First time smoking baby back ribs...

[Elf@shore]

I say stick with the process that you and your family prefer. Most wrap with squeeze butter, brown sugar, honey(try Mike's Hot) and a little juice of choice....apple ,peach...
But if
"but were only at about 155-160˚F at the end " , the fat was not fully rendered.
Somewhere between 200-205 IT should help with the juices. The main thing to check for is tenderness, not temp.
Looks like your keeping a cook journal and that will definitely help you fine tune your process and help find the desired results!

Keith

HI! Looks really good!
I am a big fan of using liquid !
#1 Put the ribs above a pan, adding Apple juice : Half Inch ?
#2 Add pan with the juice near the ribs, away from the direct heat.
Add water later to the pan, DO NOT ADD MORE JUICE !, Too much acid.
My choice would be do a side pan away from the heat, But also away from the vent.
You want the Meat to absorb the juice !
Done this with Beef Rump ,Beef Rib Roast, Pork Roasts, Whole Chickens ,Whole Turkeys, Smoked hams
Yes ? It works ? With a pellet grill ?, May have to put under the meat ,and cover loosely ?
Chose your own path .

 

[paleoman]

HI! Looks really good!
I am a big fan of using liquid !
#1 Put the ribs above a pan, adding Apple juice : Half Inch ?
#2 Add pan with the juice near the ribs, away from the direct heat.
Add water later to the pan, DO NOT ADD MORE JUICE !, Too much acid.
My choice would be do a side pan away from the heat, But also away from the vent.
You want the Meat to absorb the juice !
Done this with Beef Rump ,Beef Rib Roast, Pork Roasts, Whole Chickens ,Whole Turkeys, Smoked hams
Yes ? It works ? With a pellet grill ?, May have to put under the meat ,and cover loosely ?
Chose your own path .

When I was BBQing ribs, I would cook them for 30 mins, then wrap in foil with some apple juice to essentially steam them for another 30 mins, and then I would unwrap and finish with BBQ sauce for 20 mins or so.

When I tried this 2-2-1 method (smoke 2 hours, wrap with butter and honey for 2 hours, and then unwrap and smoke for 1 hour) for smoking the ribs, the first time, they were a little bit dry. This time, I tried adding some apple juice to the wrap portion. They were not as dry, although were just about falling apart.

I'll have to experiment a bit more. Maybe with less apple juice, or a shorter wrap time?

 

[fxsales1959]

Hi everyone! I had a quick question that I'm hoping for some suggestions.

I'm done numerous baby back ribs on a grill, with the process being...

• Membrane removed and dry rub applied
• Indirect cooking
• Wrap in foil with apple juice and steamed
• Unwrapped and cooked with BBQ sauce applied

I wanted to give a go at using my smoker, and found this link for a 2-2-1 method. Essentially, it does:

• Membrane removed, mustard, and dry rub applied (I used my Memphis style rub)
• Smoking at 225˚F for 2 hours, meat side up.
• Wrap in foil, with pats of butter and honey drizzled on meat side.
• Smoke for 2 hours, meat side down, in wrapping.
• Unwrap, and smoke for 1 hour meat side up with BBQ sauce applied.
• Covered and rested for 15 mins.

I followed this approach, using my Traeger pellet smoker with cherry pellets, and only applied BBQ sauce once on the final phase (I checked at the end of the hour and it seemed to have a good coating still.

Here's how it looked during cooking after unwrapping, before BBQ sauce applied...
View attachment 715719

End result...
View attachment 715718

View attachment 715717

I was very pleased! The flavor was wonderful, a bit spicy from the rub, but sweet from the honey/butter. It had a great smoke ring, as you can see in the last shot, and the meat was tender.

The only thing I noticed, was it was not as juicy as when I did it on the grill. What modifications could I do, to maybe improve on the moisture?

Should I add apple juice, when wrapping in foil?
Should I maybe add a pan of water, during the smoking process?
If so, should I put a rack in a pan with water, and the ribs on the rack (versus just including the pan in the smoker on the side?
Or should I try a higher temp, with shorting cooking? If so, how much, how long?

I really like the results of this method, so I'd like to try to refine it some. Worst case, I could smoke and transistion to the grill for steaming and finishing, but it seems more convenient to just use the smoker.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

looks good....... more beer

 

[JckDanls 07]

shorter wrap time?

This is what I suggest... I find about a 1.5 hrs (or less) in the wrap works best for me... 2 hrs is to long for my liking.. You will have to experiment as all the variables will work into the equation
I start checking them at the 1 hr mark....

 

[rileybowler]

Nice job that look really good

 

[paleoman]

Nice job that look really good

Thanks!