First Ribs - any suggested techniques?

[drharps]

Thanks everyone for the help on the pork butt. It came out a touch dry, but was incredibly flavorful. I am now going to try my hand at pork ribs and have a question:

I've seen some recommend the 3-2-1 method, and others say that is trash, just smoke for 4 hours. Any thoughts/preferences? It sounds like 3-2-1 is easy and produces fall off bone meat, but can also lead to mushy ribs. I like fall off bone from a good rib place (I grew up in KC), but not the 'bone pulls out the second it's touched' gelatinous mess you get from places like Chilis.

Suggestions? I have three so I may do 2 one way and 1 the other.

 

[TNJAKE]

321 for spares, 221 for Babybacks at 225-240 is a good place to start for beginners. Then you can tweek from there. Learn what ribs should feel like after they are finished. I rarely wrap anymore and just go by feel

 

[DougE]

Pretty much what Jake said. If you go 3-2-1 for spares, or 2-2-1 for baby backs, you will come out with some tasty ribs. Once you get more of a feel for things, you can branch out and try other methods. Also, if the membrane has not been removed by the processor, remove it before applying your rub.

 

[912smoker]

And you have 3 racks so perfect time to experiment with techniques and different rub profiles . Be sure to take notes of the process for future reference.

 

[thirdeye]

The "by the numbers" ribs is a good way to communicate exactly how you cooked them in one sentence. For example "I did a 3-1-1 at 225°".

3-2-1 was developed for full slabs of spares. St Louis need a slight change, and so do baby back ribs. Pit temp is the deciding factor in any "by the numbers" ribs. A dude named Car Wash Mike perfected a method for no-wrap baby back ribs that cook for 4+ hours. Check it out and you can see how big of a factor pit temp is.

 

[one eyed jack]

I started out using various wrapping methods, and wrapping does speed the process.

It's personal preference. 1 hour of wrapping, in my experience, always produced a mushy result, but the GF likes fall off the bone.

When I wrap it is for no longer than 45 minutes. Usually 30 minutes.

I haven't wrapped ribs in 5 or 6 years.

(GF does still eat them, )

 

[tallbm]

Thanks everyone for the help on the pork butt. It came out a touch dry, but was incredibly flavorful. I am now going to try my hand at pork ribs and have a question:

I've seen some recommend the 3-2-1 method, and others say that is trash, just smoke for 4 hours. Any thoughts/preferences? It sounds like 3-2-1 is easy and produces fall off bone meat, but can also lead to mushy ribs. I like fall off bone from a good rib place (I grew up in KC), but not the 'bone pulls out the second it's touched' gelatinous mess you get from places like Chilis.

Suggestions? I have three so I may do 2 one way and 1 the other.

Hi there and welcome!

I've been using SmokinAl 's method which takes all guessing out of the picture.

If you have a thermometer (preferably remote wireless) you put a probe in the center of the rack in a meaty area not touching a bone.
You just smoke the ribs at whatever temp you like (I usually do like 275F cause I'm doing like 2 racks for 8-9 lbs).
SmokinAl takes the temp to 195F to be bite off the bone tender. I take mine to 198F to be a softer bite off/pull off the bone texture.

No need to wrap, unwrap, guess, etc. etc. You just go to the temp and u are done!

I personally prefer the texture and taste of not wrapping but you can do what you want. You can still use Al's method with wrapping. The beauty of Al's method is there is no guessing its done when you hit the number no matter what you are doing to it. Pure precision.

I hope this info helps :)

 

[Brokenhandle]

Absolutely agree with tallbm and SmokinAl Way of doing ribs really help me put my ribs over the top! 1st I will say we like our ribs with a bite thru, not fall off the bone. But it's a great place to start. Since then I've basically moved to hot and fast on spares, no wrap, and never remove the membrane. I won't order ribs from anyplace around here (not that there's much for choices) but they just can't compare

Ryan

 

[bill ace 350]

Im not an expert. I've tried 321, 221, low and slow, hot and fast, smoker or done in an oven. All had good results.

My advice is try a few methods, pick one you think works best, and tweak it.

 

[schlotz]

Being new to smoking probably the most important point here is learning how your smoker operates which includes knowing what your grate temps actually are vs a built-in hood therm that are notoriously inaccurate. Along with this, it's getting comfortable with a recipe. I usually suggest to start with simple ones before going on to more advanced methods but it's you call. RE: ribs (full spares, St. Louis or Babybacks) as you can see above there are a slew of methods, as well as doneness preferences, and they all can produce good eats. Suggest you get in the habit of taking good notes of what you did on all your smokes including your opinion of the results. Refer back to them on the next smoke. Add to the notes for each smoke. You'll be glad you did!

