# Rib Bark



## vision (Sep 10, 2011)

Ok, I just finished another rib smoke (3,2,1 with 2,1 in covered pan) and my bark is black again. A couple questions...

What do I have to do to get the classic rich mahogany color on ribs?

What causes black bark? Why is it sought after sometimes?


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## alblancher (Sep 10, 2011)

Sugar and thick white smoke will cause dark bark.  I like a bit of dark bark, developed by a little while on the hot smoker after removing from the foil.  Maybe your temps are too high for the last hour on the smoker.  Eman just said to use no sugar cherry koolaide in your rub if you are looking for the mahogany color


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## rp ribking (Sep 10, 2011)

!!!


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## mdboatbum (Sep 10, 2011)

I'd agree with Al, your temps are too high. At 225˚, you shouldn't be caramelizing the sugar in the hour on the smoker after the foiling. What exactly do you mean by this "(3,2,1 with 2,1 in covered pan)"? What kind of wood, rub, smoker and ribs are you using? Are you saucing? Are you sure of your temps?


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## roller (Sep 10, 2011)

All the above...


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## vision (Sep 10, 2011)

I smoked some spares by Myron Mixon's method in his book. 3 hours on smoke, 2 hours in foil, then sauce and 1 hour back in foil. Ran at 275. Used pecan and apple.

So is the blackness caused by burned sugar? There were times where I had a lot of thin smoke but it wasn't thick and white.


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## alblancher (Sep 10, 2011)

I normally run 225-240 untill the last hour when I try to tighten them up.  Are they black before you foil them?  If so you may be running temps to high.  I wouldn't expect sugar to carmalize when wrapped in the foil and not exposed to the dry heat.


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## SmokinAl (Sep 11, 2011)

Most of us cook ribs at 225-250, maybe 275 is a little too high and your burning the sugar.


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## vision (Sep 11, 2011)

Why do all the pro's smoke at 275?


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## flash (Sep 11, 2011)

Vision said:


> Why do all the pro's smoke at 275?




Alot of us are pros and we don't.


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## SmokinAl (Sep 11, 2011)

I think a lot of times it's because of time constraints.


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## cliffcarter (Sep 13, 2011)

Mdboatbum said:


> I'd agree with Al, your temps are too high. At 225˚, you shouldn't be caramelizing the sugar in the hour on the smoker after the foiling. What exactly do you mean by this "(3,2,1 with 2,1 in covered pan)"? What kind of wood, rub, smoker and ribs are you using? Are you saucing? Are you sure of your temps?


Quote:


Vision said:


> I smoked some spares by Myron Mixon's method in his book. 3 hours on smoke, 2 hours in foil, then sauce and 1 hour back in foil. Ran at 275. Used pecan and apple.
> 
> So is the blackness caused by burned sugar? There were times where I had a lot of thin smoke but it wasn't thick and white.


So are you cooking on one of those big water smokers like MM does, too?

I think we're only guessing at this point about the sugar as the cause of the black color because we don't know what was in the rub that you used. The high temp combined with the 3 hr unfoiled phase may be causing your coloration issue. How did they taste? Burned or OK?

I cook ribs on a CharGriller at temps between 235°-245° and I usually stick to the 3-2-1 method for spare ribs with the last hr unfoiled. My rub is turbinado sugar based with paprika next most by volume. The mahogany color you are looking for comes from the paprika and smoke IMHO.

Is this the color you are loooking for?-


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## vision (Sep 13, 2011)

cliffcarter said:


> Quote:
> 
> So are you cooking on one of those big water smokers like MM does, too?
> 
> ...


I'm using a wsm with water.

They didn't taste burnt but were black as midnight. Yes no paprika in the rub. Yep, that's the color I'd like...


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## uhmgood (Sep 15, 2011)

i know we " eat with our eyes first " BUT, how bad could your ribs look ?  i have never seen a bad looking slab . if your cooking for friends and family all i'd be worried about is taste , all i'd be going for is moist and tender, just because they didn't make the cover of bbq monthly who REALLY cares . IMHO


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## realtorterry (Sep 15, 2011)

What sugar are you using?

Have you checked you gauges?


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## forluvofsmoke (Sep 15, 2011)

I'd have to agree with too high of temps. With chamber temps of 275*, that would cut the cooking time by about 20-30% compared to the 225* that most of us smoke them at. With what would be considered an extended cooking time, you're probably scorching the sugars, and likely overcooking the ribs. Also, note that foiled or panned/tented cooking speeds up cooking quite a bit (as well as keeping it moist), so additional time in the foil may not be the best, either.

I don't sauce, so I can't say for sure what else may be happening, but the additional sugars of the sauce can easily cause scorching issues at higher temps. It may not taste burnt, but the looks sure can fool you.

If you're current process isn't producing what you want, I'd step back towards a simpler process...(sometimes the KISS method is best)...I'd definitely drop the chamber temps back and go from there.

Eric


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## sqwib (Sep 15, 2011)

I am with the 225 folks.

I use Brown sugar in my rubs and have never had black ribs.

all these were done 3-2-1

250° on GOSM 3405







250° on GOSM 3405







225° ON GOSM BB







225° on GOSM BB







These were the darkest ribs I have had to date

225° on GOSM BB







225° on GOSM BB, SAUCED







225° on reverse flow "Frankensmoker"







225° on reverse flow "Frankensmoker"







for the reverse flow, temp goal is 225° and hoovered between 220 and 240°, sometimes peaking at 250 -260°

And like I said, NEVER had black ribs.

Here is my rub:

1/3 cup coarse salt (kosher or sea) 
1-1/2 cup (packed) Sugar in the Raw (brown sugar is ok) don't use sugar in the raw anymore
1-1/4 cup paprika 
1 Tbsp freshly coarse ground black pepper 
2 Tbsp garlic powder 
¼ cup dried onion flakes 
¼ cup onion powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper 
2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp coriander or Ginger
1 Tbsp rosemary


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## vision (Sep 15, 2011)

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll let you know what happens. SQWIB, thanks for the pictures and recipes.


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## roller (Sep 15, 2011)

I have only smoked BB for yrs. now and I smoke them at 225* and only use BP and a little garlic power...they never turn black...


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## oldschoolbbq (Sep 17, 2011)

Vision,may I suggest you do some Chicken(cheaper than wasting good Ribs) and tweak and learn your Smoker,then gather all your Patience and offer gifts to the smoke gods(small letters).May save you a bunch of frustration
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





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Have fun and.....


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## adam bbq ribs (Dec 29, 2016)

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__ adam bbq ribs
__ Dec 29, 2016






My ribs turned out black, but the taste was really good.  Not sure if I should be proud of how it looks.  I place the ribs on high heat for the last few minutes.  













image.jpeg



__ adam bbq ribs
__ Dec 29, 2016


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## forluvofsmoke (Dec 30, 2016)

Adam, your ribs look perfect to me!!!

High heat to finish will caramelize the rub pretty quickly, but if your rub has much sugar it will slowly caramelize when smoking low & slow, given enough time. I won't use processed sugars in dry rubs for brisket or pork shoulder...anything that has long cooking times. In fact, I stopped using sugars and started using dried, ground fruits in rubs for years. The natural sugars in fruits seem to caramelize more slowly than processed sugars, so my bark has a nice deep, dark color after long smokes.

Eric


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## smokincasper (Dec 30, 2016)

I use a MBE 40 with water pan 225 degrees for 4 hours then last hour in foil. No sauce until in foil













RIB3.JPG



__ smokincasper
__ Dec 30, 2016


















RIB1.JPG



__ smokincasper
__ Dec 30, 2016


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