3-2-1 pull off the bone ribs... NOT!!!

[smokin' burt]

Hello all,

I recently did my second batch of pork spare ribs in my MES 30 and was a bit disappointed. I bought a pack of regular pork spare ribs (about 3 lbs.) and figured on smoking them for the Mrs. and I when I had time. The day that I intended on smoking them, I mixed up a fresh batch of my modified version of Jeff's rub, which I'll admit that there's no more salt in it than the original recipe, but I do just adjust the amount black pepper and I use chipotle instead of cayenne. That said, I put a thin layer of yellow mustard over the ribs before dusting them with rub. I didn't do this with the first batch of ribs I did in my MES, but I followed protocol this time and after the rub was applied I covered them with plastic wrap and placed them in the fridge so the rub could "incorporate" so to speak, for an hour or so.

Well... while I was hanging out and waiting on the ribs, the phone rang. A good friend of mine needed some help and told me that what he needed my help for shouldn't take more than an hour so I thought, that's perfect!!... I'll go give him a hand and not have to sit around waiting on the rub to meld into the ribs, they'll be ready to go when I get back. I know you've all been there, those little things that should only take 1/2 or 1 hour turning into something that takes much longer. Needless to say, 4 hours later I got home and did not feel like staying up until midnight or later babysitting ribs on the smoker so I left them in the fridge.

I took the ribs out of the fridge the next morning around 10:00 so they could come up to room temp before putting them in the smoker and noticed there was a lot of liquid on the platter I had placed them on but didn't think too much about it. After about 2 hours, I pre heated the MES and put the ribs in at 235 with a full tray of cherry wood chips. With the damper full open the temp fluctuated some but I didn't worry about it as it leveled off after awhile so I let it run for 2-1/2 hours at that temp. I intended to go 3 hours so added chips once when I got to the halfway time and left it alone. At 2-1/2 hours I was no longer getting smoke so I took the ribs out, laid them on foil I had ready and brushed them with apple juice. I even poured about 1/4 cup of juice into the bottom of the foil and wrapped them up then placed them back in the smoker.

I reset the temp to 225 and gave them 2 hours, then I opened the foil and gave them 1/2 hour more at that temp. I then took them out, placed them on a new piece of foil and sauced them, then gave them an additional 1/2 hour. Pull off the bone... yea right. More like GNAW off the bone!! The only thing I can think I did wrong was to leave them wrapped and covered with rub for too long. Maybe the salt in the rub pulled too much moisture out of the ribs in that time frame and that's what made them tough. even though I gave them 2 hours basted and steamed with apple juice.

Any insights, thoughts, or comments on this? I did my first batch in the MES and they were great but I applied the rub, (didn't use mustard) and placed them in the smoker about an hour afterward...

SMB

 

[sfprankster]

Are you using an accurate thermometer?

 

[chef jimmyj]

You answered your own question...You were a 1/2 hour shy on the front end and a 1/2 hour shy in the rear. At 225-235 you need the full 6 hour and a rest, to get Fall of the Bone. It had nothing to do with the Mustard or the overnight Rub. If anything the Salt made all that Brine and Tenderized the ribs more than had you only left it on for an hour. Your ribs would have been Tougher if your Buddy hadn't called for help...JJ

 

[wade]

The only thing I can think I did wrong was to leave them wrapped and covered with rub for too long. Maybe the salt in the rub pulled too much moisture out of the ribs in that time frame and that's what made them tough. even though I gave them 2 hours basted and steamed with apple juice.

Any insights, thoughts, or comments on this? I did my first batch in the MES and they were great but I applied the rub, (didn't use mustard) and placed them in the smoker about an hour afterward...

SMB

I always apply my rub and leave it in the fridge at least overnight and sometimes longer. As JJ says, you just needed to leave them in a litlle longer. There are several ways to check that they are done - Look for about 1/4" -1/2" pull back of the meat from the rib bone tips, bend the rack slightly and see if the surface of the meat cracks, or use a toothpick to check that the meat is tender. Personally I usually go by the meat pull-back.

 

[tumbleweed1]

I would double check your temps on whatever rack(s) you are using, as I found my MES to be a lot of times less than accurate. You may have only been cooking at 180-200 degrees.

The bend test is what I go by when doing ribs. I set mine at 275 & they're done anywhere from as early as 4.5 hours on up to  just over 6, depending on how meaty the ribs are.

TW

 

[unclebubbas bbq]

I usually cook my 3-2-1 anywhere from 250 to 275. Your temps were too low to render down all the connective tissue in that amount of time

 

[phatbac]

I agree with the others...more time or more heat. if you are in a hurry the final step of the sauce can be done at like 325 degrees for about 20-25 minutes to set the sauce, or can be done later if you aren't gonna eat the ribs right away.

Happy Smoking,

phatbac (Aaron)

 

[alamojoe]

FWIW, I don't use the 3-2-1 method any more.  I rub them the night before and then put them on the smoker at around 225 and let em go for until they're done - typically 5-6 hours for St Luis Cut - longer if not but I always do the St Luis Cut.  

What I like is ribs that come clean off the bone with 1 tug. I don't like them falling off the bone and that's what I got with the 3-2-1 method, mostly.  You can tell when they're done by picking up one end of the rack . .if the bark starts to crack, they are done.  

 

[smokin' burt]

Well fellas...

