Wrap or No Wrap for Ribs

[normanaj]

I generally don't wrap but on occasion when there's a time constraint I'll wrap to hurry things along.

 

[civilsmoker]

Spun a half rack in the air fryer . These are probably around 180 . Eats like roast pork . Fantastic flavor .
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That does look tasty for sure! I think I would have been a bark monster while slicing that!! lol…. Rack of pork is a fav at our house!!!

 

[Its_Raw]

Thank you all for the replies. We are having people over this Sunday and I am wondering now on cooking times. In the short past, it took 6-hrs to smoke and wrap full rack spare ribs. If I do not wrap, will it take less time?

 

[smokerjim]

When I do spares I do them at 250 5-7 hours. It sort of depends on how thick they are.

 

[fxsales1959]

What’s the verdict on wrap vs no wrap ribs? To be honest, I do not care for braised meat. Wrapping port shoulder, chuck roast, or ribs tastes like braised meat and it stands to reason since the wrap is brazing The meat. So, I would like to try no wrap ribs, but not sure the cons. What say you?

I quit wrapping. before I fell into this band of enablers I just did what the internet suggested with a 3-2-1 method. It always yielded FOTB (fall off the bone)ribs, and I'm not a FOTB fan. Now I go unwrapped on my WSM at 250-275. typically 4-5 hours.

 

[jcam222]

I go back and forth. I did wrapped at 225 this past weekend and they were phenomenal.

 

[zwiller]

What is the risk of them being too dry and how do you avoid this?

This is a sign you do not understand that basics. First off, wrapping or braising simply traps moisture which raises the temp inside. It does NOT magically trap moisture inside meat. People mistakenly think it does because most often the meat ends up swimming in liquid AFTER the meat has fully cooked/rendered. 2nd, smoking ribs (and most proteins with few exceptions) is like the exact opposite of cooking a chicken breast where OVERCOOKING is better than under. Your goal as pitmaster is to get the complete breakdown and conversion of collagen and fat (rendering) of the meat. Takes time and temps to do. While you CAN actually overcook and make ribs dry, it's actually pretty hard to do in reality. 3rd. You're flying blind unless you have a thermometer. Get an instant read on Amazon for $10. For my ribs, I am pretty close to civilsmoker and go to about 195-200F IT. Not quite FOTB but you CAN eat with knife and fork. Aim a little lower for tug on the bone and higher for FOTB. Learned all of this here and feel it is my duty to ensure it's understood.

 

[Its_Raw]

Swiller - excellent information, thank you. I have a ThermoPro 4-probe thermometer and a handheld instant read. I do monitor the temps as I go.

 

[schlotz]

Spares can get done in less than 6 hours depending on the smoker temp used. For spares or St. Louis cut ribs I lightly spray with canola oil, add the rubs we like and smoke at 245-255º. Usually they get done (clean bite, not FOTB) around 5-5.5 hours. Each rack can be different. I have wrapped in years and they turn out moist.

 

[bbqbrett]

I usually wrap. Got used to doing it when practicing for a couple of comps I did way back when. Was able to get really good results with the bite mark but not fall off the bone. I should go back and play around with some now without wrapping.

 

[sandyut]

No wrap on nothin.

Ribs are 250 for 6 hours give or take

 

[912smoker]

I usually wrap. Got used to doing it when practicing for a couple of comps I did way back when. Was able to get really good results with the bite mark but not fall off the bone. I should go back and play around with some now without wrapping.

^^^^^Same here Brett and the fam have grown to prefer wrapped. I run 300° and usually 4hrs or so for 195-203 IT and bite thru.

Keith

 

[texomakid]

I guess you should have done a poll I sure prefer no wrap since I'm the king of lazy ... I mean easy

Let me be perfectly clear here, I'll eat a rib regardless if it's wrapped or not so there's that :) I'll eat a bunch of 'em!

 

[daspyknows]

I don't wrap my meat. Never have dry ribs.

 

[ReelFaster]

FOTB fan here for sure, so I do wrap them in butcher if on hand or most times just foil. I find them to always be juicy, tender and moist.

 

[Inscrutable]

I don’t wrap for me and other clean-bite fans, I wrap for the FOTB crowd (which unfortunately includes my wife and most of daughter’s family. So always a 2-rack minimum here.

 

[Buckeyedude]

Doing more and more no wrap.

However, if the malt licka be flowing, so are my words and rhymes! Rap it is boi

 

[crazymoon]

IR, I did two racks yesterday( wrapped) at 225(6hrs). My wife likes them close to FOTB, happy wife is a happy life.

 

[Bigtank]

I wrap in butcher paper. In a modified version of 3-2-1, I monitor them closely so I get a nice clean bite. I developed this method when I was doing some competitions.

 

[tpc74]

I've done it both ways, I really don't have a preference or see that much difference. The fam prefers fotb ribs anyway.

Actually their favorite ribs are what we call "wine ribs" and they are cooked in a foil pan or a "boat" in a bath of 50/50 sauce/wine mix. Then we take them out (hopefully pre fotb) and pour out some of the sauce into a pot, and if its a little thin add more sauce and warm it up. Ribs go on the weber kettle brushed with the leftover sauce mix from the pot and flipped a few time while they caramelize.

I season the ribs prior to pouring in the mix with a decent amount of kosher salt. Not too much though or all you taste is salt. And not table salt.