# 3-2-1 Ribs modified version



## SmokinAl (Jul 3, 2011)

I have been trying to make the perfect ribs to satisfy everyone here and have failed until lately. These ribs were the best I (we) ever made. I had some bb's that were very thick & meaty, I did them 3-2-1 instead of 2-2-1. The modified version is to do the last hour on the grill so the outside of the ribs gets crispy. That's where my wife Judy comes in. She has always boiled ribs & then grilled them with great success. Everybody loves her ribs. I do too, but I like the smoke flavor, so lately we have been doing a 3-2 1, with me doing the 3-2 & Judy doing the 1. Actually the one only takes about 30-45 minutes. She puts them on the gas grill with sauce & turns them over every 5 minutes or so until the outside gets crispy. I marinated the ribs for 24 hours in a solution of 1/4 cu salt,1/4 cu Splenda, 1/4 cu Jeff's rub, & 2 quarts of water. Then I rubbed them with mustard & Jeff's & in the fridge over night. Fired up the WSM & set the guru to 225. Put the ribs on with some ABT's ( just seriously sharp cheddar, no bacon), and a batch of BBQ sauce. Let them go for 3 hours. Then wrapped them in Saran wrap & foil with butter, honey, dark beer, & a little more of Jeff's rub. Let them cook for 2 more hours. Then sauced them & Judy put them on the grill. She had the grill at 350-400 and turned & sauced them every 5 minutes or so until they had a nice crispy skin.

*Here's the photo's of the smoke. The ribs look like most ribs do after 3 hours in the smoke. Here's the ingredients for the foiling.*








*Wrapped in the saran wrap & ready to foil.*







*The ABT's and BBQ sauce are done.*







*2 hours in foil & it's now Judy's turn to finish them on the grill.*













*OK the're done! *







*Everybody's happy. They have great smoke penetration, they fall off the bone & they have a crispy outside. From now on ribs are a 2 man (1 man, 1 woman) operation around here. Thanks for looking!*


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## captturbo (Jul 3, 2011)

It looks like you nailed it. Smoky and juicy! Ribs have so far been my weak point. I need to work on that. Wish I had time to try them again over the weekend but when you are in the fishin' charter biz you don't get to play on the Holidays. Nice work Al and Judy.


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## venture (Jul 3, 2011)

It seems the newbies always want to start with ribs.  Ribs are actually pretty darn tricky.

Those look great.  I was wondering if the got grill might not dry them out, but they look fantastic!

Good luck and good smoking.


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## ravanelli (Jul 3, 2011)

Looks nice, I like the little pieces of bark on the outside, but they tasted great.


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## raptor700 (Jul 3, 2011)

Looks great AL,

They do look very juicy


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## big dee (Jul 3, 2011)

Those ribs look great. Looks real juicy and tasty. I like the idea of finishing on a hot grill. I will have to try this with the next batch of ribs. Great job Al.

Dennis


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## SmokinAl (Jul 4, 2011)

CaptTurbo said:


> It looks like you nailed it. Smoky and juicy! Ribs have so far been my weak point. I need to work on that. Wish I had time to try them again over the weekend but when you are in the fishin' charter biz you don't get to play on the Holidays. Nice work Al and Judy.


Thanks Capt., maybe you can give it a try next week.




Venture said:


> It seems the newbies always want to start with ribs.  Ribs are actually pretty darn tricky.
> 
> Those look great.  I was wondering if the got grill might not dry them out, but they look fantastic!
> 
> Good luck and good smoking.


Thanks Venture, the grill didn't dry them out at all, it just put a nice crust on them.




Ravanelli said:


> Looks nice, I like the little pieces of bark on the outside, but they tasted great.


Thanks Ravanelli, Yes they tasted good, I think we finally figured out ribs.
 




raptor700 said:


> Looks great AL,
> 
> They do look very juicy


Thanks Rap, your ribs always look so awesome, I'm glad we finally got it right.




Big Dee said:


> Those ribs look great. Looks real juicy and tasty. I like the idea of finishing on a hot grill. I will have to try this with the next batch of ribs. Great job Al.
> 
> Dennis


Thanks Dennis, yes for sure give it a try.


