Tonight's Dinner: First Attempt at Ribs w/ Jeff's Rub

[okiedave]

My local Sam's Club had ribs at $2/lb today, so I picked up a couple of racks. One I vacuum-packed and sent directly to the freezer; I just rubbed the other with Jeff's rub and am about the start the grill. I just have a Weber kettle at the moment, so I'm going to try my best for 3/2/1 @ ~275°, but we'll see how it goes. Any thoughts?

Pre-Q View:

 

[smokinq13]

Those ribs are looking fantastic! Looks like they got good fat content as Well so that means they won't dry out as easy. My i ask what your method is going to be for the "2" part... the part where you wrap them?

 

[worktogthr]

3-2-1 is for ballpark cooking temp of 225. For 275 I'd say maybe 2-1-1 or 3-1.

 

[SmokinVOLfan]

Ribs look great! Did you put any binder on them for the rub like yellow mustard or olive oil? The last several times I have done them I have been using Al's method and not taking the membrane off anymore always turn out great. Good luck!

 

[okiedave]

No binder, just the rub. I was planning to wrap with parchment paper (uncoated, same stuff I use for baking). I'll try to get the temp down, but it's hard to control that thing as precisely as I might like, so I'm just going to have to play it by ear. It shot up to 450° to start with, but I moderated it back to 300° within a couple of minutes and it's holding steady. Current weather: sunny, 47°, wind NW at 10 MPH (for those interested: METAR KOUN 071850Z 30009G15KT 10SM SKC 08/M07 A3029). Couldn't ask for a nicer day in early March.

On the grill at 1330 local time:

 

[gmc2003]

Dave, you should look into the snake method for smoking with a kettle. You can get lower temps then just going with indirect. That's a great looking rack of ribs.

Chris

 

[okiedave]

T+1hr on smoke; wood is hickory. Temperature came down to 275 shortly after the last picture, and has slowly declined to 255° with the bottom vent fully closed and the top vent open only enough to get a thermometer probe through it. Vent (and thermometer) is on the meat side of the grill, not the fire side.

Chris, I appreciate the suggestion, but what I really need to do is find my extension cord (for my grinders) so I can finish the smoker I've been trying to build for several years now. See my thread at http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/127988/rf-build-a-story-in-pictures for details.

 

[okiedave]

T+2hr; temp had fallen to 215°, and most of the charcoal was consumed (though still plenty of wood), so I added a few more lumps and closed everything back up. Temp stabilized at 240°.

 

[okiedave]

T+3hr. After looking stable at 240°, temp fell to 200°; apparently, I choked it off more than I thought. Checked internal temperature; 129°. Pulled from grill, wrapped, put back on at about 240°.

Lighting has changed; the sun is now behind the house (you can see the shadow encroaching on the grill when this one was taken), so pictures are going to start looking funny.

 

[jp61]

Coming along nicely.
Enjoy!

 

[okiedave]

Out of wrap after two more hours; IT of about 150°. Definitely not even close to tender. In the oven trying to salvage them.

<grumble>

 

[okiedave]

Final:

Not quite as tender as I might have liked, and about half-an-hour past my target time, but certainly tasty enough.

I really need to finish my smoker project and start using something that'll hold a temperature.

 

[tallbm]

They look pretty good to me!
SmokinAl did a great post about cooking ribs to temp rather than using time and methods like 3-2-1.
He goes to 195F for bite off the bone ribs. I've gone 198-203F. The closer to 203F the closer you start getting to fall of the bone with still some bite to them.

It worked for me, is simple, and is now my approach for doing spares/St. Louis style and baby back ribs :)
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/perfect-ribs-every-time-this-really-works.240916/

 

[SmokinAl]

Your ribs look pretty good from here!
You just needed a little more cook time!
Al

 

[smokinq13]

those ribs look good!... Next time I'd try the snake method if managing the temperature is being difficult. maybe also when you check the ribs, you should rotate them as well. When it comes to any smoker/BBQ, there will always be a learning experience you'll have to go through!

 

[gmc2003]

Dave, just read through your build thread. Very impressive. I see why you want to find your extension cords. Belated congratulations on passing the bar. Hoping to see the finished smoker soon.

Chris