Trying my smoking wits on St. Louis Spareribs.

[donegotfat]

This will be my first try on ribs. Thus far I have done 1x Brisket, and 1x Pork Butt. I was happy with both cooks, but struggled with keeping the heat low enough on my pellet pooper.

I will try lowering my flue a bit more tomorrow and see if that helps with the temperature spikes and the over all temps running hotter than set at to begin with.

Got the ribs prepped, a bit of trimming was needed. Sadly they only had 3 packs left at my supermarket, so I was not able to be as picky as I might have been. Each bag had several shiners and some extra fat. WOW, was that skin harder to get off then it looks like on those BBQ shows. LOL

I sadly forgot to coat them in mustard before putting my rub on. Do many of you use mustard or similar before adding rub?

I have seen some add mustard after the rub, will adding it after the rub help or hurt in your opinions?

They will be in the fridge overnight, is it best to allow them to warm back up to room temperature before putting them on the smoker or is that needed?

A few pics to start out the show

My first time buying the ribs, they were at 2.94 per LB.

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• donegotfat
• Oct 21, 2016

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• donegotfat
• Oct 21, 2016

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• donegotfat
• Oct 21, 2016

I am getting hungry already

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• donegotfat
• Oct 21, 2016

I will be firing up the smoker tomorrow at 225 degrees and trying the 3-2-1 method. I will monitor the temps before and during the 2 hour part to see if I need to pull them early.

Will be updating this tomorrow and add a few pics after the initial 3 hours, and then of course the final shot

 

[dirtsailor2003]

There's no need to use mustard or any other binder to adhere rub to meat. The natural moisture of the meat is all you need. You also won't gain any flavor from the mustard.

Off to a good start, your plan sounds good!

 

[b-one]

No mustard here either,I put the rub on just before setting up the smoker. If you post your issues in the pellet smoker area they maybe able to help with your issues. I suggest you leave one rack on there unwrapped the whole time then you can decide which you like better foil or no foil.

 

[donegotfat]

Thanks for the info on the mustard dirtsailor2003 & b-one

I suggest you leave one rack on there unwrapped the whole time then you can decide which you like better foil or no foil.

That is a great idea, I would not have thought of it. Thanks for the tip. I will try it and see what way I like better.

 

[donegotfat]

I suggest you leave one rack on there unwrapped the whole time then you can decide which you like better foil or no foil.

On the one I do not put in foil, should that be flipped at all during cook, or left bone side down for whole time?

 

[damon555]

 
On the one I do not put in foil, should that be flipped at all during cook, or left bone side down for whole time?

Just put it on the smoker how you intend to smoke it and leave it be until it's done. Might I also suggest that you skip the rub on the foil-less rack. You might be pleasantly surprised how great the flavor is just from the smoke.....If you can get good "thin blue smoke" excellent flavor will follow.

Also, don't worry about temp spikes too much. It will all average out in the end....and remember....If you're lookin' you ain't cookin'. 

 

[SmokinAl]

 
On the one I do not put in foil, should that be flipped at all during cook, or left bone side down for whole time?

When you put the ribs in foil, my suggestion is to put them meat side down.

Then when you take them out of the foil, put them back on the grate bone side down.

Al

 

[donegotfat]

 
Just put it on the smoker how you intend to smoke it and leave it be until it's done. Might I also suggest that you skip the rub on the foil-less rack. You might be pleasantly surprised how great the flavor is just from the smoke.....If you can get good "thin blue smoke" excellent flavor will follow.

Also, don't worry about temp spikes too much. It will all average out in the end....and remember....If you're lookin' you ain't cookin'. 

 
When you put the ribs in foil, my suggestion is to put them meat side down.

Then when you take them out of the foil, put them back on the grate bone side down.

Al

Thank you both, I will be starting them in a few hours. Trying to let it warm up outside for a few hours

, as its a bit chilly this morning. Its kinda cold at 39 degrees right now.

 

[donegotfat]

And the cook begins. It has reached a balmy 61 degrees outside, and I have already started to break a sweat.. LOL

Ribs are on and ready to go. ! rack has my pork rub on it (commercial rub) the other is simple SPOG as the wife cant handle any heat at all, so I was worried that the pork rub would be too hot with their being less meat on the ribs verses last week when I used it on the pork butt. Got my A-MAZE-N tube smoker giving that TBS and heck I think its time for a beer.

My wife said "beer?, but its only 10:30.." So I said "OK, Ill take some eggs and a beer!"

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• donegotfat
• Oct 22, 2016

Set to run at 225 for 3 hours.