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## daveomak (Jul 4, 2011)

Al, Morning.   I have been telling the bride that ribs need to be wrapped in plastic and then in foil to keep them moist............big disagreement on the plastic.....

I am_ not _going to show her your post........

I have a 3# butt in the smoker now....would you suggest wrapping in plastic and foil to 190 or so and then grillin' to crisp up the outside ??? This is my first butt.....Dave


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## SmokinAl (Jul 4, 2011)

DaveOmak said:


> Al, Morning.   I have been telling the bride that ribs need to be wrapped in plastic and then in foil to keep them moist............big disagreement on the plastic.....
> 
> I am_ not _going to show her your post........
> 
> I have a 3# butt in the smoker now....would you suggest wrapping in plastic and foil to 190 or so and then grillin' to crisp up the outside ??? This is my first butt.....Dave




I used to foil butts all the time, then one day I decided to just smoke it the whole way without foil. I have never foiled another one since. It will take longer to cook without foil, but the bark you get is just fabulous. Unfoiled I figure about 2 hours per pound. If it looks like it's not going to get done in time you can always foil it & get it done.


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## flash (Jul 4, 2011)

Al, when I met my future wife, she use to parboil and grill. I eventually broke her of that habit. I had her in Winn Dixie, after trying to get her to commit to 3-2-1 and we met a little old lady going over the ribs in the meat counter. She looked like everyone's perfect Grandmother. She asked if she parboiled the ribs and she stated " Honey, your boiling out all the flavor!!"  So that night I got to finally do a 3-2-1. She has never once attempted to go back to the grill or par-boiling.

 I think your wife's idea is fine, although ribs are pretty much done at 3-2-1, so I would really watch how hot that grill is. Still, we do our Chicken that way, smoke then grill, so why not ribs.


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## flash (Jul 4, 2011)

DaveOmak said:


> Al, Morning.   I have been telling the bride that ribs need to be wrapped in plastic and then in foil to keep them moist............big disagreement on the plastic.....
> 
> I am_ not _going to show her your post........
> 
> I have a 3# butt in the smoker now....would you suggest wrapping in plastic and foil to 190 or so and then grillin' to crisp up the outside ??? This is my first butt.....Dave




 I just throw them in 1 gallon baggies after applying rub. Some cuts of meat I use saran wrap. Now this is all pre-smoke, no plastic while smoking. I think I have read somewhere where that was not good for you ???? 

 3 lb but will not take long Dave, so the longer you can go before wrapping in foil the better for bark. Rub with a good amount of sugar will give you a pretty good bark, whether you wrap in foil or not. Higher smoker temps help too. 250º instead of 225º

 Did you use some Mojo??


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## SmokinAl (Jul 4, 2011)

Thanks Flash. If you do chicken that way you should just try the ribs one time. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.


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## flash (Jul 4, 2011)

Was she applying sauce before place them on the hot grill? Now that will crunch them quick.


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## meateater (Jul 4, 2011)

Great looking ribs Al.


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## windshield king (Jul 4, 2011)

nice looking ribs Al


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## daveomak (Jul 4, 2011)

SmokinAl said:


> I used to foil butts all the time, then one day I decided to just smoke it the whole way without foil. I have never foiled another one since. It will take longer to cook without foil, but the bark you get is just fabulous. Unfoiled I figure about 2 hours per pound. If it looks like it's not going to get done in time you can always foil it & get it done.


Al, Thanks........Smoke for 4 hrs to 150 .......stalled at 156 for 3 hrs..........foiled and wrapped in a towel at 190...........wife made a sauce and slaw........I ate the sammie so fast no Qview sorry.........Best damn sammie i ever had.......12 hrs to cook a 3 # butt...........You're ACES my friend.   Dave


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## fpnmf (Jul 4, 2011)

Looks great Al!!

I also do chicken by finishing on the grill...

Ya sold me..next ribs are going to the grill for the finish!!!

  Craig


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## SmokinAl (Jul 5, 2011)

Flash said:


> Was she applying sauce before place them on the hot grill? Now that will crunch them quick.


Yes she was, she also applied more sauce after turning them a couple of times.
 




meateater said:


> Great looking ribs Al.


