Could I simply not have the knack for smoking?

[joe cossack]

Last year I received a Masterbuilt electric smoker, and tried ribs multiple times. I was not thrilled with my results. Yes they were edible, but looked NOTHING like a picture of great ribs. I found the time of the cook to be great, I loved the work, and the anticipation. My wife and daughter are not adventurous, and so these ribs are for me. I cooked them, cleaned up the smoker, and grills and by the time I'm sitting down to eat, I was not thrilled.
I'm thinking maybe the electric smoker Masterbuilt- I have been looking up the Weber Kettle Grill. Thinking charcoal grills can obtain the heat, and with the vents to measure the heat. Also clean up is much easier ( I think).
What did I do wrong here? I've added a few pictures. The ribs looked wet, they never pulled from the bone, although tender and edible, just seemed like a waste of my time.

 

[TomKnollRFV]

Post your cooking method and information- because if the temps etc are wrong, it doesn't matter what smoker you use then.

 

[dog1234]

I use a MES 30 for years now and love it. My suggestion is get a good thermometer use it and keep trying man. Its not that hard. I have mastered rib in mine. My personal challenge now is finding that exact seasoning package and duplicating it.

Keep trying and you will get it.

 

[noboundaries]

Electric smoked meat typically won't taste the same as wood smoked, or charcoal/wood smoked. There are a LOT of MES owners here though who have success with their smokers, so it's probably a little tweak in your technique that is required.

 

[chopsaw]

I agree with the comments above . I turn some great food out of my Mes 30 . That being said I don't like the way the ribs turn out in it .

 

[joe cossack]

Ordered pork ribs from my butcher. Mustard and a rub I tried from a local vendor. Had the masterbuilt up to 250 for 3-4 hours infusing mesquite and apple wood for smoke. In those 3-4 spritzing Apple cider vinegar. Then wrapping for another hour maybe 2.
Any advice? I’d love to try again.

 

[TomKnollRFV]

Try the 3-2-1 Method.- This is for baby back. if I was doing St Louis I'd would personally do 3-2-2.

First; Remove the Silverskin. Some people leave it on, but you'll need extra steps if you do.

Preheat Smoker to 225f. Whilst Smoker preheats, do your preferred rub for ribs. <I like spicy and garlic rubs my self>.

When the smoker is preheated, put the ribs on the smoker, bone side down, meat side up for 3 hours.

After 3 hours, take off the ribs, and wrap in foil with apple juice, or beer. Some more rub, maybe some butter, touch of BBQ sauce..<There is alot of ways to do the foiling juice>. Back on the smoker, bone side down, meat side up in their nice foil package for 2 hours.

After 2 hours, remove from the smoker again, remove from the foil. <I save and freeze the foil juices to use again now. I'm hoping to slowly hyper concentrate them into an amazing ..I don't know what yet>.

Now you put them back on, naked, for an hour. If you like a sticky glaze etc on your ribs, this is when you brush it on, and can apply more rub. At this point, the meat should be shrinking from the bone. This produces those tender ribs that some times pull right off the bone.

There is alot of ways to do ribs; but this is what alot of people think of when they want ribs. If you can get this down; you can use it as a basic point to branch out from.

**Also some of us have noticed ribs are getting weird. I had packs now where..well, the bones were some what curved in odd directions. Could be a run of sub quality ribs etc. Alot of people are swearing that these days St Louis are better!**

 

[RiversideSm0ker]

I second Tom’s advice with the exception of putting the ribs meat side down when we n the foil. That is s my preferred method for baby backs.

George

 

[joe cossack]

I second Tom’s advice with the exception of putting the ribs meat side down when we n the foil. That is s my preferred method for baby backs.

George

Thank you

 

[TomKnollRFV]

I hope you can work it all out Joe. I my self haven't remotely gotten to where I want with ribs, but I got my MES for pork butt more then any thing else. Briskets..you get the idea. Do a pork butt! Pulled Pork off a smoker is awesome!

 

[joe cossack]

When you have the time can you tell me how you did it? Pork butt and especially brisket are life goals! I unfortunately cannot do anything with heat - so all rubs that have heat I have to eliminate . I love grilling and have no problem with putting the work in. I’m still a time guy with burgers and chicken, so I’m looking for more timing rather than recipe for taste if that makes sense.

 

[TomKnollRFV]

When you have the time can you tell me how you did it? Pork butt and especially brisket are life goals! I unfortunately cannot do anything with heat - so all rubs that have heat I have to eliminate . I love grilling and have no problem with putting the work in. I’m still a time guy with burgers and chicken, so I’m looking for more timing rather than recipe for taste if that makes sense.

Pork butt is probably the most forgiving of all things you can smoke.

