Rib Help

[Matt Plumb]

Hello. I am new to smoking and this was just my second smoke ever. I got a masterbuilt electric smoker for Christmas. I need some help, points, or tips and tricks. The first time I smoked ribs I only did one rack. I don’t remember the poundage, but it was a smaller rack and fit on the shelf in the smoker with about a centimeter on each side. I used the daggum good recipe on masterbuilt where I smoked for two hours, wrapped for two, then 30 minutes of bbq sauce. They were absolutely amazing. Fall off the bone. I mean fall off the bone. I literally pulled the bones right out and had a slab of perfectly juicy amazing ribs. After that today i had a different experience. This time i did three racks and a tinfoil pan of beans. These ribs were bigger and were sort of bent as they were longer. I did them the exact same. However they were not as juicy and were not fall off the bone. What went wrong and what do I need to change? Do bigger ribs need smoked longer or shorter? Because they actually seemed over cooked which makes no sense as they were cooked at the same temp and same time and were bigger. Should i use more smoke or keep them wrapped longer? Only two differences were more items and I bought meat from meijer the first time and kroger the second. Could the meat just not be as good? Lastly, i forget to mention but I smoked at 225. Thank you!!!

 

[hillbillyrkstr]

Matt,

Congrats on the new smoker!

The ribs you smoked were they spare ribs or babyback ribs?

I’m assuming you needed to cook them longer. If I read correctly your basically using a 2-2-1 method (which is a good method) but your only cooking 1/2 hour instead of a full hour on the last sauce step.

Also if you have a 30” masterbuilt don’t be afraid to cut your rib racks in half so they fit in your smoker better. It won’t hurt anything.

Scott

 

[Rafter H BBQ]

Hey Matt, here's my opinion... The MES is a great smoker, but most are notorious for being off temp... My Gen 1 will be off temp by as much as 20*. I'd suggest using an alternative temp probe to track the chamber temp. A lot of folks around here use something like the Maverik brand of temp probes. I use my Mav ET-732 for this!

Second, sounds as if your ribs were undercooked. Each rack can be a bit different. I generally use a toothpick to test for tenderness. Having smoked a lot of ribs, I know how my fam likes them & can tell by the "toothpick test" when they are done. There are other ways folks will test for doneness, but if your new to smoking, if you get a Thermowand or Thermopen type probe (something with a small ended probe) you can do an IT reading to see when they are done. SmokinAl done this thread you can check out... https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/posts/1699994/

 

[bdskelly]

Smoking at a temp of 225 degrees:
If you are smoking baby back ribs then smoke them on the grate for 2 hours. Then foil wrap them and back on the grate for 2 more hours. Lastly unwrap them and Toss them back on the grate for 1 more hour.
If you are smoking the longer St Louis or Spair Ribs then smoke the 3 hours on the grate. Then foil wrap them and back on the grate for 2 more hours. Lastly unwrap and back on the grate for 1 more hour .
As a side note . You want the ribs to have a little tug off the bone. But the bone is clean when you bite. Bones are easily pulled out of the slab in most circles means you over cooked them.

 

[hillbillyrkstr]

All good info.

I have two mes 40” smokers. A gen 2 and a gen 2.5 and both smokers temps are off. A igrill or maverick thermo is the best investment for you with that smoker.

 

[Matt Plumb]

Thank you! I was actually afraid to cut them in half so Ill definitely do that next time and Ill try the 2-2-1. Thanks for the help.

 

[Matt Plumb]

Thank you everyone for the replies. Sounds like my ribs were undercooked and that I need a thermometer. I will try all of your suggestions. One said that if they are actually completely gall odf the bone they are overcooked, but I felt like those ribs tasted better and were juicier. Lastly, yes I was using baby back ribs. Thanks again!

 

[SmokinAl]

Thank you everyone for the replies. Sounds like my ribs were undercooked and that I need a thermometer. I will try all of your suggestions. One said that if they are actually completely gall odf the bone they are overcooked, but I felt like those ribs tasted better and were juicier. Lastly, yes I was using baby back ribs. Thanks again!

The important thing is you make your ribs the way you like them.
We like ours, not quite FOTB, so using a therm to check them, they are done at 195 IT.
If you want FOTB, your looking at 200-205.
When we have people over I generally make one rack the way I like them & one rack FOTB, because most people like heavily sauced FOTB ribs. So I give them what they want.
Al

 

[Matt Plumb]

Thank you very much for the information and help. Especially the specific temperatures.

The important thing is you make your ribs the way you like them.
We like ours, not quite FOTB, so using a therm to check them, they are done at 195 IT.
If you want FOTB, your looking at 200-205.
When we have people over I generally make one rack the way I like them & one rack FOTB, because most people like heavily sauced FOTB ribs. So I give them what they want.
Al

you

 

[William conner]

My compition secret is I soak my baby backs in apple juice over night and I am useing a offset barrel smoker that has had nothing but hickory and red oak in it as well I always rap mine in the first two hours then open the foil and l smoke with hickory for another 3 if their super thick then add another hour for a total of 5 to 6 hours of total cook time the foil also acts as a drip pan and the ribs cook in their own juices my compition sauce is blues hog original with added crushed red pepper a sweet heat that goes well with the apple juice in fuse meat no rub what so ever except for a fine coating of seasoning salt fall off the bone every single time