Thanks, Meat




windshield king said:


> nice looking ribs Al


Thanks, King




DaveOmak said:


> Al, Thanks........Smoke for 4 hrs to 150 .......stalled at 156 for 3 hrs..........foiled and wrapped in a towel at 190...........wife made a sauce and slaw........I ate the sammie so fast no Qview sorry.........Best damn sammie i ever had.......12 hrs to cook a 3 # butt...........You're ACES my friend.   Dave


Glad it turned out so well Dave. It looks delicious!
 




fpnmf said:


> Looks great Al!!
> 
> I also do chicken by finishing on the grill...
> 
> ...




Thanks, Craig. You won't regret finishing them on the grill.


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## flash (Jul 5, 2011)

I'm not sure I would do that on my grill, grates can be too low and that sauce is what is crisping up, due to the sugar. But maybe that is what she likes??

I'll give it a go, but sauce will wait.


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## SmokinAl (Jul 5, 2011)

Flash, it's not just the sauce that crisps it up. We don't put sugar in our sauce, we use Splenda.


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## chef willie (Jul 5, 2011)

looks good Al....seems like you hit on a new technique. I have one costco rack left in the freezer....will give this a whirl soon..thx for the posting


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## SmokinAl (Jul 5, 2011)

Chef Willie said:


> looks good Al....seems like you hit on a new technique. I have one costco rack left in the freezer....will give this a whirl soon..thx for the posting




Thanks Willie! Let me know what you think when you try this.


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## alelover (Jul 5, 2011)

Those look great Al. Like that grilling idea instead of the last "1". Awesome looking crust on those. I will try that next time. What do you do with all the BBQ sauce leftover?


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## whtplainssmoker (Jul 5, 2011)

Al.  Those ribs look great.  The 3-2-1 modified you mention in the post is essentially what I did that gave me such beautiful results in the Brinkman .  Since it is so hard to maintain temperature on that thing, I finished the ribs on the Weber gas grill.  Did 3 with smoke on the brinkmann, 2 wrapped in foil (not saran and foil) on the brinkmann, then the last 45 min to 1 hour on the Weber at around 275*.  Sauced them a couple of times, but kept them bone side down on the grill.  It works out great.


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## SmokinAl (Jul 5, 2011)

Thanks Mike & Scott. This is how I will do ribs from now on.


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## Bearcarver (Jul 5, 2011)

Those are some Awesome Looking Ribs Al !!!

That last BearView of them cut open is WAY over the top!!!

Thanks Al,

Bear


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## beer-b-q (Jul 5, 2011)

Great looking ribs Al,  they look Delicious...


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## gotarace (Jul 5, 2011)

Great looking Ribs Al...They look awesome....Thanks for sharing the method for your ribs!!!


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## SmokinAl (Jul 6, 2011)

Bearcarver said:


> Those are some Awesome Looking Ribs Al !!!
> 
> That last BearView of them cut open is WAY over the top!!!
> 
> ...


Thanks Bear, I was thinking of you when I snapped that photo!




Beer-B-Q said:


> Great looking ribs Al,  they look Delicious...


Thanks, Beer




gotarace said:


> Great looking Ribs Al...They look awesome....Thanks for sharing the method for your ribs!!!


Thanks & your welcome, give it a try & let me know what you think.


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## timbre (Jul 6, 2011)

SmokinAl said:


> I have been trying to make the perfect ribs to satisfy everyone here and have failed until lately. These ribs were the best I (we) ever made. I had some bb's that were very thick & meaty, I did them 3-2-1 instead of 2-2-1. The modified version is to do the last hour on the grill so the outside of the ribs gets crispy. That's where my wife Judy comes in. She has always boiled ribs & then grilled them with great success. Everybody loves her ribs. I do too, but I like the smoke flavor, so lately we have been doing a 3-2 1, with me doing the 3-2 & Judy doing the 1. Actually the one only takes about 30-45 minutes. She puts them on the gas grill with sauce & turns them over every 5 minutes or so until the outside gets crispy. I marinated the ribs for 24 hours in a solution of 1/4 cu salt,1/4 cu Splenda, 1/4 cu Jeff's rub, & 2 quarts of water. Then I rubbed them with mustard & Jeff's & in the fridge over night. Fired up the WSM & set the guru to 225. Put the ribs on with some ABT's ( just seriously sharp cheddar, no bacon), and a batch of BBQ sauce. Let them go for 3 hours. Then wrapped them in Saran wrap & foil with butter, honey, dark beer, & a little more of Jeff's rub. Let them cook for 2 more hours. Then sauced them & Judy put them on the grill. She had the grill at 350-400 and turned & sauced them every 5 minutes or so until they had a nice crispy skin.
> 
> *The ABT's and BBQ sauce are done.*


