3-2-R Method, Ribs Recipe with Q-View.

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travisty

Smoking Fanatic
Original poster
SMF Premier Member
Mar 10, 2014
559
169
Salt Lake City, UT
Some may have followed along with my recent post when I mentioned this method, but this is my new favorite method for smoking Ribs! I borrowed the basic idea of the method from competition teams.  

3-2-R (3 hours on smoke, 2 hours wrapped, R=Rest). The ribs will be tender and juicy, pull from the bone with minimal effort, but NOT fall off the bone under their own weight.

For this cook I used St. Louis style Spares. I trimmed them up nice and square, and removed the membrane and any junky pieces of meat and fat hanging off. I timed them up more-or-less competition style, you don't need to do this much squaring if you don't want.


Rub the ribs down with essentially Jeff's Rub, but I also added in fresh Colombian coffee grounds (1/4 cup into Jeffs recipe). I just spritz them with some apple or other juice, much easier than rubbing with mustard, you don't need mustard, I promise. (you can also use your favorite rub, but I would recommend trying the coffee) 

Throw them onto the smoker for 3 hours at 230, spraying with a half/half mixture of Apple, and Pineapple juice every 30 minutes.


(In this case I was smoking a packer brisky at the same time)

The 3 hours is flexible plus or minus 20 minutes. What you want more than the time is a nice auburn caramel color and a well set bark. You should be able to grab it with a gloved hand and have nothing transfer beside just oils (no rub transfer). There should also me minimal bone exposure at this point. If they are poking out a bunch, you'll want to cut the wrap time down significantly. 



Lay out a double layer of heavy duty foil, and begin by adding some Parkay (squeeze butter), a few spoonful's of Turbinado Sugar, Tiger Sauce (a sweet spicy sauce), a sprinkle of the rub, and some Texas Bird Bath ("Texas Pepper Jelly" brand, which is essentially just peach and mango preserves with sugar. Despite its name, it is actually for ribs)



Place the ribs in meat side down, then apply the same mix to the bone side liberally. Wrap the ribs up nice and tight and on to the smoker for 2 hours at 230-240. Be sure to wrap in an upward direction to avoid leaks, and fold (don't roll) everything together so you can check without ripping the foil.

Begin checking the ribs about 20 minutes before. I still don't do my ribs by temp, I've done it both ways, but the timing here works perfect for me if you're picking consistently sized ribs, and have good temperature control. Basically what you are looking for is for the bones to be partially exposed (some will push out more than others), and perform a "twist test" on a couple of the bones, where it feels like you could twist it out with a bit of force, but wont just pull right out under the weight of the surrounding ribs.

Once you are happy with the bone pull/twist test, pull the ribs out of the cooker (wrap back up if needed), and let them rest out on the counter for 15-20 minutes. Carefully remove the wrapping and strain the juices from the foil into a container. Set the ribs bone side down onto a your cutting board and let them rest another 3-5 minutes to set up the sauces on the top.

Please note: If you are trying to store them for a later party, do not rest them, just open the foil, wrap them in plastic wrap and into a cooler for up to 2 hours. (be sure to still save the drippings for the next steps) 



Once you're ready to serve, drizzle some of the reserved foil sauce onto the top, and place the ribs meat side down (easier to get a good even cut) and slice. No sauce is needed for these ribs, even for sauce lovers. The drippings from the foil will be all you need to moisten them up. You may wish to dip or brush each rib into the sauce, or just serve it on the side.  





Most importantly: Dig in and enjoy!

PS: These were smoked using a mix of Oak and Pecan.
 
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Those are some great looking ribs!! The "R" part is interesting, might have to give it a try!!

Points

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Those are some great looking ribs!! The "R" part is interesting, might have to give it a try!!

Points

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Thanks Sauced!

Yeah basically ive always felt the ribs were done after the wrap. Most people just do the last grill stage to caramelize some sauce or firm up the meat a bit, but after seeing some comp teams doing it this way I decided to just cut out the last stage. The rest just lets the fats re-distribute, and the sauce to start to caramelize a bit around the meat as the fats in the sauce cool down.

For me the bite is prefect, and the texture is great. Half the time doing the last 1 hour on heat was just getting the ribs overcooked and letting some of the juices release again. Over the last several months ive done 2-4 racks per week practicing for my first BBQ competition next month, I tried everything I could find out there, and once i started doing it this way is when i really started getting competition worthy ribs. Everyone who i have had try them raved about them, and said they were the best ribs they'd had.
 
Well those ribs sure look like winners to me.

I think you have your process down perfect!

Very nicely done!

Congrats on making the carousel!

Point!

Al
 
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Well those ribs sure look like winners to me.

I think you have your process down perfect!

Very nicely done!

Congrats on making the carousel!

Point!

Al
Thanks Al!

I still point everyone to your method (people asking on the forum, or friends asking for a good rib process), as your method is more foolproof. This method isn't for everyone, and it does take an experienced eye to see what you need the pork to look like, so if people want more consistent and controllable results you ought to check out Als "Perfect Ribs Every Time" post! 

Once you know what you like, and what ribs look like at different stages, this method can come in handy if you want to try something new.
 
That last picture looks amazing!  Great work!  I have never liked the ribs I produce.  I always think they are too sweet.  I cut out using brown sugar in my foil but still I didn't like the product.  I have to get my hands on tiger sauce. 
 
 
That last picture looks amazing!  Great work!  I have never liked the ribs I produce.  I always think they are too sweet.  I cut out using brown sugar in my foil but still I didn't like the product.  I have to get my hands on tiger sauce. 
Thanks worm! These ribs are fairly sweet, but that's more what BBQ judges look for, and it tends to please more crowds. Honestly though they are not TOO sweet, I don't like my ribs to taste like candy like some people do. Thanks to the rub I use, and primarily the coffee, these have a more bitter and savory element to offset the sweetness.

