3-2-1 ribs turned out a tad chewy

[moist]

I cooked up some St. Louis spare ribs today. Threw a rub on me last night after I removed the membrane, smoked me for 3 hours in my wsm, then foiled them with some brown sugar, honey, and some butter along with some apple juice in the bottom. Foiled them for 2 hours. Then I took them out of the foil, and cooked me for another hour ad half (potatoes were taking a bit longer than expected), with some homemade sauce. The flavour was amazing, the actual meat was real tender. However there was a thick band of connective tissue running through the middle of the meat that was really chewy. Was this just the ribs themselves? I couldn't see 6.5 hours at 225-235 not being enough time. Too much time maybe?

 

[mjeffcoat]

Did you trim them up prior to cooking or did you just put them in like they came?

 

[moist]

They came trimmed.

 

[moist]

The chewy band was in the middle of the meat. There was good meat on the top, good meat on the bottom, then a thick chewy band right down the middle attached to each bone

 

[wade]

Without photos it is difficult to say exactly however it was possibly the layer of cartilage that runs along the length of  the ribs

Did your rack of ribs look similar to this?

Ribs 1.jpg

• wade
• Jan 31, 2015

If so, if you bend the ribs just beyond where the membrane ends you will feel the point where the rib bones connect to cartilage. Get a sharp knife and cut along the joint line.

Ribs 2.jpg

• wade
• Jan 31, 2015

Yow will end up with just rib bones on one side and the cartilage with meat on the other.

Ribs 3.jpg

• wade
• Jan 31, 2015

Don't throw away the bit that you have cut off - cook it alongside the ribs in exactly the same way, Once cooked you will find that there are layers of meat either side of the cartilage that are easy to take off and eaten separately or used to flavour other dishes.

 

[moist]

My ribs came pre trimmed. I think it was cartilage though, it was way too hard to be fat. It ran literally throughout the whole rack around the middle of bones. Never had it before. We have two more racks, I'm gonna try to cook them a bit longer and see

 

[gary s]

Posting some pics would help

Gary

 

[timberjet]

It sounds like a bad trim job. Could have just been a weird hog too. You never know if the meat cutter had a liquid lunch that day or not.