Any chance of getting a hint of what all is in that sauce? I never thought of making a batch and then smoking it.


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## roller (Jul 6, 2011)

good looking ribs Al..I will give them a try that way only light on the sauce...Thanks for the great idea...


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## SmokinAl (Jul 6, 2011)

timbre said:


> Any chance of getting a hint of what all is in that sauce? I never thought of making a batch and then smoking it.


It's Jeff's sauce recipe, only we use Splenda instead of sugar.




Roller said:


> good looking ribs Al..I will give them a try that way only light on the sauce...Thanks for the great idea...




Let me know how you like it. I think you will be surprised at how little sauce taste there is. It just makes a nice crust almost like bark.


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## thunderdome (Jul 6, 2011)

Those ribs look great Al. Great picture taking too


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## SmokinAl (Jul 6, 2011)

ThunderDome said:


> Those ribs look great Al. Great picture taking too




Thanks Thunder!


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## scarbelly (Jul 6, 2011)

Another great smoke Al. Congrats man.


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## SmokinAl (Jul 7, 2011)

Scarbelly said:


> Another great smoke Al. Congrats man.




Thanks Gary!


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## bigeyedavid (Jul 7, 2011)

Wow Al nice smoke ring and looks very juicey and tender you nailed it


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## cinderella (Jul 7, 2011)

Boy, those look fabulous, i could eat some of those now and I haven't even had breakfast yet. Am going to the market today and will look for some good looking ribs and try the 3-2-1 method tomorrow or Sunday. I'll skip the plastic wrap, though, and stick to foil. My DH worked in the plastic engineering industry for years and considers many of them safe, but what's known now about heating plastic products, even HE won't cook anything in plastic. If you do, please be sure the wrap you use is rated for heat (most aren't). You gotta pick your poisons, lol.


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## africanmeat (Jul 7, 2011)

OMG AL  i almost missed it. it looks yummy  
	

		
			
		

		
	






	

		
			
		

		
	
  they look juicy and tender


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## SmokinAl (Jul 7, 2011)

Bigeyedavid said:


> Wow Al nice smoke ring and looks very juicey and tender you nailed it


Thanks David




Cinderella said:


> Boy, those look fabulous, i could eat some of those now and I haven't even had breakfast yet. Am going to the market today and will look for some good looking ribs and try the 3-2-1 method tomorrow or Sunday. I'll skip the plastic wrap, though, and stick to foil. My DH worked in the plastic engineering industry for years and considers many of them safe, but what's known now about heating plastic products, even HE won't cook anything in plastic. If you do, please be sure the wrap you use is rated for heat (most aren't). You gotta pick your poisons, lol.


Thanks Cinderella, A couple of the other guys said the same thing about the wrap. This is the first time I have tried it after seeing it used in competition BBQ. I must say it works quite well at sealing in all the juices. It didn't seem to be affected by the heat. Like it wasn't stuck together or anything. It's a commercial grade that I got from a restaurant supply, but it doesn't say anything on the box about heat. I will check into it further.




africanmeat said:


> OMG AL  i almost missed it. it looks yummy
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thanks Ahron!


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## mr500 (Jul 7, 2011)

SmokinAl said:


> Let them go for 3 hours.
> 
> Then wrapped them in Saran wrap & foil with butter, honey, dark beer, & a little more of Jeff's rub. Let them cook for 2 more hours.