Turbinado sugar actually ends up less sweet than brown sugar, and no honey in this recipe, so that helps, and if you want it even less sweet, cut out the Texas Pepper Jelly sauce altogether. Tiger sauce is great for ribs, its not too sweet, not too spicy, and just the right amount of savory elements. You can pick it up on Amazon in a 6 pack for $10 if your local store doesn't have it. (Its also great on wings)  
 
Those look real nice. Uniform cuts. Good color. I'm going to have to try some of your ingredients.

I'm entering a local rib competition June 24th and keep trying new stuff. It is a small competition. No garnish for turn in boxes and they provide the ribs. Trying to set up turn in box with no garnish has me looking for answers. Can't find any pictures on it. Have to get creative on my own.

Looks like you will be doing fine for the competition and for anyone at home.
 
 
Those ribs look amazing! Going to try this method this weekend. 
Thanks Tork!
 
Those look real nice. Uniform cuts. Good color. I'm going to have to try some of your ingredients.

I'm entering a local rib competition June 24th and keep trying new stuff. It is a small competition. No garnish for turn in boxes and they provide the ribs. Trying to set up turn in box with no garnish has me looking for answers. Can't find any pictures on it. Have to get creative on my own.

Looks like you will be doing fine for the competition and for anyone at home.
Thanks Scarps! This comp im doing was originally no garnish, and I was a bit worried about that, but then they changed it to match KCBS cause they are trying to promote KCBS more here. phew!

Just to give you an idea, my rub is basically Black Pepper, Paprika, Salt, Brown Sugar, Garlic Power, Mustard Powder, and as mentioned Colombian Coffee Grounds (ground fine from the grocery store grinder). Its not really "Jeffs rub", but does have some of the basic elements of a standard pork rub, so I referenced his just to give someone a good start. (and Jeffs is a great rub, so im happy to refer people to buy it)
 
 
Those look real nice. Uniform cuts. Good color. I'm going to have to try some of your ingredients.

I'm entering a local rib competition June 24th and keep trying new stuff. It is a small competition. No garnish for turn in boxes and they provide the ribs. Trying to set up turn in box with no garnish has me looking for answers. Can't find any pictures on it. Have to get creative on my own.

Looks like you will be doing fine for the competition and for anyone at home.
I saw a youtube video once, you may be able to find it, it was about competition Pork, basically the guy had a bunch of tips for garnish-less turn in boxes, for example he was using pulled pork as a substitute for parsley bed in his pork box, then putting the tubes and money muscle rght on top of the "bed of pork". Then in chicken and brisket, he was doing the same but with pulled chicken and chopped brisket. He doesn't talk about ribs, but I can only imagine the only thing you could do you'd just be to fill it wall to wall with ribs so they don't slide around. Could do them in alternating directions/ rotations for some contrast? The other thing that ive seen a couple times in comps I have judges is people will sometimes do 2 bone ribs to fill up a box more, though they had a bed of something under in those.

That's nice they are providing meat for you guys! Ive got to buy all my own for this comp coming up in a couple weeks.  
 
I saw a youtube video once, you may be able to find it, it was about competition Pork, basically the guy had a bunch of tips for garnish-less turn in boxes, for example he was using pulled pork as a substitute for parsley bed in his pork box, then putting the tubes and money muscle rght on top of the "bed of pork". Then in chicken and brisket, he was doing the same but with pulled chicken and chopped brisket. He doesn't talk about ribs, but I can only imagine the only thing you could do you'd just be to fill it wall to wall with ribs so they don't slide around. Could do them in alternating directions/ rotations for some contrast? The other thing that ive seen a couple times in comps I have judges is people will sometimes do 2 bone ribs to fill up a box more, though they had a bed of something under in those.

That's nice they are providing meat for you guys! Ive got to buy all my own for this comp coming up in a couple weeks.  

Last one I did was no garnish too. This is only second competition I've entered at small local level. Last box had divided box compartments which I thought was off, but managed to get 3rd out of 6. I was using a mes. Two people that beat me had charcoal or wood smokers.

I haven't seen the video you are referring to, I've looked at a lot of videos too.

Now running with the weber 22.5. Need to get some more smokes done in it for seasoning. Going to do two pork butts with a rack of ribs this weekend. I've been using no water in water pan and mopping/spraying. Trying as many different ways as possible while trying to pay attention to color and that taste thing too. Haha.
 
That is some fantastic looking ribs  Nice Job   
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Gary
 
 
Thanks worm! These ribs are fairly sweet, but that's more what BBQ judges look for, and it tends to please more crowds. Honestly though they are not TOO sweet, I don't like my ribs to taste like candy like some people do. Thanks to the rub I use, and primarily the coffee, these have a more bitter and savory element to offset the sweetness.

Turbinado sugar actually ends up less sweet than brown sugar, and no honey in this recipe, so that helps, and if you want it even less sweet, cut out the Texas Pepper Jelly sauce altogether. Tiger sauce is great for ribs, its not too sweet, not too spicy, and just the right amount of savory elements. You can pick it up on Amazon in a 6 pack for $10 if your local store doesn't have it. (Its also great on wings)  
Thanks for the pointers.  I am going to try your foil minus the preserves.  I hate the taste of coffee but I imagine that in a rub it just adds some of that savory and not an actual coffee flavor.  I have a big ol bag of turbinado because I always throw some on my butts before they go into the smoker and it's in my rub.  Time to head to amazon for the tiger sauce!
 
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