Ribs wrap or unwrapped that is the question.

[binnesman]

I have always wrapped my ribs. I cook till I get the color I am looking for then wrap for about a 1.5 hours. I do a brown sugar honey and butter in the wrap, then sauce till sauce sets 15 to 20 min. I smoke on a Camp Chef pellet smoker, cooking at 225 heavy smoke setting 10 on my smoker. The ribs come out extremely tender prefer them with more of a bite but the wife likes them fall off the bone. Happy WIFE happy life. Doing ribs on Tuesday for my dad and was considering doing them unwrapped to see if I get a bit more smoke on them and the awesome bark texture. Never did them unwrapped was wondering what you all like to do and prefer? The picture is from a previous smoke method described above.

 

[DRKsmoking]

I do a both 3-2-1, 2-2-1, I have never done not wrapped yet. But soon to try.
You will get lots of answers . I'm a newbie so not that many rib smokes yet

David

 

[smokerjim]

They look good, I'm a no wrapper.

 

[ravenclan]

I don't wrap but I also smoke my ribs a little longer then most people. My buddy wraps his ribs and to me really no difference but the time and cost to wrap the ribs.

 

[JC in GB]

I have done ribs both ways. In my charcoal smoker, I prefer not to wrap.

That is also for pork shoulder and brisket. I only wrap if I want to push through the stall faster.

JC

 

[JLeonard]

I've gone to the no wrap group. We just like them that way. It's really to the preference of you and your family.

Jim

 

[schlotz]

Haven't wrapped for years! Also can't say we're in the FOTB category either. Some are, and hey if that's what you like, go for it. IMO FOTB equates to overcooking which diminishes the flavor of the pork itself. Peak flavor comes from a clean and easy bite through rib. JMTC

 

[Chasdev]

I like them any way you choose to cook them, for me to eat that is.

 

[sandyut]

I don’t wrap anything. I cook ribs at 250 till done

 

[thirdeye]

Doing ribs on Tuesday for my dad and was considering doing them unwrapped to see if I get a bit more smoke on them and the awesome bark texture. Never did them unwrapped was wondering what you all like to do and prefer?

I've wrapped a few ribs... . I cooked these ↑↑↑ for a surprise birthday party for a guy's wife, and he specifically wanted FOTB spare ribs with a sweet sticky sauce, which I can cook. Foil delivered exactly what they wanted. I finished them about 30 minutes early because the guests were hiding in the garage and basement.

At home I prefer to use foil as a tool, not a rule. Foil can tenderize and keep ribs moist, but I don't use any of the 'numbers' methods like 3-2-1, 2-2-1 etc., and other than competition style ribs I just put liquids and maybe some finishing rub in the foil. For me a 30 or 45 minute wrap step might give me the tenderness I'm after because I'm cooking by feel, and I like a slight tug, not FOTB. Often I don't even decide on using a wrap step or not until I poke them about 2 hours into the cook.

 

[zwiller]

I wrap ribs but only after they reach 195F IT and are cooled down. IMO ribs MUST be smoked in advance and later seared on the grill. Crucial for the flavor. I aim for a rib that can be eaten with fork and knife but not pulled pork. Just before FOTB.

 

[SmokinAl]

I like my ribs at an IT of 195, just bite thru, but not fall off the bone, my wife & Grandson like FOTB ribs, so I take them to 200-205. Don’t foil anymore, but do mop every 45 minutes or so with a mix of Apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, & BBQ sauce.
Just pull my ribs off about a half hour before my wife’s. So everybody is happy.
Al

 

[thirdeye]

I wrap ribs but only after they reach 195F IT and are cooled down. IMO ribs MUST be smoked in advance and later seared on the grill. Crucial for the flavor. I aim for a rib that can be eaten with fork and knife but not pulled pork. Just before FOTB.

You know.... a lot of BBQ joints do just that. I read an article about one of the iconic BBQ joints in Texas that wraps ribs in clear plastic for holding in the walk-in. Then use a higher temp pit to heat them up for service.

Ribs hung in a drum get that 'sizzle' action going on similar to searing.

 

[browneyesvictim]

My ribs roll in the smoke to get the color and smoke flavor I want, then the wrap for a braise period is important for a couple of reasons to me.
1. They will never dry out this way. They seen to cook more evenly also
2. Don't require opening the cooker to spritz or mop
3. Cook faster
4. Renders fat and collagen that I can collect back out of the foil for REAL BBQ sauce
5. The foil is convenient for me to keep them in. I re-wrap them to save them for later if not eaten immediately

 

[Gonna Smoke]

I have always wrapped my ribs...The ribs come out extremely tender prefer them with more of a bite but the wife likes them fall off the bone. Happy WIFE happy life. Doing ribs on Tuesday for my dad and was considering doing them unwrapped to see if I get a bit more smoke on them and the awesome bark texture. Never did them unwrapped was wondering what you all like to do and prefer? The picture is from a previous smoke method described above.

I'm in the unwrapped camp, but an easy solution for you would be to smoke 2 or more racks, wrap one for the wife's FOTB and leave the other unwrapped.

 

[zwiller]

You know.... a lot of BBQ joints do just that. I read an article about one of the iconic BBQ joints in Texas that wraps ribs in clear plastic for holding in the walk-in. Then use a higher temp pit to heat them up for service.

Ribs hung in a drum get that 'sizzle' action going on similar to searing.

I can see some purists cringe but it's how we like them. I smoked ribs for a looong time before I figured it out by accident. One time the ribs were not done in time and was getting late so I parked them in the fridge. Heated them up next day on the grill and the rest was history! Later I had a friend that worked at local fave rib joint tell me they did this too.

 

[bbqbrett]

I normally wrap. Got used to doing that way years ago when I did a couple of comps. Don't get them to FOTB but try to get them to where you can get a nice bite out of them. The people I cook for besides myself seem to like them that way so I keep cooking them that way.

 

[Dutch]

I have always wrapped my ribs. I cook till I get the color I am looking for then wrap for about a 1.5 hours. I do a brown sugar honey and butter in the wrap, then sauce till sauce sets 15 to 20 min. I smoke on a Camp Chef pellet smoker, cooking at 225 heavy smoke setting 10 on my smoker. The ribs come out extremely tender prefer them with more of a bite but the wife likes them fall off the bone. Happy WIFE happy life. Doing ribs on Tuesday for my dad and was considering doing them unwrapped to see if I get a bit more smoke on them and the awesome bark texture. Never did them unwrapped was wondering what you all like to do and prefer? The picture is from a previous smoke method described above.

I have on occasion wrap my ribs, but mostly smoke them unwrapped these days. Some have made the switch from aluminum foil to pink butchers wrap. It still allows retained moisture to speed up the cook but has less impact on the bark formation.
YMMV

 

[HalfSmoked]

I'm in the no wrap group when I started there was no such thing as wrapping anything and I don't.

Warren

 

[tallbm]

I don't wrap my ribs, brisket, or pork butts. I find the flavor to be far superior to wrapped in foil. Never paper wrapped anything so can't speak to that.

I use SmokinAl's method but I go to 198F IT of the ribs. I'm a weirdo in the fact that when my ribs come out I then put on gloves and pull all the bones out of them. From that point on I can fork and knife them without having to worry about bones hahaha.

I also don't put any sugar in my rubs so I smoke at 275F and since ribs don't care about the temp... but sugar does care and will burn. My sweetness comes from sauce at the table. Mine come out so good they don't need sauce but I love sauce and feel all ribs should be sauced or eaten in something wet (beans) lol.