Second Smoke / some ?s for the experts / q-view

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bigun

Fire Starter
Original poster
Aug 23, 2007
41
10
Well I braved the snow, and wind to fire up the smoker yesterday. Ribs and ABTs. The ABTs were outstanding, The ribs were good but a little bit dry, (ham texture) and I was trying to figure out why. First I trimmed and pulled membrane. then I rubbed with cambridge dry rub http://www.recipesource.com/side-dis...0/rec0001.html. Let stand overnight and then 3-2-1 with an apple juice spritz every 30 minutes or so. The only issue I had was keeping smoker temps up during the smoke I had to fight to keep temps above 200, but I got the ribs to an internal of 180, and pulled them. Why were my ribs dry? Anyway here is a q-view of all of it.
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Don't consider myself an expert but my $.02....

Were the ribs packed in a solution? This could be the reason they were hammy.

Also, you may try 2-2-1 next time...I have reduced my cook time w/ ribs w/ great success.
 
how in the HECK do you check internals on RIBS........no such thing really

ribs are done doing a time method......meat to close to the bone to ever get a real good idea on temps..........

did you spay em down good before wrapping in foil?

and did you add a sauce the last 30 minutes?
 
I have st. louy style on now-rubbed with musturd last nite with chipolte cinnamon-went on at noon at 170ish-low & slow-Allie & I grinding & stuffing 30#s of sausage today-5 diff flavors-we been busy last couple days to say the least-I will crank up the heat on the ribs later-I find if you start high the dry out quicker-just me opinion.
 
I Checked temps in the thickest part of the meat, just to make sure, Like I said I was fighting temperature all day, and I didn't want to make anyone sick. Yes they were sprayed before foiling, and a splash or two poured into the foil. no I didn't sauce During the smoke. I put the sauce on the side after they were done.

Extex Yes I think they were solution ribs. I found them on sale and wasn't paying attention, Ill deffinitly pay more attention to the fine print on the package.
 
you will find here........that most don't bother checking internal temps.....too iffy with ribs...........

i put sauce on the last 30 minutes.......seems to help with the moisture content
 
Were these baby backs or spares? If they were baby backs they were probably over cooked. I do 2-1.5-45min or so give or take on the tear test.
 
Spares.

I knew the bones were an issue, I just worked to keep the thermo as far from them as possible. Makes sense that a thermo wouldn't be required, I just was a little nervous, I could have probably just trusted the time and the fact the ribs werre pulling back from the bone
 
You said you were spraying every 30min???
If so and you were having such a hard time with keeping the temp of the smoker up, then why keep opening to spray??
The old saying once again if you're looking you ain't cookin'.

Spray every hour when I do mine and spray them real good when foiling.

How long did it take to cook the ribs from putting them on to pulling them off??
 
Remember that 3-2-1 is a guideline. When someone wants more bite to their ribs, they may do a 3-1-2 or a variation. My wife and I like fall off the bone, so we may do a 3-2.5-.5
the longer in the foil, the more tender or 'fall off the bone' they become.
 
Another 2 cents coming your way.

Hammy = solution and letting the rub sit on over night
Tough = Temp too low.

If you had trouble keeping the temps above 200 you are dehydrating the meat more than cooking it.

Good luck.
 
This was a good thread. I haven't done ribs in my smoker yet, so thanks to everybody for the input. Sorry you had to be the guinea pig Bigun but they looked good. Hopefully you still enjoyed them and will have great success next time.
 
Yeah, they did look good, and they still got ate, so That makes me feel better. About the temps I think the wind chill was 5 degrees, So next time I decide to smoke during a blizzard I guess I gotta use more charcoal and maybe set up a wind break.

Thanks to everyone for the good advice.
 
could someone tell me what "abt" is. looked like bacon wrapped sometihing. looks very good. i am new here. just got my smoker and have not had a chance to use it yet. but am soaking in all the info from this site. thanks
Steve
 
Stoney Atb's are a jalapeno pepper stuffed with cheese and anything else. Wrapped in bacon and smoked. They rock. Bigun I thinks smoker temps were your issue. Good lookin ribs though. I rub right before I cook them. I feel that when they sit in salt they dry out. Don't spray quite so much when your fighting temps. Let your rub and the smoke do the flavoring. I have cooked ribs a bunch of times and never sprayed. I can't really taste a difference. I never thermo my ribs. Just keep trying and you will learn to rely on the visual clues that tell you when your ribs are done. Like pulling away from the bone and bending at a 90 degree when you pick them up.
 
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