 

[zwiller]

Absolutely agree with tallbm and SmokinAl Way of doing ribs really help me put my ribs over the top! 1st I will say we like our ribs with a bite thru, not fall off the bone. But it's a great place to start. Since then I've basically moved to hot and fast on spares, no wrap, and never remove the membrane. I won't order ribs from anyplace around here (not that there's much for choices) but they just can't compare

Ryan

+1. Without an instant read or remote thermometer you are flying blind and you really need help when you first are starting out. Here, ribs are cut THICK so doing ribs to time is out the door. Here's the thread: https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/perfect-ribs-every-time-this-really-works.240916/

I am with tallbm and Brokenhandle and use a simplified method and no wrap to 200F IT. Real easy to miss in the thread, but note Al sears on the grill and this is ABSOLUTELY essential for the flavor of ribs we like. I actually smoke up to a week before and throw in the fridge and the fire up the grill to warm up sauce and sear. On that note, you MUST have Jeff's sauce recipe. Totally pro. Also do the 5 day e-course, it's free.

 

[texomakid]

I'd make sure to have enough cold beer to get the job done. I can't believe this isn't the first recommendation.

Have fun and post pics!!!!!

 

[SecondHandSmoker]

never remove the membrane.

Me too. If the ribs are done right, the membrane cooks up nicely and not tough at all.

 

[one eyed jack]

Cooked membrane is also very easy to remove.

I don't see where it hurts anything to leave it on for the smoke.

 

[drharps]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I tried three methods: 3-2-1, 221, and straight smoking. The straight smoking method was tough, and the 221 was the best, though 221 and 321 were both good.

My question is: I'm not getting good bark. My pork butt lacked it as did my ribs. When is it clear I will have a bark (e.g. 2 hours in it should be formed) and what could be the cause of it?

Also, if there are any suggestions for a good ambient thermometer I would appreciate it. I have a feeling my grill is burning cooler than indicated on the dial as the meats all took way longer than expected.

 

[Smoke-Chem BBQ]

Cooked membrane is also very easy to remove.

I don't see where it hurts anything to leave it on for the smoke.

I believe if left on it does a pretty good job of keeping flavors from the rub, smoke, and sauce from getting into the meat from that side. That's the conventional wisdom, but I've never left membrane on a rack to do a side-by-side comparison. It's not that hard to remove, and my local Costco removes it from the ribs they sell.

 

[Texas Cookin']

We have tended towards baby backs. I remove the membrane and use mustard as a binder. Rub down with Cruz spices pork chop/pork steak seasoning. Let sit for a few hours in the fridge. Smoke for 2 hours at 225. Take out and wrap in foil in the following for two more hours.
Parkay squeeze butter
Honey
Brown Sugar
Strip of tiger sauce
Remove from wrap and save the liquid mixture. I baste it back on the ribs every 30 mins or so. Usually take another hour for a 2-2-1 cook. Some take a little longer to pass the bend test which is all I use I don't mess with temps on ribs. This is known as the Trigg method down here in Texas. Well the wrap mixture anyway. Johnny Trigg has won more than you could imagine with this recipe. Good luck and look forward to seeing what you produce!

Fred

 

[Texas Cookin']

Thanks for the advice everyone. I tried three methods: 3-2-1, 221, and straight smoking. The straight smoking method was tough, and the 221 was the best, though 221 and 321 were both good.

My question is: I'm not getting good bark. My pork butt lacked it as did my ribs. When is it clear I will have a bark (e.g. 2 hours in it should be formed) and what could be the cause of it?

Also, if there are any suggestions for a good ambient thermometer I would appreciate it. I have a feeling my grill is burning cooler than indicated on the dial as the meats all took way longer than expected.

Are you cooking on a pellet grill?

 

[tallbm]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I tried three methods: 3-2-1, 221, and straight smoking. The straight smoking method was tough, and the 221 was the best, though 221 and 321 were both good.

My question is: I'm not getting good bark. My pork butt lacked it as did my ribs. When is it clear I will have a bark (e.g. 2 hours in it should be formed) and what could be the cause of it?

Also, if there are any suggestions for a good ambient thermometer I would appreciate it. I have a feeling my grill is burning cooler than indicated on the dial as the meats all took way longer than expected.

