2nd time using electric smoker

I got my smoker last week and the the first thing I tried was babybacks, well make long story short was unfit to eat, I used hickory chips and season all, after getting them off after 2-2-1 method they was tough and smoke was so stronk you could not hardly taste the meat, so I trashed them..  I did spare ribs next came out rubbery so I am having hard time figure out this electric smoking thing I bought, the MB30.

Ribs should be cooked to the point where the are "ready". I would suggest, for an electric smoker, running at 225 degrees for five hours, then do the toothpick check. You want the toothpick to run through the meat like it was a moderately thawed stick of butter. Two hours before you cook them, sprinkle kosher salt on them. Either a half teaspoon per pound or salt them like they were done and you were going to eat them. The salt will help retain the moisture in the meat. Put your rub on right before you place in the smoker. DO NOT put bbq sauce on at the beginning of the cook. Put it on for last 30-30 minutes ONLY. For electric smoker, ONLY USE 4-6 ounces of wood chips!!! You might think about a milder wood such as apple which goes well with pork. Do not wrap them, do not spritz them. At most, a small pan of water to add moisture to air inside smoker. This is the way I did it in my masterbuilt electric and they came out great. You might have to go to six hours depending on weather conditions so allow for that. Best of luck and hope this helps!!!

I absolutely agree with Al about cooking to temperature and not time. Except on ribs, especially for beginners. The bone being so close to the meat makes getting an accurate temp reading difficult. His temp suggestions are dead on. If you're going to go that route, make sure you have a highly accurate digital thermometer and that you are well versed in its use. Place temp probe as far from bone as possible. I use a thermapen on every cook I do except ribs and super thin cuts I grill. The reason I suggested the toothpick method is because for beginners cooking ribs, I feel like it is their best chance for a successful cook. When I was a beginner, going by temp on ribs caused a couple of failures. When I tried toothpick method I had success.

Bones and break test

That's another good method, maybe you can explain to them how it works since you use it.

Bones will all start to show on the ends eventually. 1/4 inch showing you can pick up the rack with tongs close to center and the meat may crack open a bit. Their done.. I sauce and just put mine under a broiler for a minute then.

To much bone showing they get dry.. sauce or no sauce.