my MES is off by about 15-20 degrees. If I want to smoke at 225, I have to set the control at 210. Get a good thermo so you can check the temp on the grate where the ribs are.
deannc
Master of the Pit
- Jul 26, 2009
- 14,315
- 73
Good call on the times Mark. I had to adjust mine several times before I got it right for my smoker.
There could be a couple of reasons for the dry ribs. One is the thermo meter and if you have tested it yet? The next one could have been the time that the ribs spend in the smoker on the last leg maybe you need to shorten that time. I use more of a 2-1.5-.45 sometimes less depending on what the ribs look like. That will come soon enough and with more smoking experience.
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