Stupid newb questions about cooking ribs

[PaulyT]

I'm displaying my ignorance here, but I'm completely new to smoking (of any sort) and just got my pellet grill last week. I want to do some ribs, and am trying to figure out the general process. I've been reading many threads/recipes here to get an idea of how it's done, but still have a few questions - stuff that you pros take for granted but little details I need clarification on. So here goes... thanks in advance for any/all advice!

Seems like the general outline of a rib cook is:

1) Dry rub the meat and let sit for a while

2) Smoke at 250 +/- 25 for ~2-3 hours

3) Add sauce/glaze and "foil" for ~30 minutes

4) (sometimes) Remove foil and finish at high temp for a bit


Questions:

Is that more or less correct? How do you know when stages #2 and #4 are finished? Ribs may be too thin or too much bone to use a temp probe accurately? Do you put the foil-wrapped package back on the grill during #3, or just let it sit without external heat?


Sorry for the dumb questions. Hope to try my first rack today!

 

[PaulyT]

Oh yeah, and what do you use to remove the infamous membrane on the bottom?

 

[Pappymn]

Oh yeah, and what do you use to remove the infamous membrane on the bottom?

I purchased a food grade needle nose pliers. Works great for me. Got it at amazon.com.

 

[PaulyT]

Thanks! May try that. With a little futzing around I managed to get the membrane off by grasping with a paper towel, but there was a little swearing involved.

 

[Wing Commander]

Oh yeah, and what do you use to remove the infamous membrane on the bottom?

I use a teaspoon. Works fantastic.

Your other questions are not easy to reply because everybody will have an own method - here is mine:

stage #1: That's right. Many here do add mustard to make the rub adhere to the ribs better. IMHO this makes the rub affect slower to the meat, so let the ribs rest a bit longer. I usually use peanut oil to make the rub adhere to the meat.

stage #2: The cooking time depends on the meat on the ribs and the cooking temperature, of course. I usually go by the color of the ribs, but it's difficult to explain, when the color is right That's approximately after 1,5 - 2 hours. Sometimes 1 hour is enough, sometimes they need 3 hours. Spritzing with a mixture of apple juice and apple cidre from time to time is optional.

stage #3: I don't add any glaze at this stage. Just some liquid, whatever I like to try out (my faves at the moment are cranberry sirup with cherry beer), not too much: 2 - 3 tablespoons on the bottom of the foil, then put the ribs with the bones down inside. Wrap in foil and put 'em back on the cooker. Some people turn up the heat a bit in this stage. I usually do not. I let them go for 1 or 2 hours in this stage, depending on how much meat they have.

stage #4: Remove foil and have a look at the consistence of the ribs (best with a toothpick). If they are quite soft you don't need too much time to finish them. Add sauce or glaze immediately. If not go on cooking 15 - 30 minutes and try again and finally, when they are soft enough, add your sauce or glaze. Add 1 or 2 layers, not more. You might raise the temperature, I usually don't: most glazes consist of much sugar or honey that will grow black and bitter with too high heat.

Hope I could have helped you.

 

[PaulyT]

Thanks Wing Commander! Very good info.

 

[Matt Dalton]

Here is what we do..smoke setting for a hour ramp up to 275 for 2 more hrs or until color and bark is set..then wrap tightly in foil with your choice of liquid(I highly recommend adding parkay to this mix)put back on meat side down(so the meat of the ribs is in the braising liquid)depending on thickness of the ribs I usually start checking about the 45 min mark..look for about 1/2-3/4 inch pull back of the bones from the meat..when done pull from the foil sauce and back on the grill for 5-10 min..so it's rub,smoke,set bark,foil until tender,set sauce and enjoy!

 

[TentHunter]

Questions:

Is that more or less correct? Sorry for the dumb questions...

No such thing as a dumb question.

In addition to the tips already given:

When foiling, you can use a small amount of liquid, beer, vinegar, brown sugar, whiskey, fruit Juice, Honey/butter, some watered down BBQ sauce, etc. The options are limited only to your imagination.


How to tell if they're done.

Bend test: Use tongs to gently pick them up on one end. If the meat starts to tear where they bend, then they are done!

Toothpick test: Insert a toothpick in the thickest part of the meat. If the toothpick slides in nice and easy with little resistance, then they're done. If you have to push it in, they're not ready.

