I've traditionally eschewed the 3-2-1 method for spares by reason of the fact that I like a firmer bite on my ribs. I've tried no foil with mixed results, and finally settled in on a 3-1-15minute method. 3 hours smoke, 1 hour foil and 15-30 minutes with the vents open and the smoker giving me all she's got. This has been my go to method, and it seems to work just fine for me.
This week I had planned to do a rack of St. Louis spares I got on sale at the grocery. They looked pretty meaty but also pretty fatty.
I'd planned to smoke them over at a friend's house while we worked on our boat, but weather and schedules got in the way. So, Sunday, I decided that since I'd never actually tried the 3-2-1 method, I'd follow it to the letter, in the oven at 225˚, just to have a "control group" so to speak. My oven is brand new and after a half hour of preheating, holds rock solid temps with only 5˚-8˚ of swing in either direction as the element cycles on and off.
The results were mixed. The meat was not as mushy as I'd thought it would be, nor was it stringy nor pot roast like. It was certainly tender, but the fat really didn't render at all. Overall, I wasn't entirely impressed, though I do see the virtue of a consistent method. The lack of smoke flavor certainly didn't help. They were also quite a bit fattier than most of the ribs I've gotten lately.
I think I'll stick with my method but maybe bump the temps up to 275˚ to shorten the process and maybe render some more fat.
Sorry for the weird photos. Bad lighting in the kitchen and tried to make up for it with a little too much photoshop :)
As for fall off the bone? I guess they were. I actually pulled all the bones out before we ate. they came out VERY easily.
This week I had planned to do a rack of St. Louis spares I got on sale at the grocery. They looked pretty meaty but also pretty fatty.
I'd planned to smoke them over at a friend's house while we worked on our boat, but weather and schedules got in the way. So, Sunday, I decided that since I'd never actually tried the 3-2-1 method, I'd follow it to the letter, in the oven at 225˚, just to have a "control group" so to speak. My oven is brand new and after a half hour of preheating, holds rock solid temps with only 5˚-8˚ of swing in either direction as the element cycles on and off.
The results were mixed. The meat was not as mushy as I'd thought it would be, nor was it stringy nor pot roast like. It was certainly tender, but the fat really didn't render at all. Overall, I wasn't entirely impressed, though I do see the virtue of a consistent method. The lack of smoke flavor certainly didn't help. They were also quite a bit fattier than most of the ribs I've gotten lately.
I think I'll stick with my method but maybe bump the temps up to 275˚ to shorten the process and maybe render some more fat.
Sorry for the weird photos. Bad lighting in the kitchen and tried to make up for it with a little too much photoshop :)
As for fall off the bone? I guess they were. I actually pulled all the bones out before we ate. they came out VERY easily.