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• donegotfat
• Oct 22, 2016

and oo boy.. It should have been common sense, but I guess it was an off morning. Was lighting the A-MAZE-N Pellet smoker and my torch went out, so i lit it again, and went to pick up the tube .. OUCH, I picked it up too high and got a hot spot and it done seared the rings right into my index finger.

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• donegotfat
• Oct 22, 2016

The first blow on this smoke, and its Smoker 1, Me 0

 

[SmokinAl]

Looks good so far!

" So I said "OK, Ill take some eggs and a beer!"

I like the way you think!

Al

 

[donegotfat]

" So I said "OK, Ill take some eggs and a beer!"

I like the way you think!

Al

It sure did go well with them eggs!

The IT after 3 hours was at 157, and they looked tasty.

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• donegotfat
• Oct 22, 2016

Some butter, brown sugar, a bit more rub,  and a touch of apple juice

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• donegotfat
• Oct 22, 2016

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• donegotfat
• Oct 22, 2016

I popped it in some foil and they are going back on the grill for 2 more hours. With the IT at 157, it will likely take the full 2 hours in foil.

Ill check on them a bit later, looks like its time for a cold one. 

 

[bdskelly]

Looks awesome! B

 

[donegotfat]

After 2 hours in foil, the IT was only 190. I wanted my final IT to be 200-205 for FOB. So I had it back on the grill, still in the foil wanting to get it higher.

Then the temps on the meat dropped to 180-183, I went to try and see why and noticed all the juice leaked out of my foil!

I only had 12" foil so I combined 2 pieces and creased them in the center, the juice leaked out after opening them to check the temp.

I pulled them from the foil, and have them back on the grill, and have not yet added BBQ sauce.

I am guessing I need to get close to 5 degrees on my IT before I put on the BBQ sauce. So they are in the 1 hour session of the 3-2-1, and hopefully I can get them up to an IT closer to 195 and Ill add some BBQ sauce to them

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• donegotfat
• Oct 22, 2016

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• donegotfat
• Oct 22, 2016

They need a bit longer on the smoker, and are still looking good to me.

 

[b-one]

Looking great looking forward to the finish!:drool

 

[donegotfat]

I am guessing the fat started to break down more, as the temp of the meat has fallen to 165.

I still have them on the smoker and will let them cook till I hit my target IT.

Ill post back soon.

 

[donegotfat]

Hehehehe, a small delay on the final outcome, I had to eat them before I could show them

They were crazy juicy, and insanely tender. The wife and I were so hungry we were not able to wait till they hit 200-205 on the IT. I pulled them after they hit IT of 195-197

They ended up better than any darn ribs and any restaurant I have ever been at.

Used my AMNPS and filled it with Apple pellets for this smoke. I was very pleased with the smoke flavor

So now its time for the money shots!

This rack had my pork rub on them, final IT 195

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• donegotfat
• Oct 22, 2016

Cut them up, and several of them never made it off the cutting board to a plate

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• donegotfat
• Oct 22, 2016

The second rack came off the grill about 10 minutes after the first.

This rack had SPOG instead of pork rub, and final IT was 197

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• donegotfat
• Oct 22, 2016

I did not cut all them up, as I knew we would not be able to finish both racks

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• donegotfat
• Oct 22, 2016

They were not FOB as I would have liked them to be, but they had no tug, were not firm, and a perfect bite!

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• donegotfat
• Oct 22, 2016

Plated them up (the ones that were left) and had a super dinner

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• donegotfat
• Oct 22, 2016

In this case, they were very close to a perfect 3-2-1 method. In the end the last step was 1.5 hours.

My next time making them Ill have a bit more patience and wait till they hit an IT of 200-205

Thank you to all who have posted their past smokes, tips, IT's, and steps on ribs as they netted my wife and I a wonderful dinner and some great leftovers for a late night snack,

and lunch tomorrow

Thanks for reading and looking at my today's smoke. I hope this is as much help to new members as the ones already posted.

 

[donegotfat]

As a side note... I be darn sure to have my gloves on next time I light my A-MAZE-N-PELLET-SMOKER

That bad boy got my attention and smarted me fairly well.

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• donegotfat
• Oct 22, 2016

 

[bdskelly]

LOL  Get yourself a pair of Gator Gloves.  We all have done that.  Ribs look perfect.  B

 

[mike5051]

Nice smoke on them ribs!  

Mike

 

[damon555]

Looking good. If you want more tender/FOTB ribs you need to keep them on a little longer. From the looks of the bones the pullback of the meat isn't quite enough.....a little longer on the smoker and they would have been more tender. Trial and error will get you where you want to be.....just be patient.