What Did I Do Wrong????

[Burly567]

I did a rack of Pork Back Ribs using the 3-2-1 method. They are nearly too dry to eat.

My Temp was between 225 & 230 and I rested them wrapped at 150F for 30 minutes in the oven.

Any ideas or suggestions???

Thanks!

 

[kruizer]

You might have smoked them too long. Back ribs generally take about 5 hours to cook. 2-2-1 is best for back ribs.

 

[hoity toit]

Overcooked. Try placing the ribs in an old ice chest wrapped in a towel to rest and redistribute the moisture.

 

[SmokinVOLfan]

Exactly what hoity toit said. Instead of resting your meat in the warm oven just wrap it up and toss it in a cooler with old towels. Will stay warm for hours and wont continue to cook the meat. I think your resting period in the oven is causing your problems.

Ribs you don't really have to rest except to cool off

 

[texomakid]

I've ruined ribs doing something similar to this many years ago. They were overcooked as well as a couple of other things. Mine weren't eatable and we threw the whole rack away :(
Lesson learned. Sounds like yours were at least good enough to eat?

 

[SecondHandSmoker]

There is no need to let BBs rest.
I let mine cool down enough to handle before they get cut up and plated.

 

[Smokinoak]

Exactly what hoity toit said. Instead of resting your meat in the warm oven just wrap it up and toss it in a cooler with old towels. Will stay warm for hours and wont continue to cook the meat. I think your resting period in the oven is causing your problems.

Ribs you don't really have to rest except to cool off

 

[Smokinoak]

Exactly what hoity toit said. Instead of resting your meat in the warm oven just wrap it up and toss it in a cooler with old towels. Will stay warm for hours and wont continue to cook the meat. I think your resting period in the oven is causing your problems.

Ribs you don't really have to rest except to cool off

Exactly right. NO OVEN!

 

[gmc2003]

I did a rack of Pork Back Ribs using the 3-2-1 method. They are nearly too dry to eat.

My Temp was between 225 & 230 and I rested them wrapped at 150F for 30 minutes in the oven.

Any ideas or suggestions???

Thanks!

You mention your temp was at 225 to 230* is that the smokers temp or the ribs temp?

Did the ribs fall apart when you picked them up or did they stay kind of stiff with a slight bend?

Sorry for the questions, just trying to fully understand what happened. I've had dry ribs before, but it's more of an undercooked issue then an overcooked issue.

Chris

 

[radio]

I did a rack of Pork Back Ribs using the 3-2-1 method. They are nearly too dry to eat.

My Temp was between 225 & 230 and I rested them wrapped at 150F for 30 minutes in the oven.

Any ideas or suggestions???

Thanks!

What type of smoker? Did you use the smoker thermometer, or a remote probe? Did you add any liquid when you foiled them?
It seems my pellet grill dries out ribs, pork steaks and such a bit more than my stick burners do. I believe the fan is the culprit as it circulates the heat inside the cooking chamber

 

[Burly567]

I have an MES.

I read that ribs can stay warm in an oven for 4 hours (as per Jeff's cook book)

I added some sauce at wrapping. I did notice that when I unwrapped there was about a cup of liquid in the foil.

When I unwrapped for the final hour the ribs "broke". Meat was pulled away from the bone.

The ribs are tender but nearly too dry to eat. A good shot of Sweet Baby Ray's helps a bunch.

 

[gmc2003]

Ok it does sound overcooked. The 221 method is a better choice of baby backs.

 

[sandyut]

Have you tried no wrap and no sauce during the cook?

Refer to this write up I did for my last batch of baby backs. did the bend test to determine when done.

 

[radio]

I have an MES.

I read that ribs can stay warm in an oven for 4 hours (as per Jeff's cook book)

I added some sauce at wrapping. I did notice that when I unwrapped there was about a cup of liquid in the foil.

When I unwrapped for the final hour the ribs "broke". Meat was pulled away from the bone.

The ribs are tender but nearly too dry to eat. A good shot of Sweet Baby Ray's helps a bunch.

The factory thermometers are known to be off, sometimes wildly so! If you do not have one, invest in a dual probe remote thermometer like a Maverick or Thermopro and use it tomonitor smoker and meat temps. Some of us add just a wee bit of apple juice at the foiling stage to help keep them moist.

 

[Burly567]

I have a remote and a pen thermometer.
The only temp that I kept track of was smoker temp.

 

[chopsaw]

I bend test my ribs . I have several therms , that I use all the time . Some things I just learn when they are done .

 

[Burly567]

For some reason I don't trust my remote. I'm going to buy a new one within the next few days. I'm looking at a 6 probe BT unit that I can also use with my Big Easy SRG.

 

[radio]

For some reason I don't trust my remote. I'm going to buy a new one within the next few days. I'm looking at a 6 probe BT unit that I can also use with my Big Easy SRG.

Do the boiling water and ice water test on them. That will tell you if they are reading correctly or not. I test mine a couple of times a year just to verify things are reading as they should.

 

[Burly567]

I hadn't thought about doing that. Th hanks!!!

 

[SmokinAl]

I smoke my ribs to temp, not time. We like an IT of 195.
Also I've noticed that a lot of the BB's are coming with a thick piece of loin meat on the top. This part of the ribs tend to dry out before the rest of the ribs get done. So unless I see bb's without that chunk of loin on them, I buy St. Louis cut spares or whole spare ribs.
Al