3-2-1 method quick help needed

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tasunkawitko

Master of the Pit
Original poster
OTBS Member
May 27, 2008
2,397
26
Chinook, Montana
hey, all -

at the suggestion of a couple of members here, i am trying the 3-2-1 on my ecb for the first time with some very nice spare ribs.

the spare ribs were cut by the store into 8 serving-sized portions about the size of the rectangle on your keyboard from the esc key down to the ctrl key and the f12 key to the opposite ctrl key. they are also of varying thicknesses. anyway, i've got the 4 thicker ones on top counting on the fact that the top rack will be hotter. the 4 thinner ones are on a 6-rack rib rack on the bottom. i've been mopping once an hour with my aforementioned dr. pepper/low-sodium soy sauce/olive oil mop at a ratio of about 2/2/1 respectively. i am smoking with apple for the first time after using hickory only for ribs and i must say it is turning out very, very well.

i'm three hours in, but the temp has been a bit low and they are not quite ready to wrap. i will check again in about half an hour and look for a very slight pullback of the meat from the ends of the rib, at which time i will wrap them. this means that instead of 3/2/1, it's going to be about 3.5 or 4/2/1, but i figure that's ok.

here's my question:

when i do wrap them, should i wrap each portion individually, or wrap them all together, or wrap half and half together? or does it matter? also, should i spray in a little mop when i wrap them, or simply leave them be and wrap them as they are?

quick responses needed and very much appreciated.

take care -

ron
 
Add a little bit to the foil for moister ribs, unless you have lots o fat on them. As far as the foil goes, I don't think it really matters if you have a couple in one foil.
 
guys - thanks for the lightning-fast responses...that's why i hang out here!
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richtee - sounds like the way to go; i'll do four wraps of two racks each.

tex - i ormally try to keep in the 240-25- range, today i seem to be smoking more in the 215-230 range (measured on the bottom rack), which might not be disastrous.

flatbroke - sounds like a plan, will do!

flash - they might be cut like short ribs but are definitely pork spare ribs; just for the heck of it last night when i was preparing them (slight mustard brush-down with durkee's st. louis rub), i was actually able to put to portions together to reassemble almost two whole slabs of ribs. we only have one grocery store, plus wal-mart, which i don't count due to the injection solution in their ribs, so we're kind of stuck with what they give us; also, being in the far north, ribs aren't a food in high demand (at least not yet, the neighbors keep slowing down when they drive by and the smell hits).

anyway, we've got a heck of a good meat meat plant/butcher plant here in town and i aim to try them next time. there's nothing wrong with these store-bouth ribs (the store is IGA), but i figure that it's good to have options.

thanks again for the quick help guys, i will report on results and also see if i can provide q-view of the finished product. for the record, we're looking at serving them up with some southern-style beans and corn bread, both home-made.
 
Eh...those temps ain't too bad... I did a couple slabs in the dead of winter, could not get ABOVE 210°. Took longer, and I used less wood knowing it would be in the smoke another 2 hours or so...were good :{).
 
Didn't mean to say they were Short ribs, just sounds like thats what you were describing. Our butchers can mismark and mis-name stuff all the time. Right now I am doing, according to the butcher, Fresh Pork Whole Boston Butt, that was on special sale. Thought it looked kinda strange and it turns out it is Pork Spare Ribs.
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i hear ya there - similar mis-labelings have happened up here, too!

as of 1415, ribs are wrapped and looking good. the temps must not be quite as low as i thought because the thinner racks are looking almost done. i wrapped two per package for a total of four packages, spraying a bit of mop in each. will let them sit for at least an hour and a half, considering they seem to be a bit more done than i thought. then will remove wrapping and let them firm up for an hour..

when i remove them, should i add a little more smoke, or would this be unnecessary? they seem great as is and i think that while hickory was good, this apple (partially the bagged stuff from little chief, partially a few twigs and sticks that broke off in last storm) is some of the mildest and sweetest smoke i have ever experienced. for the little chief apple chips, i put about 2-1/2 handfuls in a foil log. started with a couple of small holes, then a few more bigger holes after an hour or so, then opened up the package. smoke lasted for three hours and was very nice.

thanks agian!
 
well, folks, things aren't going perfectly, but i think we're ok. i was innocently unwrapping the ribs and putting them back on the ECB grills and my son was adding a bit of charcoal through the door (need to get that last modification done!!!!!) when the top grate fell onto the bottom and the bottom dropped onto the wter pan. the water pan then fell on the charcoal and sprayed ash everywhere, including four of the portions of ribs, not to mention put out the charcoal. thinking fast, i had him rinse off the 4 affected rib portions and turned out the gas grill. i stacked the portions on the left side of the top rack of the grill and ran only the right-side burner on the lowest setting. i put a smoke box full of apple chips between the burner and the grill grate in order to hopefully keep temperatures moderate. i will let the ribs finish there and then brush on my finishing glaze (1/3 cup each of mustard, apple cider vinegar and brown sugar) as i pull them off.

the 3/2/1 method does work as advertised, maybe a bit too well! bones are falling out of some of the portions, but they look very tender/juicy and smell fabulous. looking forward to trying them in a little bit when the beans are done. cornbread is looking good to, but this is the first time i baked cornbread in a cast-iron skillet and the first batch was a little dark. 2nd batch seems perfect!
 
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