St Louis Style Rib Smoking Issue

bbrock293 · Aug 1, 2012

1st post, thanks for looking. I attempted to smoke ribs for the 1st time on a Brinkman charcoal smoker. I went to the butcher and bought 4 racks, each rack weighing about 1.5 pounds. I had the temp at about 225-250 and for whatever reason, they were done (at 170) in about 45 minutes each time. They were very tough and almost inedible. My 1st question is, they were very thin and it seems like they were too light. Was it a bad cut from the butcher? Are they usually this small? Is this why they are cooking so quickly? 45 minutes isnt much time! Thanks guys.

s2k9k · Aug 1, 2012

Those sound like very small racks, the racks I usually get are 4-5lbs.

Are you confident about your smoker temperature? What are you measuring it with? and have you checked it's accuracy?

I see this is your first post here, when you get a minute would you do us a favor and go to Roll Call and introduce yourself so we can get to know you and give you a proper welcome, also would you add your location to your profile, we like knowing where you are when we talk to you, Thanks!

kryinggame · Aug 1, 2012

First off, welcome. You should introduce yourself and tell where you're from.

In my opinion, you should start off with 1 rack to learn how to smoke it properly.

Personally, I do my ribs in a smoker. I smoke at 275* for approx 4 hours and they're perfect. Since ribs are so thin, most people judge readiness by time and the bend test. Here's a link describing the bend test

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/a/the-bend-test-for-ribs

Here's a link regarding smoking at 275*

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/123332/no-more-225-im-a-convert

St. Louis Ribs are thinner than spare ribs. They're cut from spare ribs and produce an evenly cooked rack.

Practice makes perfect. I screwed up many racks before getting it right. There's tons of great info on this site. Welcome!

bbrock293 · Aug 1, 2012

S2K9K said:
Those sound like very small racks, the racks I usually get are 4-5lbs.

Are you confident about your smoker temperature? What are you measuring it with? and have you checked it's accuracy?

I see this is your first post here, when you get a minute would you do us a favor and go to Roll Call and introduce yourself so we can get to know you and give you a proper welcome, also would you add your location to your profile, we like knowing where you are when we talk to you, Thanks!

I am basing it off the tem guage on the front of the smoker. It reads Warm-Ideal-Hot. I am in the process of getting a thermometer. It has been between Warm and Ideal and up to ideal at the warmest. I filled the bottom pan about 1/2 to 3/4 full of charcoal. Thanks.

kryinggame said:
First off, welcome. You should introduce yourself and tell where you're from.

In my opinion, you should start off with 1 rack to learn how to smoke it properly.

Personally, I do my ribs in a smoker. I smoke at 275* for approx 4 hours and they're perfect. Since ribs are so thin, most people judge readiness by time and the bend test. Here's a link describing the bend test

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/a/the-bend-test-for-ribs

Here's a link regarding smoking at 275*

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/123332/no-more-225-im-a-convert

St. Louis Ribs are thinner than spare ribs. They're cut from spare ribs and produce an evenly cooked rack.

Practice makes perfect. I screwed up many racks before getting it right. There's tons of great info on this site. Welcome!

Yeah, I bought 4 because they were so small. I smoked 2 at a time, on 2 occasions with the same result.

rowdyrawhide · Aug 1, 2012

I agree with S2K9K, those seem awful small for spares. I saw a post here a few weeks ago about some ribs someone recieved that were supposed to similar to what some restaurant serves. It seems they too cooked very fast and were small IIRC. I wonder if these may be same, they had some fancy name I believe. I would definitely replace the therm, almost all factory therms are notorious for being inaccurate.

Hope this helps

hyyal · Aug 3, 2012

I agree with the above---those seem really small. I get the 4-5 pounders.

I see in your 1st post that you're using a Brinkman charcoal smoker. Which one? One of the ones they have is more of a grill than a smoker. It would be easy to get direct heat versus INdirect heat. If the ribs are over the flame, they'll get done uber-quick.

