Newbe needs Rib Help

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commonwealthnet

Newbie
Original poster
Jan 31, 2010
3
10
Detroit Area of Michigan
New to smoking and have had good to great results with some meats, Ribs not so good.

Did a rack of baby backs at about 210 for four hours, 3 open last hour in foil.

Ribs were very tender, but all I tasted was Hickory, no rub!

So some basic questions in general I have are;

1) What temp shoud the meat be at when put on the smoker.

2) Any pre rub like oil etc?

3) How much rub should be used, I used rub from a great Texas pit so that should not be my problem.

4) Meat up / down or both ?

5) Basting or rub and leave alone ?

6) Grill after somking to finish ?

Please help.
 
1) What temp shoud the meat be at when put on the smoker. 

I usually go just about right from the fridge to the smoker.

2) Any pre rub like oil etc?

Slather up with some mustard or I have used extra virgin vinegar oil.  

3) How much rub should be used, I used rub from a great Texas pit so that should not be my problem.

 Rub to your liken.  I like to dust enough rub to cover, then wrap in plastic wrap an into the fridge overnight.

4) Meat up / down or both ?

 Meat Up

5) Basting or rub and leave alone ?

 Some like to use a spray bottle with apple juice which you can add whatever you like.  CPT Morgan spiced rum is used a lot with apple juice.  I usually do spares 3-2-1 and don't even bother to spritz anymore.

6) Grill after somking to finish ?

Using the 3-2-1 (for spare ribs) or 2-2-1 (for baby backs) I haven't found a need to grill to finish.  The 3-2-1 or 2-2-1 is on the smoker for the first 3 hours, then wrap in foil with some additional apple juice for up to 2 hours back in the smoker and then unfoil and put back in the smoker for the last hour to firm back up.

Some folks don't foil at all and I've seen where some use the method you mentioned.  It's really just a matter of finding what works best for you.  I've been experimenting trying to find what I like for several months now and I'm still tweaking things. lol  Just keep track of what you do with each smoke and make adjustments to fine tune it to your liking.  I'd probably start off with the 3-2-1 method I mentioned for a good starting point.  Search 3-2-1 and you'll find a lot of information on this method.

Like Bluechip said, you may have had to much smoke?  Billowing white smoke isn't good, Thin Blue Smoke (TBS) is what you want.

You may want to bump your chamber temp to 225*.
 
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this is great.  I'm doing ribs tomorrow and this time I'll take pics.  I guess there's no need for a meat thermometer when doing ribs? Also, should they be rotated around the grill to be consistent?  I don't mean flipped, I just mean should they cahnge places with each other every hour or so?
 
Commonwealth,

I get great results with the simplest of methods and rubs when it comes to pork ribs...loin-backs, BB's and spares alike. Nothing fancy here, and I get plenty of oooooohs and aaaaaaaahs before the smoke even gets finished. Hickory smoke has a very sharp flavor, so use it sparingly with ribs...maybe 1 hour max, then remove the smoke wood. BB's, being such a small small/light slab, don't require as much time for smoke or cooking as LB/spares. Easy on the smoke, use a rub you like with the milder flavored pork ribs and you'll be in baby-back heaven.
this is great.  I'm doing ribs tomorrow and this time I'll take pics.  I guess there's no need for a meat thermometer when doing ribs? Also, should they be rotated around the grill to be consistent?  I don't mean flipped, I just mean should they cahnge places with each other every hour or so?
I don't slather before rub application, or spray/mop/sauce in the smoker. It's all about the meat, smoke and dry rub for me. I check doneness by observing meat pull-back from the bone ends as my prompt for further checks. Next, I lift the slab with my tongs and observe the sagging, or lack of, to determine how much shrinkage the meat has undergone. Less sag = more done. If foiling, drop 'em into foil when you see about 3/16" of bare bone. Smoking times will vary due to temps, smoke chamber humidity and grate temp variations, so the 3-2-1 (spares) / 2-2-1 (baby-backs) rib cooking times are only a baseline. To compensate for grate temp variations, as you asked above, I rotate the slab 180*, and also change rack positions if using multiple racks in a vertical smoker...one change about half-way through the open grate smoking will suffice in most cases, IMO. Then, do the same when foiled, etc.

Keep things as simple as you can, only open the smoke chamber when necessary so the heat stays in the smoke chamber, and enjoy those ribs!

Eric
 
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