Smoke ring on 1 side only

[mojojojo]

Im a beginner when it comes to smoking meats. It seems that whenever I smoke pork st louis spareribs, I only get a smoke ring on one side.

I use a masterbuilt MDS 230 for smoking (vertical smoker with 4 racks) and use about 2 fist sized apple chunks. I smoke the ribs for about 5hours. Once the wood chunks have turned to dust, I dont usually replace them.

After I put the ribs in I let them smoke for 1hour-1.5 then I move the ribs around on the racks (because I noticed the top rack is always the most tender). So I move the top rack to the bottom and move the next racks up.
At 3 hours in I take the meat out & wrap them in foil with some extra seasonings. And 4.5/5hours in I remove to add bbq sauce.

I don’t necessarily flip meat meat side to fat side (until they are in the foil). I am just curious why Im getting it only on 1 side. Is it as simple as flipping the meat over? Or adding more chunks or something to get the smoke rings on both sides of the meat.

The flavor of them always taste great. Tender. I know the smoke ring technically doesn’t matter but I like to feel like I somewhat know what Im doing. Does my 1/2 smoke ring look okay as is?

 

[thirdeye]

You might be noticing a muscle that has more myoglobin than an adjacent muscle and it has a darker appearance. On something as thin as a rib it's possible to have a smoke ring on the entire cross section instead of along an edge like a brisket.

As another example, notice how the different muscles on the rib end of this pork loin are colored differently by the reaction responsible for a smoke ring?

 

[MSK2193]

If you didn't remove the membrane it will have prevented smoke from penetrating from that side. Still great looking ribs.

 

[mojojojo]

You might be noticing a muscle that has more myoglobin than an adjacent muscle and it has a darker appearance. On something as thin as a rib it's possible to have a smoke ring on the entire cross section instead of along an edge like a brisket.
View attachment 498178
As another example, notice how the different muscles on the rib end of this pork loin are colored differently by the reaction responsible for a smoke ring?
View attachment 498179

Is there anything I should do differently while I have my wood chunks in the smoker to get more of a ring like the cross section in the 1st picture?

 

[chef jimmyj]

You want Ribs pink all the way through?
Make sure to remove the membrane. Smoke at 225, Spritz every 15 minutes the first hour and keep the Smoke Rolling.
Moisture on the meat combines with Nitrogen Dioxide to give the Pink color to the Myoglobin in the meat. Keeping moist, more NO2 absorbed. Moisture also Cools the meat surface. Once the outer 1/4" gets above 140°F, the surface proteins are cooked and will not absorb more NO2. The surface will keep taking on other smoke flavors as long as it is exposed....JJ

 

[mike243]

But just remember, ya cant taste a smoke ring and if you love the taste of your ribs don't change anything just to please the eye

 

[JLeonard]

I see nothing wrong with your ribs. You cook for the tongue not the eye. Taste is what matters.
Jim

 

[SmokyMose]

Those ribs look just fine! I wouldn't change a thing :-)

 

[mojojojo]

Thanks everyone! This was the finished 3 slabs of ribs. Plenty of leftovers for today.

 

[mojojojo]

You want Ribs pink all the way through?
Make sure to remove the membrane. Smoke at 225, Spritz every 15 minutes the first hour and keep the Smoke Rolling.
Moisture on the meat combines with Nitrogen Dioxide to give the Pink color to the Myoglobin in the meat. Keeping moist, more NO2 absorbed. Moisture also Cools the meat surface. Once the outer 1/4" gets above 140°F, the surface proteins are cooked and will not absorb more NO2. The surface will keep taking on other smoke flavors as long as it is exposed....JJ

My smoker has a drip pan that I keep filled with water. I refill it once the water evaporates. Does keeping the water in the pan help to add moisture, or is spritzing more effective? Its sometimes a pain every time I open the smoker doors because temp drops and takes some time to get back to where it was.

 

[chef jimmyj]

The water pan helps but Spritzing is more effective. Between losing heat opening the door and evaporative cooling of the meat, the cook will go longer by maybe an hour or so. But, you will get a thick smoke ring!
Not worth my time really for something that's all show. Have fun.☺...JJ

 

[mojojojo]

The water pan helps but Spritzing is more effective. Between losing heat opening the door and evaporative cooling of the meat, the cook will go longer by maybe an hour or so. But, you will get a thick smoke ring!
Not worth my time really for something that's all show. Have fun.☺...JJ

Thank you!

 

[thirdeye]

And last but not least..... cheat.

Certain things like celery seed and Tender Quick will make a smoke ring pop. In fact the reason that smoke rings should be dis-regarded in BBQ competitions is that they are easy to fake. And when done correctly they can look very realistic. To prove this point I demonstrated this with a brisket flat doctored with Tender Quick for 15 minutes on the inside face, then rinsed off and rested in the fridge for 1 hour. This brisket never saw the inside of a smoker, I lightly seasoned it, wrapped it in foil and cooked for 4 hours at 275° in an oven.

 

[mojojojo]

And last but not least..... cheat.

Certain things like celery seed and Tender Quick will make a smoke ring pop. In fact the reason that smoke rings should be dis-regarded in BBQ competitions is that they are easy to fake. And when done correctly they can look very realistic. To prove this point I demonstrated this with a brisket flat doctored with Tender Quick for 15 minutes on the inside face, then rinsed off and rested in the fridge for 1 hour. This brisket never saw the inside of a smoker, I lightly seasoned it, wrapped it in foil and cooked for 4 hours at 275° in an oven.
View attachment 498298

Interesting! I just looked it up and watched a YouTube video. Thanks

 

[mojojojo]

I was just eating some leftovers. I realize there isnt much meat on the backside of the rib. Maybe thats why I am only getting smoke ring on one side because the other side is pretty much bone lol.

 

[thirdeye]

Interesting! I just looked it up and watched a YouTube video. Thanks

Harry Soo has a good video that compares various smoke rings on brisket. Harry puts a lot of technical information in his videos, we used several of his videos when getting into competition BBQ.

 

[thirdeye]

One more video for you to check out, it's interesting because two of the test steaks are comparing the effect that pH has on the smoke ring.