Riblet smoke question

[gabriel]

I smoked some riblets this weekend and they ended up real tough. I was at 250-275 most of the time and I probably smoked them for about 4-5 hours. Being small I figured they would cook rather quickly and 5 hours would be more than enough time to make'em just fall apart. I smoked them unwrapped the whole time, and when I took them off, I wrapped'em in foil for about an hour.

When I went to eat them, it was a struggle to pull them apart. I almost need a knife and fork. What did I do wrong?

Another thing, I've read about the 3-2-1 method. Is that 3 hours smoked, then 2 more hours smoked while wrapped in foil, and then 1 more hour smoked unwrapped for a total of 6 hours smoked? Or is it 3 total hours smoked, 2 in foil and one out of foil?

I also did a chicken which turned our wonderfully juicy, everyone loved that one, but it was just too easy. I want my ribs to fall apart.

Thanks for the help guys,
Gabe

 

[bbq bubba]

Rib tips usually are tough, most people put em in beans or whatnot.
I just eat em for a snack, next time try foiling for a couple hrs, much more tender!

 

[gabriel]

You think if I foiled them for 2 hours in the smoker then took them out for another hour and smoked, they would be better? The foil must hold in the moisture. I was debating whether to foil them or not. Apparently, I made the wrong choice.

 

[baz518]

Foiling does hold in the moisture, it's basically like braising a piece of meat. Now that's only if you're meat still has moisture in it or if you add liquid to it before foiling. The rib tips I cook (which come from trimmed spare ribs) are smoked for 1.5 - 2 hours before being foiled for an hour or more (along with the skirt and "extra" trimmings from the spares).

Next time, just keep a really good eye on them after you put them on... and if you think they're drying out, go ahead and spray them with a mop sauce and wrap them up in foil. Let 'em go at least an hour foiled up.... then they should be to your liking.