Rib Troubles

[steelheadmike]

I have had quite a journey cooking ribs; from direct grilling on a weber to indirect on a weber and now to smoking. I was getting great results using the indirect method, but now that I have been using the smoker, they have ended up a little dry. I like them but my wife has been a little critical of them, saying that her dad's were better (steamed, then basted on a hot grill...bleh). Mine aren't jerky dry but rather dry enough that no juices run when I cut them. There is some rendered fat in the meat but little moisture.

I use a Smokevault 24 with water pan and do mostly BB's. One batch was done 2-2-1 at ~225-250 and came out super tender (almost too tender) but dry. Also, this was no spritz, and each rack foiled individually w/ no extra fluid added. Next batch was 1.75-1.5-.5 and I tried to keep the heat between 200-225. These were spritzed and foiled in a steamer pan with apple juice. I really like the consistency of these in that they still had some pull but the bone would be clean. But, still a little dry. I haven't checked my temps with anything other than the SV thermo during these smokes, but in past smokes, the SV thermo was right on with a digital thermo inside the cooker.

I am thinking about playing around with my rub (which has salt) or trying different methods.

Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks,

Mike

 

[SmokinAl]

It sounds to me that the smoker temp is too high. I would put a probe on the grate next to the ribs & keep it at 225 or below. If you use the 2-2-1 method with some beer or apple juice in the foil I don't know how you could have dry ribs. Maybe I'm missing something. The only other thing I see is if your rub has a lot of salt in it & you leave the rub on overnight it may pull some moisture out of the ribs. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful.

 

[jirodriguez]

.... also like any other cut of meat, let them rest for 30-60 minutes before you cut them up. I usually wrap them in foil and toss them into a dry cooler for an hour while I finish up the rest of the dinner prep.

 

[fpnmf]

Looks like you were running hot to me..

How many times did you open the door to look at them??

The search tool can be your friend finding answers too..

Here's one thread..

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/forum/thread/102910/ribs-were-disappointing-any-advice  

Craig

 

[richoso1]

If it is possible, remove the factory therm and check it for calibration. Many times, those factory therms are not that accurate. It's all good my friend.

 

[steelheadmike]

Thanks for the help. The concensus seems to be that I'm running hot, but I ams also thinking that I have been drying out the ribs by opening/closing the cooker too much.

 

It sounds to me that the smoker temp is too high. I would put a probe on the grate next to the ribs & keep it at 225 or below. If you use the 2-2-1 method with some beer or apple juice in the foil I don't know how you could have dry ribs. Maybe I'm missing something. The only other thing I see is if your rub has a lot of salt in it & you leave the rub on overnight it may pull some moisture out of the ribs. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful.

I am going to try my next cook with the digital thermo (which I have calibrated) in there. I will try cutting down on the salt in the rub to see what happens.
 

Looks like you were running hot to me..

How many times did you open the door to look at them??

The search tool can be your friend finding answers too..

Here's one thread..

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/forum/thread/102910/ribs-were-disappointing-any-advice  

Craig

Probably too many times, at least once an hour. I am thinking the temp spikes are screwing with ribs (i.e., the temp drops were drying them instead of cooking them). I'll put on the wood and forget about opening the door until I foil.

 

If it is possible, remove the factory therm and check it for calibration. Many times, those factory therms are not that accurate. It's all good my friend.

Will do, but I'll also have a digital thermo in the smoker my next time through.