Barbqjim well done on the ribs, and thanks for sharing how your new MES makes it simpler and easier to smoke quality Q.
That is what MES really means: M aking it E asy to S moke.
Also Todd is super at customer service, I ordered two new probes for my Mav 732 and dang if he didn't have them out and to me in two days, impressive.
Regarding cooking ribs, if you can find season one of BBQ pitmasters, the world's best Rib cooker Johnny Trigg (Smokin' Triggers) reveals some of his winning secrets. IMHO some go way to far with what they put on their ribs to enhance their flavor profile. Trigg shows a couple of tricks to add flavor but still keep the process simple. I have friends and relatives that keep telling me how they marinade their tri-tip & chicken and it tastes so good, and then try their food and it is ok but really disappointing the deep rich flavors you want to taste have been masked by all the stuff they have done. Ribs are easy, and very forgiving, a good rub, cook at the proper temp (low & slow) I use 225º (I am a strong advocate for using water in the smoker, just like most of the competition teams do now), know when to the rib is read to to move to each stage. 221 or 321 are great rules of thumb but not all ribs & certainly not all smokers are the same, so is 2 hours or 3 hours the time to move to step two? Depending on if your cooking Baby Back or Spares the way to know is the same, "how much meat pull back at the rib tip". If there is little to no pull back, your ribs are not ready, and will be tough, if there is 1/2" + pull back the ribs are already over cooked, you want to see about 1/4" - 3/8" average pull back and then move on to stage two.
Stage two, most foil, some do not. I am a foil guy, the foil process with a little apple juice or liquid of your choice, is a steaming and tenderizing period, during this stage the connective tissues will break down and you will achieve that bite everyone is looking for. I use apple juice with some of my rub mixed in to spritz and leave about 1/8 of cup of juice in my two rib rack packets. During this stage is where Johnny Trigg does some of his tricks so watch the show and learn. This past year I tried one or two and got positive feed back. So during this stage you can get creative. Again knowing when to move on to next stage is important, you want the rack to bend, but not tear apart. Personally I tear off the very smallest bone and see how tough that tear is, also I taste the rib, I can still make slight adjustments here for flavor.
Stage three, is saucing stage if you use sauce, open the packets wide open, couple of brushes of sauce and let that sauce set up. If using no sauce you have to keep your ribs moist so they won't dry out, so spritzing is needed, (I have to say I love sauced ribs, but if the seasoning is right a dry ribs is a beautiful thing when done just right). I also am paying attention at this stage to done-ness, you really don't want "fall off the bone" that is over cooked, you should be able to bite into a finished rib and see your bite pattern is right there, the surround meat still in place. Most of the time I will open the packet in stage three hit with sauce, then close the packet, and remove from heat. I will finish the ribs on the BBQ grill with more sauce and go for caramelization of the sauce. Since I know I am grilling at the end, I try to keep the ribs a little bit less cooked at the end of stage two and finish on the grill. Yes I also just open the packet and sauce then finish in the MES. But a several times a year I cook for 30-50 people, where I smoke the ribs at home, then at stage 3 I hit light with sauce, reseal foiled rib, place in insulated cooler- sealed, then finish on the BBQ grill two, three, four hours later, at some other location.
SMOKE - ON - DUDE!
