Nice looking ribs.
for a good first smoke.
Nice smoke rings. As for being in the smoke all day three words..............
Stay Up Wind.
Its a trade off..... if you position your smoker so the wind is blowing from the back of the smoker towards you it will not have as big a temp drop when you open it to check the meat but you will have smoke blowing over you. If you postition it so the wind is at your back as you open the door the temp will drop quicker and recovery will be longer but you will be smoke free. The trick is to have the smoker angled so the smoke isn't blowing on you but the door has some protection from the direct blast of the wind. This is where a wind break comes in handy.
In my experience If your ribs come apart as your taking them out of the foil, they were in the foil a tad to long. If I were you I'd back off on the foil time next smoke. Still its easy to firm them up if they are too loose.
As for flipping I see no reason for it so I don't. I cook my ribs meat side up simply because the fat will collect in the curved portion and puddle there if you cook them skinny side up. Meat side up the fat rolls off the ends of the bones into my water pan where its easy to clean up. I have a 30" MES so have to cut them in 1/2 but that is about how I'd serve them anyway.
I agree with John3198 about not foiling at all to get a nicer tug to the finished ribs. I used to do the 3 2 1 and 2 2 1 method exclusively but now I usually smoke them at
215F with no flipping, no mopping or spritzing, and especially no peeking. 5.5 hours in an apple/cherry smoke and they are done perfectly.
It is easier to do them that way, less messy, less work and the finished ribs finish with a nicer taste and texture with a better bark and are, in my opinion, superior than the 3-2-1 smoke , foil, smoke method.
Your milage of course may vary.