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## SmokinAl (Jul 8, 2011)

I saw it done at a BBQ comp & thought I'd give it a try. It works really well & the low heat doesn't have any affect on the plastic wrap. However some of the members are saying that it's not good to heat food in plastic, so I guess this is something I will look into further. It does keep the ribs incredibly moist & juicy. More so than just foil.


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## hardslicer (Jul 9, 2011)

I have always wrapped in foil....but after reading some comments am thinking about not wrapping at all during my next smoke of a pork butt and just letting it finish cooking as it is.......is this something I should try and not wrap after the first step?....I do like a nice crispy bark......what to do, what to do


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## SmokinAl (Jul 10, 2011)

hardslicer said:


> I have always wrapped in foil....but after reading some comments am thinking about not wrapping at all during my next smoke of a pork butt and just letting it finish cooking as it is.......is this something I should try and not wrap after the first step?....I do like a nice crispy bark......what to do, what to do




I used to foil my butts, but after trying them un-foiled one time I never went back. They take a little longer to cook, but the bark is to die for.


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## hardslicer (Jul 10, 2011)

Thanks Al......I trust your judgement and experience....I will give it a try this week.....


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## Bearcarver (Jul 10, 2011)

Al knows Butts !!!!

Sorry Al---Couldn't resist that one!

Bear


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## SmokinAl (Jul 10, 2011)

Bearcarver said:


> Al knows Butts !!!!
> 
> Sorry Al---Couldn't resist that one!
> 
> Bear









    Glad your back Bear!


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## tjohnson (Jul 10, 2011)

Hey Al!

Great looking Ribs!!!

I read somewhere about finishing ribs on the grill, and I've been doing it that way ever since.

We really like how the outside gets crispy.

I'll dredge 1/2 the racks thru BBQ Sauce thinned with Sprite, and leave 1/2 the racks alone. 

The BBQ has to be on low, so the ribs don't burn.

When I make ribs, I'll freeze some slabs after the 3-2, and finish them on the grill, after they are thawed out.

Great Job My Friend!

Todd


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## SmokinAl (Jul 10, 2011)

Well dang it Todd. Here I thought I had come up with a great new way to smoke ribs & you have been doing it all along! I know one thing I'll be doing it this way from now on.


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## SmokinAl (Jul 10, 2011)

WOW I just checked the home page & this thread is on the carousel. Nobody told me. Anyhow thanks to the powers that be for including me in this weeks spin around the carousel. It is truly an honor!


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## meateater (Jul 10, 2011)

Congrats Al.


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## SmokinAl (Jul 11, 2011)

Thanks Meat!


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## pittman (Jul 11, 2011)

Now  I have to try this!! I like that you used Splenda! Great idea!!


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## SmokinAl (Jul 12, 2011)

Thanks Pitt! We have been using Splenda in all our recipes lately, can't notice any flavor difference, just a lot less sugar & calories.


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## sunman76 (Jul 12, 2011)

man Al those look darn good.. 10 out of 10


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## SmokinAl (Jul 12, 2011)

Thanks Sunman!


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## ugaboz (Jul 12, 2011)

great job


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## hardslicer (Jul 12, 2011)

I just finished a pork butt smoke and didn't foil it towards the end......it got to 192 but wouldn't make it to 200....I left it on too long waiting for it to climb and it just wouldn't.  Needless to say leaving it on that extra hour or so kinda dried it out....but it was still nice a tasty.  I was trying to get the best bark possible, which it did, I will take this as a learning experience.  I am using an electric smoker and the temps stay really consistant.  It was a 8 pound butt that smoked for 14/15 hours......


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## SmokinAl (Jul 13, 2011)

hardslicer said:


> I just finished a pork butt smoke and didn't foil it towards the end......it got to 192 but wouldn't make it to 200....I left it on too long waiting for it to climb and it just wouldn't.  Needless to say leaving it on that extra hour or so kinda dried it out....but it was still nice a tasty.  I was trying to get the best bark possible, which it did, I will take this as a learning experience.  I am using an electric smoker and the temps stay really consistant.  It was a 8 pound butt that smoked for 14/15 hours......




I don't know how this thread ended up with pork butt, but to answer your question. Once they've been on for that long and seem to stay at the same temp. It's a good idea to check them with a probe or toothpick. If it goes in without any resistance the butt is done. It's also good to check the temp in several different spots.


