Ribs

[fdesorme]

I've tried ribs with the smokenator twice now. I'm trying to use the 2-2-1 method with baby back ribs, but I can't seem to get tender ribs. The ribs taste pretty good, but are not fall off the bone.

The last time I tried:

1 hr smoke (240 F at grill with water pan)
1 hr no smoke (240 F with water pan)
2 hours foiled with apple juice (250 F no water pan)
1 hour unfoiled (250 F no water pan)

The ribs are from costco, and I've never seen ribs as meaty as these ones. Should I go to a 3-2-1 with meatier baby back ribs or do you have any other tips to get the ribs more tender?

[bigsteve]

Aug 10, 2009 20:20:19 GMT -5 fdesorme said:

I've tried ribs with the smokenator twice now. I'm trying to use the 2-2-1 method with baby back ribs, but I can't seem to get tender ribs. The ribs taste pretty good, but are not fall off the bone.

The last time I tried:

1 hr smoke (240 F at grill with water pan)
1 hr no smoke (240 F with water pan)
2 hours foiled with apple juice (250 F no water pan)
1 hour unfoiled (250 F no water pan)

The ribs are from costco, and I've never seen ribs as meaty as these ones. Should I go to a 3-2-1 with meatier baby back ribs or do you have any other tips to get the ribs more tender?

I'm not sure what's keeping your ribs from being falling off the bone. But the 2-2-1 method is a starting point, it's not cast in stone. Ribs are one of the few things that are cooked by sight. You put the ribs on, (and I would shoot for just a little lower temp at the grate, around 225-230) and foil them up when the meat is pulling back from the rib tips about 1/4 inch. Myself, and many folks I know don't let them go foiled for a whole 2 hours. Generally 1 1/4 hour there. And then I finish up more like 30-45 min unfoiled. With Babybacks, I honestly think you'll ruin them if you try 3 hours instead of 2.

Remember, smoking is an art, not science. Most pieces of meat have different fat, water, muscle content than the last piece, so they won't cook identically.

Recently, there have been some articles that debunk the meat pulling back 1/4 inch from the bone being a valid indicator. I can tell you I've done it by checking for pullback, and also with a thermometer. My ribs have been better when I looked for pullback.

[fdesorme]

The odd thing is that I never seem to get 1/4" pullback. The first time I cooked ribs I kept a grate temp of 225, but the last attempt was at 250 to try to obtain the 1/4" pull back.

I am measuring the temp at the grate using a maverick digital thermo, with a potato on the opposite side of the grill as the smokenator.

In order to get the pull back and for them to pass the bend test I had to through them on the gas bbq at high heat for 5 mins after the 5 hours at 250.

[bigsteve]

Aug 12, 2009 5:17:17 GMT -5 fdesorme said:

The odd thing is that I never seem to get 1/4" pullback. The first time I cooked ribs I kept a grate temp of 225, but the last attempt was at 250 to try to obtain the 1/4" pull back.

I am measuring the temp at the grate using a maverick digital thermo, with a potato on the opposite side of the grill as the smokenator.

In order to get the pull back and for them to pass the bend test I had to through them on the gas bbq at high heat for 5 mins after the 5 hours at 250.

They sound undercooked, because of no pullback. I know you're using a good thermo, but your temperature sounds low IE; no pull back after a couple of hours. Out of curiosity, did you stick a meat thermo in the ribs about when you foiled?

I would check the accuracy of the thermos. First, crush some ice, and put in a glass of water for a few minutes. There should be lots of ice, and just a little water in the glass. The thermo should read just barely above 32* Later, boil some water and stick the tips of the probe in. Should be 212 at sea level. The higher your elevation is, the lower water boils at. I don't remember the formula, but I'm sure you can find it through Google. If your probes are fine, at least you've eliminated that.

Hopefully someone else has some good ideas for you.

[fdesorme]

I will test the thermos tonight. What temp should the ribs be before you foil?

I am also cooking the ribs directly on the food grill, rather than using a rib rack if this makes a difference.

One thing that I have noticed is that I have a good 50 to 60 degree difference between dome temp and grill temp.

[bigsteve]

Aug 12, 2009 10:37:24 GMT -5 fdesorme said:

I will test the thermos tonight. What temp should the ribs be before you foil?

I am also cooking the ribs directly on the food grill, rather than using a rib rack if this makes a difference.

One thing that I have noticed is that I have a good 50 to 60 degree difference between dome temp and grill temp.

The few times I tried ribs using a thermo, I was going by what the Meathead says at amazing ribs com. He says to bring them up to 180* and hold at 180* for half an hour. I tried, it's tough to hold temps when you're using charcoal.

I don't think laying the ribs down or standing in a rack will matter much in this case.

About the 50/60 deg difference, I have less, some have more. The most important thing is the temp at the grate. Earlier you said 240* at the grate. If you meant the dome, then that's your problem, your grate temp would have been 180-190*, much too low.

[fdesorme]

I tested the thermos with boiling water, they read 211 so they seem fine. The last time I tried was at 250 at the grate and about 300 to 310 at the dome.

[bigsteve]

Aug 12, 2009 21:10:57 GMT -5 fdesorme said:

I tested the thermos with boiling water, they read 211 so they seem fine. The last time I tried was at 250 at the grate and about 300 to 310 at the dome.

Well, I'm running out of ideas. Do you let the kettle come all the way to temperature before you throw the ribs on?

[fdesorme]

I usually let it come up to 225, then I put on the ribs. I'll give it another shot, and monitor more closely. I'll also wait until I get shrink back before I wrap in foil.

Thanks for all the help!

[bigsteve]

Post back when you do, I'm really curious.

[fdesorme]

Success at last! Tried ribs again today and they came out perfect. All of my problems have been related to temperature. The temperature is not even in my kettle. The first few times I set the thermo probe on the side opposite the smokenator at the far end of the kettle. This time I set the probe in the middle of the kettle between the two racks of ribs.

What I found is that I have a 90 degree difference between dome and the middle of the kettle. The outer areas of the grill have a 60 to 70 degree difference. By maintaining the temperature in the middle of the grill at 225 I has able to get pullback and ribs that pulled off the bone.

To get 225 in the middle I needed 330 dome temp so it ran through the water too fast. I pulled the water pan and used a larger water pan sitting on the grill.

[bigsteve]

Sounds great. Nothing like success..........

[strcdply]

fdesorme, out of curiosity, are you using binder clips or some other method to tighten the lid to prevent leakage?

[fdesorme]

I use four binder clips to seal the lid. They help control the dome temp, but don't seem to have any effect on my dome to grill temperature difference.

I keep the dome vent on the opposite side of the smokenator, maybe this is responsible?

For those who have tighter dome to grill temperatures, where are you placing the vent side of the dome?

[lytefly]

Aug 26, 2009 20:30:54 GMT -5 fdesorme said:

I keep the dome vent on the opposite side of the smokenator, maybe this is responsible?

For those who have tighter dome to grill temperatures, where are you placing the vent side of the dome?

That's where you want the dome vent. It causes the heat to flow across the food and promotes proper circulation of the heat within the kettle.