Rib temp stall?

[civileng67]

Hi fellas,

Making some baby backs at 225 and I'm now 8 hours in and the temp is just now starting to move upward after being stalled at 180 for about an hour. Is this normal? I'm now creeping up but should it take so long for ribs?

 

[rw willy]

Should have been done 3 hrs. ago?  Unless I'm missing something?  But I don't cook ribs to temp.

 

[civileng67]

​You don't cook them to temp? Do you do the "bend" test? If so - what exactly is that?

 

[chilerelleno]

The Three Bs, Bones, Bends and Breaks?

Have the bones popped out and the meat pulling away from them?
Does the rack bend easily when picked up in the middle?
And the meat start to break apart when picking up the rack in the middle?

Has the meat sunken down between the bones?
All of the above are good signs that the fats/collagens are rendering down and the meat is now tender and juicy.

You can cook to temp, you can cook to time and you can cook to tender.
The only one guaranteed to make your mouth happy is tender, tender is tender, whether it is a slight tug or FOTB.
The latter two can leave ya pulling your hair out once in awhile.
Some meat just don't do time or temp like the majority, instead of 12hr PP ya get 16hr PP.
YMMV

Are you certain your thermometer is correct?
Don't be afraid to turn up the heat and/or crutch to get past the stall.

 

[chef jimmyj]

Keep the door closed and no need to spritz/mop at low temps. Both add time to the cook...JJ

 

[civileng67]

Ok so here's my result (no pics because it's freaking late and I'm tired) - The ribs were at 186 (but it's hard to get a meat temp on them I'm finding without hugging the bone or fat.

Anyways - I unfoiled them and noticed the meat started falling off of the bones (literally crumbling off). I never even reached temp. However, those were the best ribs I've ever had. After three prior fails, I finally did it - and all because I looked at the meat vs temp. It absolutely fell off the bone and the fat was nearly gone. I sat here at 1 am and ate the entire rack. lol.

Thanks guys! I learned my method.

 

[gmc2003]

Civil, I would bump your temps up to 250/260 and forget about spritzing. 1 a.m. is an awful early breakfast or a really late dinner. Glad they were good. I have to give you a point for perseverance. 

 

[myownidaho]

Almost sounds like a probe problem. I had one fail after two months of use.

 

[SmokinAl]

Are you sure the smoker was running at 225?

That's an awful long time for ribs, but if they came out "the best ever", I guess it worked!

Al

 

[Bubbarosa]

Here it is 2020 and I'm searching for a solution... and I find this page and I'm having the exact same thing. Smoker is 250-270... the ribs climed up to 172 after 4 hours.. then... boom... drops all the way to 160.. grrrr... crank the fire up to 300... now down to 158... I've seen briskets do this (the stall), but never ribs (St Louis) soo.. they are now in wrapped in foil and in the oven at 300.. temps are coming up again, hoping will be done before bed time.

 

[noboundaries]

I know SmokinAl temps ribs. I did it a few times, but prefer to probe for tenderness, but that came with experience. I have a "feel" I'm looking to find that tells me they are halfway between "tender bite" (my preference) and FOTB (wife's preference). That way we're both happy (got tired of taking them off at different times). Even though I use an instant-read probe, I generally don't turn it on.

I have seen full racks of spares go 8 hours at 225F, but not SLCs.

 

[SmokinAl]

Well this thread is a few years old, but it still seems to be relevant. I have had STL’s done in 4 hours & others done in 8 hours. The meat composition & the hog they came from all play a part in the cooking time. Guys like Ray can tell just by looking at the ribs when they are done to his taste, but for a new smoker who doesn’t have that experience, then a temp gauge is the way to go. But I’m not a big believer in leaving a probe in the ribs while they cook. I prefer to use a ThermoPop at about 4 hours in to see where I’m at. Then go from there. If I’m behind my scheduled finish time I will add another split & get a hotter fire, If I’m ahead of schedule then I will just let the fire die down & slow them down. It’s a balancing act & experience is the best teacher. Just keep at it & you will be like Ray!
Al