It's good to try multiple ways.
The tough straight smoked ribs mean they were undercooked.

I'm sensing that you don't have a remote digital thermometer yet. It's probably the 1st mandatory tool to buy when getting into smoking just after buying the smoker itself.

If you want bark then not wrapping is the way to go, but understand that with ribs they will be done when they are tender. The foil methods force the ribs to get tender very fast since it "braises" them by retaining all the liquid. Retaining all that liquid = weak to no bark.

If you have a dual probe (or more probes I like a minimum of 4) wireless digital thermometer you can put a probe in-between the ribs in the center and when it hits 195F you will have bite off the bone tenderness. I got to 198F to get very easily bite off the bone but not exactly fall off the bone, its in between.
If you don't have a thermometer then you just have to stab the ribs with a toothpick ALL OVER and if they are tender ALL OVER then they are tender and ready, if not let them keep going. A thermometer would help with this as well since this is the same practice to use on whole packer briskets, pork butts, and other cuts that are only done when tendern.

Also u say you think your smoker is running cold. You can never trust a smokers onboard temp prob, they are all wrong. Again this is where the dual probe (or more probes) thermometer comes in handy. You can use 1 probe in the meat for meat temp and the other probe u just clip to the rack (meat level) to know how hot the smoker is where the met resides. You go bot the smoker rack temp probe to know how hot your smoker is and you ignore your smoker probe. The more probes for all of this the better.

Finally, ribs don't care what temp you cook them at as long as you arent burning them. If you put sugar in your seasoning/rub then you probably don't want to go much over 250F smoker temp so you avoid burning the sugar and making it bitter.
In TX we don't really put sugar in our seasonings/rubs it seems, so smoking at 275F or higher is no problem. Some people do 325F plus etc for super hot and fast and they get great results.

Keep tinkering with your ribs and you will nail it. Just understand that having the wireless digital thermometer will get you there 100x faster then guessing and trial and error :D

 

[noboundaries]

Thanks everyone for the help on the pork butt. It came out a touch dry, but was incredibly flavorful.

A pork butt that is a "touch dry" is an underdone pork butt. It is "cooked" well before it is tender. It gets tender and juicy by melting the tough and dry connective collagen. That only is achieved with heat and time, not a target temp. Learn the "probe" method to feel when anything sharp slides in without any resistance. You can use a toothpick, two-pronged fork, skewer, or temperature probe.

I tried three methods: 3-2-1, 221, and straight smoking. The straight smoking method was tough, and the 221 was the best, though 221 and 321 were both good.

My question is: I'm not getting good bark. My pork butt lacked it as did my ribs. When is it clear I will have a bark (e.g. 2 hours in it should be formed) and what could be the cause of it?

Several issues here. First, tenderness. The "straight smoking method" was tough. Once again, they needed more time for the same reason as the pork butt. I've smoked unwrapped butts and spare ribs at temps from 225F to 350F+. The only thing that changes is the clock. Low temp-longer time. High temp-shorter time. The probe method works no matter what chamber temperature you are using. I probe ribs for tenderness no different than a butt. I'll occasionally remember to look at the meat temp, but generally not. The feel of the probe sliding right in is all I need. And no, the juices won't all flow out.

Second issue - no bark. Wrapping either the butt or the ribs adds the component of steam and a slight increase in pressure to the process which will soften the bark. One way to get a firmer bark is to wait longer to wrap. I've wrapped butts when the internal temp was 180-185F and still had a decent bark. You could do the same thing with ribs as long as you don't add much liquid to the wrap. You could also not wrap it as long. For spares, for example, you could do a 3-1.5-1.5 at 250F, but go by the probe feel, not the clock.

Suggestions? For spare ribs, set a higher chamber temp (say 250-275F), don't wrap, and probe for tenderness. For butts, depending on size, count on a longer smoke. If you are okay with overnighters on an 8-10 lb butt, set 225F for overnight loading the meat around 9-10 PM, then crank it up in the morning to north of 300F.

If you want a butt done that day, start early, set 325F (no sugar in the rub or it will burn), and wrap after 6 hours. Probe it right through the foil to feel the tenderness. Probe occasionally until it slides right in.

Don't confuse lazy muscle meats (loins, tenderloins, and borderline baby backs) with collagen-packed working muscle meats like butts and picnics (briskets on beef). I only smoke spares because they are set and forget. I don't like wrapping ribs and BBs are more ornery and expensive.