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## supercenterchef (Jul 13, 2011)

Todd:  really like your approach...now that I've got the ribs down, I've been working on serving...guests don't like it when they've been waiting and hour and I tell them "hey, it's done when it's done"...nor do they like cold ribs...

I think I'll try your 3-2-freezer-1 grill...one question...freezing technique?...do you use a foodsaver or what?


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## cactuskid (Jul 13, 2011)

Hi Al

  It looks like you nailed it. I did my first ribs the other day and again they came out like crap. I did the 3-2-1 and for some reason it did not work so well for me. Any way you'res look really,really good.


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## SmokinAl (Jul 13, 2011)

Thanks kid!


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## hardslicer (Jul 14, 2011)

Al......lol your right, sorry to sidetrack the thread....but I really do appreciate your input....you told me exactly what I wanted to know.....thx


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## SmokinAl (Jul 15, 2011)

hardslicer said:


> Al......lol your right, sorry to sidetrack the thread....but I really do appreciate your input....you told me exactly what I wanted to know.....thx




Your welcome, glad I could help you.


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## cromag (Jul 16, 2011)

AWESOME


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## SmokinAl (Jul 17, 2011)

Thanks Cromag!


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## jimf (Jul 25, 2011)

Al:

These look delicious.  I'm going to try to follow this step by step for my first Baby back racks. 

When you say you marinated the ribs for 24 hours, did you soak them in the mixture in a pan or did you apply the mixture and foil for 24 hours?

Thanks

Jim


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## SmokinAl (Jul 25, 2011)

JimF said:


> Al:
> 
> These look delicious.  I'm going to try to follow this step by step for my first Baby back racks.
> 
> ...




I put them in a foodsaver bag with the marinade & sealed it up.

If you don't have a foodsaver, you can use any bag that you can seal up. 

You may have to cut the racks in half to get them in smaller bags.

The important thing is to cover them with the liquid.

Hefty makes jumbo 2 1/2 gallon zipper bags, They will work & Walmart sells them.

Good luck Jim! Let us know how they turn out.

If you have any more questions you can just PM me and I'll try to get back as quickly as possible.


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## ejbreeze (Aug 6, 2011)

Al we are going to give this a try tomorrow.  The ribs are marinating as I type.  What BBQ sauce do you use?


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## ejbreeze (Aug 6, 2011)

Never mind I just saw you use Jeff's recipe.


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## SmokinAl (Aug 6, 2011)

Ejbreeze said:


> Never mind I just saw you use Jeff's recipe.




Good luck & don't forget the Q-view!


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## ejbreeze (Aug 7, 2011)

Okay Al.  Ribs are done marinating and all R&W (Rubbed and Wrapped).  They will be going on about noon time.


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## SmokinAl (Aug 7, 2011)

They look perfect so far!


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## ejbreeze (Aug 7, 2011)

Al how much butter, honey, dark beer, Jeffs rub did you use?


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## ejbreeze (Aug 7, 2011)

Coming along nicely.  Made up some  Cheese Quesidillas with Jalepenos to snack on while grilling.


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## ejbreeze (Aug 7, 2011)

They turned out very good.  I believe next time I would leave out the pepper in Jeff's BBQ sauce if your going to use his rub also.  Also I would look for some baby backs with a little more meat on them.


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## SmokinAl (Aug 8, 2011)

They sure look good!

Nice job!

Sam's has had some very meaty BB's lately. There actually thicker than most of the spares I see.

Each time you make ribs you will probably make some adjustments in the ingredients until you get it to your taste.


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## Bearcarver (Aug 8, 2011)

Looks Great EJ !!

It pays to listen to Al !!!

I still love your fancy Qview too!!!-----Neat !

Bear


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## jc1947 (Aug 8, 2011)

WoW Al, my mouth is watering. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





JC


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## ejbreeze (Aug 8, 2011)

Thanks you guys.  I'm staying busy following all your recipes.


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## hardslicer (Aug 9, 2011)

nicely done....hope you enjoyed reaping the rewards of your efforts......


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## houston smoker (Aug 9, 2011)

those ribs look great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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