New member that needs some advice on smoking ribs

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rseitz55

Newbie
Original poster
Mar 24, 2017
14
10
I'm looking for some advice on how long to smoke 6 racks of ribs that equal 19 pounds. Like I put in my new member roll call, my gut feeling tells me 12 - 15 hours at 200 degrees. Any helpful advice would be awesome, thank you.
 
Welcome ... first things first we have to know what kind of smoker your using ... also ... if you have the capacity for all six racks at one time .. it shouldn't take more then 6 hours! 3/2/1 method .. also it's different for each kind of ribs .. baby back St. Louis.. not enough info to really give a good answer
 
The amount of meat ... for example 6 racks of ribs .. 5 butts .... 29 chickens ... all will equal the same amount of cooking time as 1....as long as your smoker has the proper capacity and cooks evenly throughout the cooker
 
I agree that's to cold for smoking ribs .. also geezer.. you must like fall off the bone ribs? That temp is kinda high
 
Thanks for the advice russmn and geezer. The package says, pork loin back ribs. MY smoker is a 30inch Masterbuilt PRO digital electric smoker.
 
I agree with 2/2/1 ... unless you really like pulled pork ribs lol aka fall off the bone ribs
 
Last edited:
Thanks for all the excellent advice everyone. I will post pictures Sunday night when they're done.
 
Welcome from Oklahoma.

I definitely agree with all the above.  I smoke everything at 225 in my Smoke-it brand electric smoker, guess I am too lazy to turn the dial up.  Just works well for me, but sometimes I am a little longer than those who smoke hotter. 

For checking doness, even for ribs I use one of the instant read temp sensors with a pointed end.  It serves a dual purpose for me.  I can get a temperature if I go in at an angle on ribs, but most importantly, after a little practice you will get the feel of tenderness to know how well done they are.  Some people want them to fall off the bone, others of us like to chew a little. After a little practice you can consistently make them either way.

I suggest starting out with Jeff's above posted web site item "step by step" if you are smoking baby backs.  If full slab beef ribs, add an hour to the 221 to make it a 321 which will get you at least 95% right on, then start checking for doneness using a poker of some sort, fork or toothpick.

Biggest mistake I was making before coming to this site was thinking I was overcooking to make my meat tough and dry.  That is exactly opposite of what happens.  Over cook and it will fall off the bone tender after resting.

I suggest you use what has been posted here, then you can make any small adjustments the next smoke to reach your idea of perfection for your taste buds.  Most of us keep playing with different rubs at different times, sometimes different types of woods, and sometimes different BBQ sauces, but most of us stick very close to these raw basics of how to get there.  I start looking at temp and doneness with baby back pork ribs at 5 hours, larger beef ribs at 6 hours.  Sometimes I foil, sometimes not.  I usually foil if the humidity is low to prevent a little drying.

Let us know how they turn out, and what you plan to do next time to fine tune it.  I do not think we are ever though experimenting.
 
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