Oh, I almost forgot------Learn from MY fail---------get a good thermo. Get 2 or 3. After my experiences with thunderstorms and shorted out thermos, it's real nice to have a backup.

bbrock293 · Aug 3, 2012

I have the bullet charcoal smoker with the water pan. I smoke the meats on the very top so it isnt close to the charcoals.

s2k9k · Aug 3, 2012

You said you were smoking them at 225-250 then said your therm reads Warm-ideal-Hot, so how do you really know what the temp is? My point is invest in a good therm like a Maverick, it will really help you turn out some good food. Cooking at the right temp and to the right temp is very important in any kind of cooking. Imagine trying to bake a cake in an oven that just said Warm-Ideal-Hot. I think the best investment I have made (as far as BBQ) other than my smoker is my Maverick!

hyyal · Aug 3, 2012

S2K9K said:
You said you were smoking them at 225-250 then said your therm reads Warm-ideal-Hot, so how do you really know what the temp is? My point is invest in a good therm like a Maverick, it will really help you turn out some good food. Cooking at the right temp and to the right temp is very important in any kind of cooking. Imagine trying to bake a cake in an oven that just said Warm-Ideal-Hot. I think the best investment I have made (as far as BBQ) other than my smoker is my Maverick!

X2

Well said S2, well said.

bbrock293 · Aug 3, 2012

I'm working on it, 60.00 is something I may have to wait a couple of weeks for. I looked around and found out that ideal is 250 and warm is 200. It was right in the middle of ideal and warm, so I estimated at 225. Have to work with what I have for the time being.

hyyal · Aug 3, 2012

I installed 2 analog thermometers that I got from Lowe's. One close to the fire box and 1 closer to the chimney. You'd only need one. These are in the grilling tools aisle and are pretty accurate and inexpensive. I use mine to monitor the temp differences from side to side.

This will help until you get a Mav. Make sure you calibrate it first.....boil water, stick the probe end into the water and see what it reads. Water boils at 212*, if the thermo is off, you can use it and do the math. Mine read 5* low, so I know when they say 220*, its really 225*.

chef jimmyj · Aug 3, 2012

Ribs are one of the few meats that are Never cooked to Temp! It just don't matter, Ribs are done when they are Tender from having cooked a sufficient amount of time to break down the HUGE amount of tough Connective tissue that binds the muscle between and to the Bones. Here is the whole deal in a nut shell and a good starting point...

A full rack of Spare Ribs will take about 6 hours at 225*F...The 3-2-1 smoked rib recipe is a good way to smoke ribs and tends to turn out near perfect ribs every time whether you are using the meatier Full rack spare rib or the Saint Louis cut. Baby Back ribs use a 2-2-1 method. The ribs are smoked at 225 - 250 degrees for best results...
The 3 stands for the 3 hours that you initially smoke the ribs with nothing but your favorite rub on them and some smoke with your favorite hardwood such as hickory, mesquite, apple, pecan, etc. After the 3 hours you remove the ribs and quickly double wrap them in heavy duty foil.. just before you seal them up add some Apple Juice or Foiling Juice and close the foil leaving some room around the ribs for the steam to be able to flow around the meat and Flavor/Tenderize it. I like meat side down for this step.
The ribs cook in the smoker wrapped for 2 hours undisturbed. There is no need for Smoke at this point... After 2 hours remove the ribs from the smoker, unwrap and place back into the smoker for the final 1 hour, with smoke if you wish.This firms them up, creates a nice Bark and finishes the cooking process. You can add a glaze or sauce at this point if you like. The meat will be pretty close to fall off the bone and be extremely juicy, tender and flavorful. You might enjoy this recipe...JJ

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/110881/foiling-juice-chef-jimmyj

Here is some greater detail and nice pics of what you are looking for...

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/a/smoking-ribs

scarbelly · Aug 3, 2012

Chef JimmyJ said:
Ribs are one of the few meats that are Never cooked to Temp! It just don't matter, Ribs are done when they are Tender from having cooked a sufficient amount of time to break down the HUGE amount of tough Connective tissue that binds the muscle between and to the Bones. Here is the whole deal in a nut shell and a good starting point...