I pretty much did them the same as the first ribs I did with the exception of the mustard and the overnight time with the rub. I can't remember if I sauced the first batch for the last leg of the cook either but thinking back on it, I don't believe I did. I don't really trust the temp gauge on the MES so I set my probe thermometer on top through the vent and leave it there. It consistently read about 10 degrees higher than the MES. When I pulled them out to wrap them, the meat had already pulled about 3/4" away from the bone ends. This was not a full rack of ribs, probably between 2 and 3 lbs. so I can't see where 1/2 hour diff on either end of the cook would have saved the world... but maybe. The ribs I bought had a portion of the brisket attached so maybe they're naturally tougher and needed more time??  I did remove the membrane prior to the rub, but I can't see where the mustard had any real benefit other than making for a messier time in prep.

Next time I'll go with a higher temp throughout the cook and I will NOT adjust temps as I did this time... I didn't do it the first time, what the heck made me do it this time? I'll also bend, pull, tug, crack, or whatever until I'm satisfied they're done or they won't hit the plate!

SMB

 

[gpb11]

 
St Luis Cut - longer if not but I always do the St Luis Cut.    

Is that a south Texas version of the St. Louis cut?  

 
I pretty much did them the same as the first ribs I did 

Different animals will sometimes cook differently even if you do everything else exactly the same.  That's why so often people say you have to let the meat tell you it's done and not just go by time/temperature.  

 

[okie362]

I always rub at least 12 hours before cooking ribs and never go by time.  Typical don't wrap them but have on occasion just not a big fan of it.  For years my brother and I have cooked for large parties of 100 - 200 people on a stick smoker and always get pull off the bone in about a case of beer (however long that is).

Now that I have the MES I can cook one or two racks for the 2 of us here at the house so I do go through the extra effort of pulling the membrane but when we fire the big smokers we are dealing with so much that we typically don't bother with that step and to be honest, they still turn out fine.  Ribs are fairly forgiving if you take your time and watch for hot spots that will overcook and dry them out in my experience.

 

[chef jimmyj]

Quote: "   so I can't see where 1/2 hour diff on either end of the cook would have saved the world..."

Burt, I been Cooking A LONG TIME...Minutes, sometimes Seconds of time make a big difference. You were off by a " Full Hour," 30 minutes on each end. That is 17% less cooking time than is typically needed, " IF " everthing else is perfect. Can you Bake a Cake 17% Less time and expect it to be great? Can you put 17% Less Gas in your Car and go the same distance as a full tank? 

Smoking meat is an Art, no guarantees, at X temp it will take Y Hours. There are typical Times at a range of Temps that will give a result. If the Temps you thought you had were low, the Time has to go up. If you reduce the Time, as you did, you need the Temp to go up. Yes some things get done early but that is very rare and usually a result of the temps being higher than thought or the meat is thinner average or from a higher quality, more tender animal than most guys use. Most of the time meat goes longer than expected.

There are few things that can be done to meat to make it tougher. Cooking or Freezing meat that is in Rigor is one, Over Cooking a tender Steak or Pork Loin, and Under Cooking active muscle like Ribs, Butts and Brisket, is another. The Acid in Mustard and the Salt in a Rub are known Tenderizers. There is just No Way the overnight rest made the meat tougher...Sorry my friend...JJ

 

[cedar eater]

 
The ribs I bought had a portion of the brisket attached

SMB

Definitely not a St. Louis cut. Add at least a half hour more to the 3-2-1 for that. Better yet, learn how to do a St. Louis cut. It's not that hard and the results are worth it.

 

[smokin' burt]

My third try...

Well... a few months ago, the Mrs. brought home a small (2.6 lbs.) pack of Pork spare ribs from a local supermarket and they were already pre-seasoned with their version of a Memphis rub. They were on sale and she got suckered in so I threw them in the freezer for a later time. Recently I decided to do them in my MES 30 so after they thawed I and removed the membrane (because the butcher was apparently to lazy to do it,), I set the temp on my MES 30 at 270 and after it came to temp, I gave them 3 hrs. with Pecan smoke. I then pulled them out, set them in foil and spritzed the hell out of them with apple juice and wrapped them up then put them back in for 2 more hours. When I took them out they were falling apart, although a bit drier than I thought they should be. We had already eaten dinner so these ribs were supposed to be for the next day. I sauced them with one of our favorite sauces while they were still hot, (sorry Jeff, it wasn't yours), re-wrapped them and let them rest until they cooled then put them in the fridge.

We popped them in the oven the next afternoon and heated them up for dinner...  GD good ribs if I must say!

I won't attribute anything special to the rub they used, I think it was more about the overall process that made them so good...

SMB

 

[cedar eater]

 
My third try...

Well... a few months ago, the Mrs. brought home a small (2.6 lbs.) pack of Pork spare ribs from a local supermarket and they were already pre-seasoned with their version of a Memphis rub. They were on sale and she got suckered in so I threw them in the freezer for a later time. Recently I decided to do them in my MES 30 so after they thawed I and removed the membrane (because the butcher was apparently to lazy to do it,), I set the temp on my MES 30 at 270 and after it came to temp, I gave them 3 hrs. with Pecan smoke. I then pulled them out, set them in foil and spritzed the hell out of them with apple juice and wrapped them up then put them back in for 2 more hours. When I took them out they were falling apart, although a bit drier than I thought they should be. We had already eaten dinner so these ribs were supposed to be for the next day. I sauced them with one of our favorite sauces while they were still hot, (sorry Jeff, it wasn't yours), re-wrapped them and let them rest until they cooled then put them in the fridge.

We popped them in the oven the next afternoon and heated them up for dinner...  GD good ribs if I must say!

I won't attribute anything special to the rub they used, I think it was more about the overall process that made them so good...

SMB

270 seems high for a 3-2-1. I would think 225 would be a better temp. But cooking them hot and fast is a valid method. 

 

[hardcookin]

3-2-1 is a guideline not a given. It all depends on what temp you are smoking @
I usually cook ribs by temp and then probe or use the bend test to check for done ness.