Ribs not pulling away from bone

[Killa J]

I got my Rec Tec Bull about 3 weeks ago, so I’m still learning what works best with it. Everything has come out good so far. A little different than what I was making before, but still really good.

I’ve found that the 3-2-1 method for ribs doesn’t work as well with pellets as it did with charcoal and wood. I much prefer not wrapping them at all now. However, wrapped or unwrapped, the meat barely pulls away from the bone. And whatever I cook isn’t coming out as dark as it did with my previous smoker. Is this just how it works with pellets? I’m not complaining, just curious. The food is still great, and the convenience of using a pellet grill is insane.

 

[pc farmer]

Pretty sure bdskelly just got one of these. Maybe he can help.

 

[Killa J]

These are the last two racks of ribs I cooked. You can see that the ends of the bones are barely visible. I’m used to a good 1/2” of bone sticking out by the time the ribs are done, and that used to be one of my methods for gauging doneness.

 

[Will Smoke]

I also do pellets (pitboss 820) do you top/start it off with a high heat to get a char, I assume this is what you mean by dark, as long as it's controlled it won't dry out the ribs

 

[noboundaries]

They are definitely underdone if they are not pulling away from the bone. Different equipment, different results. Check your grate temps across the ends and the middle. You'll figure it out. Heck, I had to relearn my WSM for low n slow when I all I did was switch charcoal!

 

[Will Smoke]

Pellets grill motto low n slow

 

[ross77]

I have the 680 which is basically the same as the Bull. You might want to double check your cooking temp. I've found that the temp at the grate can be lower than what the smoker says.

 

[SonnyE]

Oh My!
If you want to throw those away, you can throw them my way! :D
Not sure I would use shrinkage as a gauge myself. If they disappear, there is the proof of the pudding.
I think you need to give yourself time to find the way to cook on the new grill to get the results you like.
When you get a new car, it takes some time to get use to it, right?
Give yourself time to find the happy ground with your new grill. ;)
I'd eat those ribs and suck the bones, too.

 

[Killa J]

On the last rack I made, I upped the temp to 350 for about 15 minutes to darken a bit. I used to go 225 the entire time with charcoal.

As far as the ribs not being done, they bend and crack when lifted. And internal temp is 200-205. The meat just isn’t pulling back. They aren’t fall off the bone, but the bones slide out easily when eating.

 

[Killa J]

Oh My!
If you want to throw those away, you can throw them my way! :D
Not sure I would use shrinkage as a gauge myself. If they disappear, there is the proof of the pudding.
I think you need to give yourself time to find the way to cook on the new grill to get the results you like.
When you get a new car, it takes some time to get use to it, right?
Give yourself time to find the happy ground with your new grill. ;)
I'd eat those ribs and suck the bones, too.

:)

If it sounds like I’m composing, I’m not. The food is too good not to be happy about. The smoke ring even stains the bones pink! I’ve never seen that before.

I’ve eaten probably an unhealthy amount of smoked meat since I got this thing. My wife is pregnant and has lost her appetite for all meat except chicken. The only reason I haven’t smoked a brisket yet is because I’d have to give most of it away :p

 

[motolife313]

Leave them in longer next time

 

[mike243]

as stable as the temps run I would guesstimate if you ran the next batch 15-20 hotter you wold get more shrinkage,looks great to me though,going to up my temps next time on spares to render a little more fat off them

 

[SonnyE]

My wife is NOT pregnant (Thank God! She's 65!), but it seems her only like is chicken. She'd eat chicken 7 days a week.
I need more variety myself. At 68, I want to live till I die, not worry about what may or may not kill me.
Enjoying tasty BBQ is a part of my quest. LOL!
Be nice to your wife's changes and dislikes that use to be likes. It's trying times, lots of changes. But when that baby looks in your eyes, and coo's, trying to say "Daddy!", well you'll just melt.
Give it time. It's a new way to cook.
Patience. With the new Que, and with her too. ;)

 

[SmokinAl]

Here's my 2 cents. I go by IT for ribs, for us that is 195. Some racks have a lot of pullback, and some racks don't. But they always taste the same & the texture is the same. I don't think the pull back method for checking when the ribs are done is very reliable. The bend test, toothpick test etc. are all better indicators of when they are done.
Al

 

[bregent]

For ribs on the pellet grill, I always run unwrapped at 275. BB's take about 3 hours and spares/STL about 3 1/2. You need to be careful if using rubs with sugar - depending on the grill it might burn when cooking at 275. It's not a problem on my Memphis but I've heard some folks have problems with theirs. I check for doneness with a bend test.

 

[SonnyE]

Here's my 2 cents. I go by IT for ribs, for us that is 195. Some racks have a lot of pullback, and some racks don't. But they always taste the same & the texture is the same. I don't think the pull back method for checking when the ribs are done is very reliable. The bend test, toothpick test etc. are all better indicators of when they are done.
Al

I did mine to 190° yesterday. For once, I finally poked my ThermoPro in a rack and used the pit temperature probe to monitor things. While I sat back with my phone timer reminding me to turn and paint, with a small ice chest of iced down beers for company. :D ;)
All that was missing was a jar of pickled Hot Dogs and onions. (I can't remember everything. :D)
I liked the results. Even if the wife was whining about the pepper...
(She showed up right when I put in a measured amount of fine black pepper in my doctored SBR sauce, and of course, that's all she could see and b____ about.)
Nice bite, texture, and pull away. Next time I'll try and remember the extra 5°.
Thanks Al!