Pork ribs on for 6.5 hrs, tough!

[Stabbin-Wagon]

Relatively new smoker here. First time I've had any issues with ribs. I've had many batches previously and they've come out great. This time i had 2 racks at 225. 4 hrs in the smoke, 1.5 in foil, 30 min bare. However this time they came out tough! I did have a temp issue whwre it jumped to 275 for about 30 min. Not nearly as tender as the 8 previous smokes. Ribs came from the same place every time. Any ideas as to whatmay have happened?

 

[joedube70]

Babyback? Loinback? Spare ribs?
6 hours is a long time for loinback ribs. Those will definitely dry out cooking for that long.
Does your smoker have a water pan? Did you spritz at all?

 

[Stabbin-Wagon]

St Louis pork ribs. And i have a water pan. Haven't needed to spritz any of the precious smokes and they turned out awesome.

 

[RiversideSm0ker]

Maybe you just got that one pig that said no to fattening meals and kept itself lean and mean to the bitter end. It could happen! My best guess would be that those were just the least fatty St Louis ribs you could have gotten your hands on and they dried out. My St Louis ribs doing the 3-2-1 method are generally very close in results from one batch to the next. I wouldn't take it too serious unless all of your ribs start ending up tough. Just figure it was an anomaly that will not repeat itself.

George

 

[Smokin66]

You said it right George.

 

[noboundaries]

I've had untrimmed spares take up to 8 hours at 225F, no wrapping. They are usually done in 6 to 6.5 hours.

Time and temp is a general guideline, but probing for tenderness and checking Internal temp will work more consistently.

 

[dcecil]

I wouldn’t worry about the temp spike. 275 is not out of line for those. I agree with noboundaries. Make sure you are doing an internal temp probe and making sure as not to touch the bones. I would make sure that whatever therm your using is calibrated. Sometimes those things get out of whack and you think your cooking at one temp and your actually cooking at another. Just a thought

 

[SmokinAl]

Yes I would definitely make sure your smoker is running at the temp you think it is.
It sounds to me like they were under cooked.
A thin needle instant read therm will give you an accurate reading between the bones. Here is the one I use.
https://www.thermoworks.com/ThermoPop
Al

 

[Stabbin-Wagon]

Thanks everyone for the replies. Much appreciated.