How about some rib advice

[Bedford]

I've smoked plenty of rib racks on my old smoker, but never on my Traegar yet. I see on here where a lot of you pull and wrap your ribs in foil, then take the foil off to let them "set". What's the time limit here? How long on smoke, how long in foil, etc? What do you like to put in the foil with each rack? We are having a non-traditional Easter Sunday with BBQ. I'm doing pulled pork, did that 2 weeks ago and it was a hit and I'm wanting ribs and maybe chicken. So far I've done chicken, pork butt, chops, tenderloin, rib eye roast, country style ribs and steaks on the Traegar. Oh and pizza and a few other things, but no ribs. I will either buy St Louis style, or trim spare ribs to that likeness. Probably anywhere from 3-4 lb racks. I've got some rubs, sauces that I like, I'm just not sure with the timing. I'm probably going to leave the Traegar on smoke for at least 2 hours before or if I bump the heat up.

Thanks

 

[3Bs-Bar-B-Que]

I will give you my time and temp time frame but its a comp. time and temp time frame adjust as needed
pit temp 265. why seems to render down fat better <for me >2 hr pull off pit wrap inside goes honey- butter more BP rub some hot sauce wrap tight back on smoker 50 min oh meat side down in foil ok unwrap flip over add more BP rub and let them get happy for 30 min then first layer of sauce 15 min after that 2sec. layer of sauce then off the smoker onto rib racks for 10 mins then into cambro till ready to cut this got my a 2nd place in a rib only comp. last weekend out of 22 teams

 

[scooter]

So far I've done chicken, pork butt, chops, tenderloin, rib eye roast, country style ribs and steaks on the Traegar. Oh and pizza and a few other things

OK Mike, you been onboard here for over a month now, you've cooked "chicken, pork butt, chops, tenderloin, rib eye roast, country style ribs and steaks on the Traegar. Oh and pizza and a few other things" and have asked for lots of advice but I've not seen much more than a couple fish pics from you showin us what you've been up to in your backyard!! Come on now, it's a two way street on PS.com so if you don't start showin us what you're cookin in your Traeger, I'm afraid we're just gonna have to stop answering the Qs until you start showin us some evidence that the advice yer gettin is gettin put to good use!


Hey Scott! Good to see you posting!

 

[HoDeDo]

Well if you search "Sparky" and "Ribs", I imagine you will get about 1241 posts. -- so lots of info there.... but in general, for a traeger I just set at the 225 mark, and let it ride. The foil wrap depends on how you like your ribs... do you like a dry rib with a nice spicy bark? Do you like a saucy rib? Do you like them sweet/KC style? Usually about 2.5 hrs in, they get a nice dark red color to them.... if I am cooking at home, I just coat with a little rub, and bacon grease, then spritz (once) with apple juice. They get crusty on the outside, and moist/tender on the inside. YUM! but for comps,when they hit that nice dark red color, I wrap with rub, brown sugar, and honey. and let them cook in tightly wrapped foil, until done, usually another 2 hrs. Hit with sauce/glaze for a shiny finish... and eat!

 

[TentHunter]

You say you've "smoked plenty of rib racks on your old smoker." Are you happy with them and the technique you used?

If the answer is yes, then why change anything except the grill on which you're cooking them? Apply the same technique to your Traeger and see how they turn out, then if necessary adjust from there.

Never be afraid to experiment with other methods/techniques. But for important dinners, especially when guests are involved, stick to what you know.