If they're not ready check back in another 15-30 minutes.


Other tips: If foiling, don't waste the foil drippings. They can make a great sauce or be mixed with some BBQ sauce. There's a lot of flavor there!

Remember the old saying, "If you're lookin', You ain't cookin'" Resist the urge to check too often.

Keep a simple log of your cook (time, temps, etc.) so you can duplicate or adjust as needed next time.

Don't worry about getting them perfect. Just enjoy the ride and don't be afraid to try different methods.


Good luck with your first rib cook and take pics to post!

 

[PaulyT]

Cool, thanks. So what I'm hearing is that during the foil stage, you want something fairly liquid, as opposed to your typical bbq sauce. That's good to know.

 

[PaulyT]

Thanks, TentHunter! All makes sense. Yeah, I can tell everyone has their own distinct style of cooking, and I do indeed plan to experiment - as often as I can.

 

[TentHunter]

This may help if you're trimming Spareribs: http://www.pelletsmoking.com/hall-fame-recipes-22/how-trim-st-louis-style-spare-ribs-2264/

 

[PaulyT]

Well, since I haven't had nearly enough pork products in my diet lately today it's time to attempt some ribs, using the above advice to get me started. We had already defrosted a small set of spare ribs from our farm, then we decided that was way too small for a family of 4 and got a larger rack from whole foods. Yeah I know I probably shouldn't cook such differently sized racks at the same time, but it's what we have and it'll help me learn a bit, I hope, how to recognize when they're done.

So, dry rub (Meadow Creek) applied, sat in the fridge all morning, and now goes on the grill @ 250.

After ~2.5 hours (and a little more for the large rack, maybe a bit too much?), taken off and ready to be foiled:

... sealed in with a little butter, and a mixture of stout beer and agave nectar, back on the grill for 45 min, still @ 250.

More to follow...

 

[Chili Head]

Look'n good so far!

 

[PaulyT]

Failure

Out of the foil, sauce (Blues Hog) applied, on the grill for ~10min @ 450.

Final product:

Yeah I think it was definitely overcooked, and the sweet sauce burned a bit, probably shouldn't have taken the grill temp up so high at the end. I might have used too much liquid in the foiling, as it had a bit of that tough boiled texture in places. The texture of the meat wasn't all that bad in other places, though (closer to the center of the rack), and it came off the bone easily. Probably not the best cuts of meat, either of these... but I could've lived with it cooked like this even if it's nowhere near perfect.

However, the big BIG failure was that the rub I used had way too much salt; I guess it wasn't really meant to be used as a rub. The meat was way too salty to eat.

Ah well, live and learn. Next time will be better!

Fortunately, I still have leftover Bacon Explosion New Mexicaine for dinner.

 

[TentHunter]

When foiling I find 1/4 to 1/2 cup of liquid per rack is plenty. The 450° pit temp at the end is pretty hot and can overcook thin parts of ribs quickly and make them tough.

Ah well, live and learn. Next time will be better!

Exactly the right way to look at it!

Good job, even if they didn't turn out as expected. You still learned and that you will carry into your next cook!

 

[squirtthecat]

"Our mistakes become soft tacos".

Not my line, but I've seen it on another forum, and it rings true here! Pull/chop those ribs for some BBQd rib sliders. The salt will mellow down after a night in the fridge.

Try a couple racks 'naked' (sans foil) so you can get a feel for how fast they are cooking. Try 4 hours at 250° and see how they are, then maybe another hour or so until the meat pulls back from the bone about 1/2 and inch.

When you get that dialed in, you can 'speed' cook them with the foil stage.

Ribs are probably the hardest thing to get right out of the box..

 

[PaulyT]

Thanks, I'll try that!

 

[cowdog]

Give Matt Dalton's technique a try. I have used his technique on several rib cooks, now use it exclusively, and have gotten rave reviews from those that have tasted. This technique produces very good ribs.

 

[Chili Head]

It's all good! Even the crunchy edges! I just power through it when I do that hehehe.
You'll get it..just keep cooking man! It won't be long you'll be making perfect ribs. How was the agave nectar on them? I have some to try but haven't yet.

 

[PaulyT]

I was hard to taste much through the salt... but I'll probably try the agave again; it's sweet but a lighter flavor than honey, so it may work well if you want sugar/syrup but without the fairly forward honey taste.