I have only done Bone-in pork butts. I do a yellow mustard all over it, then add the rub I want. <I really like that honey garlic from Weber. It's got no heat at all, just amazing savoury garlic and sweetness>. Then you put it into a smoker for..well, Pork Butt is legitimately based on the Internal Temperature. You just let it do it's thing till it reaches 205f Internal Temperature. Then take it out, let it rest for 30 minutes to 60 minutes and that bone will just slide out, and you pull it apart. <I've tried to be impatient, and just burned my fingers!>

www.smoking-meat.com has other methods, and you'll find methods for 'hot and fast' but I generally stick to the low and slow in the truest form.

Brisket is a matter of starting to probe for tenderness at around 195f internal temperature. When you can stick in a toothpick like a hot knife through butter..that is when Brisket is done.

 

[joe cossack]

Thank you so much

 

[TomKnollRFV]

Joe; do you own thermal probes? The one built into the MES was/is considered unreliable. I verified mine so I know it's just a few degrees off to the hot side. I strongly suggest a thermal probe, alot of people use the Maverick Brand, but there are cheaper ones out there. Also an AMNPS. I did all of one pork butt starting in the AM, and I was putting it on at 6 AM, and it still wasn't done till about Midnight or so. I suggest getting the AMNPS. My method for Pork Butt/Brisket/Any thing that can go past 6 hours is to start at midnight with the AMNPS going well, then I don't really need to apply more smoke again. I also don't need to stay up till odd hours. I know if I start at mdnight, and the AMNPS stays lit, it has 8-12 hours of smoke overnight and I don't need to worry about the temperature because the MES maintains it :)

 

[gmc2003]

Well I'm never going to try to talk someone out of buying a Kettle, because to me it's the best bang for the buck out there. However since you already have a MES you really should use it as I've seen some great plates of food produced on them. Bearcarver has some great step-by-steps listed in his signature you should look them up and follow his directions. Once you feel comfortable then tweak it to your style.

Here's the link I hope:
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/bears-step-by-step-index.159333/

Chris

 

[mosparky]

I think where you went wrong was sprizing. That tells me you were opening the smoker resulting in lost heat, increased cook time needed and ultimately under done meat. Not saying they were under safe temp but under the desirable temp to release all that pork goodness and indicative pull back from the bone. iMHO you need to follow above advice to the letter or increase cook time considerably.

 

[chef jimmyj]

Good advice here. I will add, Stop Spritzing! Every time you open that door, you add 20-30 minutes to the cook. Plus, the spritz cools the meat adding more time. Added all up, you needed a couple more hours for that rack to get done. The ONLY guys that benefit from Spritzing are hot and fast cooking stick burners...JJ

 

[greatfx1959]

^^^^^^^^^^
this! I own an mes 30,pull the silver skin first, then i put garlic powder, salt, pepper and onion powder on my baby backs, 225 for 5 hours and have yet to have a rack turn out bad.....no turning, no foiling, just leaving them in smokey goodness for 5 hours..........doesnt get easier than that.............YMMV...............
tony

 

[SmokinAl]

Well my take on the rib experiment would be the ribs were not cooked long enough.
It is pretty much that simple. As everyone on here knows I smoke my ribs to temp, not time & if your looking for Fall off the bone ribs you are going to want to take them to an IT of 200-205. It doesn't matter what the smoker temp is, if you foil or don't foil, when the therm says 205 your ribs will be done. You will need to get a good therm with a thin needle probe so you can get a good reading between the bones. Here is the one I use most of the time. https://www.thermoworks.com/ThermoPop. If you want them done faster increase the smoker temp to 250-275 & foil them at 165 -170. I like to put butter, brown sugar, and my pork rub in the foil along with a little apple juice. When the ribs hit about 195, take them out of the foil & sauce them & put them back on the smoker or I like to put them on a screaming hot gas grill for just a couple of minutes to caramelize the sauce.
Good luck next time, believe me it gets easier each time! And pretty soon you will be the one telling a newbie how to smoke ribs!!
Al

 

[GaryHibbert]

Afternoon Joe

I've used a MES 30 for years and love it. Now I'm not much on ribs, but I've done countless pork butts and one excellent brisket in the MES.

This link is where I got my info for my first pulled pork smoke:

Basic Pulled Pork Smoke

It also tells you how to make SoFlaQuer's Finishing Sauce for PP. I always put a container of that and a bowl of coleslaw on the table when I serve PP. That way people can add it or not.
I foil, but that's just a matter of personal preference.

The MOST IMPORTANT thing to remember about smoking a pork butt is that a butt is the most forgiving cut of meat on the market. Cook it to 205 degrees and it will be probe tender. The PP will be tender, moist, and delicious.

Just relax and enjoy.

Gary