A full rack of Spare Ribs will take about 6 hours at 225*F...The 3-2-1 smoked rib recipe is a good way to smoke ribs and tends to turn out near perfect ribs every time whether you are using the meatier Full rack spare rib or the Saint Louis cut. Baby Back ribs use a 2-2-1 method. The ribs are smoked at 225 - 250 degrees for best results...
The 3 stands for the 3 hours that you initially smoke the ribs with nothing but your favorite rub on them and some smoke with your favorite hardwood such as hickory, mesquite, apple, pecan, etc. After the 3 hours you remove the ribs and quickly double wrap them in heavy duty foil.. just before you seal them up add some Apple Juice or Foiling Juice and close the foil leaving some room around the ribs for the steam to be able to flow around the meat and Flavor/Tenderize it. I like meat side down for this step.
The ribs cook in the smoker wrapped for 2 hours undisturbed. There is no need for Smoke at this point... After 2 hours remove the ribs from the smoker, unwrap and place back into the smoker for the final 1 hour, with smoke if you wish.This firms them up, creates a nice Bark and finishes the cooking process. You can add a glaze or sauce at this point if you like. The meat will be pretty close to fall off the bone and be extremely juicy, tender and flavorful. You might enjoy this recipe...JJ

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/110881/foiling-juice-chef-jimmyj

Here is some greater detail and nice pics of what you are looking for...

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/a/smoking-ribs

The advice you got from Dave on the therm and this from JJ is really sound and proven advice on temp and method. If you follow these guidelines you will have great ribs

bruno994 · Aug 3, 2012

The Maverick therms (nice to have 2 probes) are good, but the digital "el cheapos" (Acurites) I have from Wal-Mart are dead on as well. I always use 1 of those to measure my grate level temp. You can usually pick those up for $10.

frosty · Aug 3, 2012

Welcome, BBrock293!

I agree, most of my racks are in the 5# range. So if yours were much smaller, they probably dried out fast. Chef JJ and Scarbelly will never steer you wrong. Keep trying and eating the mistakes.

Good luck.

bbrock293 · Aug 3, 2012

bruno994 said:
The Maverick therms (nice to have 2 probes) are good, but the digital "el cheapos" (Acurites) I have from Wal-Mart are dead on as well. I always use 1 of those to measure my grate level temp. You can usually pick those up for $10.

Do you just stick it in between the lid and the smoker body? I will probably do this until I can upgrade. I have a Taylor one I use for the meat I am pretty sure is accurate. I will calibrate it tonight using the boil method. Thanks!

jarjarchef · Aug 4, 2012

Walmart has a single probe remote digital thermometer that is about $25. It works well for the meat, just need to be careful of moisture. But it's Walmart and they take back just about anything. It is a seasonal item so they are limited now in the stores. I got 2 of the dial thermometers to put on my lid close to grate level from Lowes. These have made a huge difference for me and my smokes. If I had to live with only one of the two, I would say the 2 dial thermometers were the best investment and they were around $10 ea max at Lowes.

I was tought some of the basics of smoking by someone who was all about feel. He would feel the meat to tell if it was done. He would feel the side of the smoker to see if it was the right temperature. I must say my cooking style at work is all about feel and taste, I very rarely write down an exact recipe. But the one thing I always make sure I do, is make sure I have a way to keep track of my cooking temperature. It is the easiest way and best way to start your troubleshooting if things are going toward a bad direction. I have started a simple chicken scratch log of my smokes, I will make no more than 1-2 changes in my next smoke, this way I can see how things get effected by what. If I am doing a rub test, I will cut my racks in 1/2 or 1/3 and mark them with tooth picks. Then I invite people to be my test subjects and get their opinions. I am usually not short for tasters.

Lot of great people on this forum. I will have to say as a 20+ year Chef I have learned so much from them. Have fun and keep the TBS flowing!!!!

red dog · Aug 4, 2012

I started out smoking on a Brinkman 7in1 propane smoker and quickly learned that warm-ideal-hot just didn't cut it. I ended up putting a dial thermo in the lid. You can pick up the Maverick dual probe ET73 on ebay for under 40.00 with free shipping. Believe me they are worth every penny. Buy one and you will turn out much better Q and you will never want to be without one again. I just bought 4 racks of St Louis ribs yesterday and they averaged 4 lbs apiece so yours were definately skinny.

St Louis Style Rib Smoking Issue

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