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smoking first time ribs

peter pepper

peter pepper

I finally got around to smoking ribs yesterday (sorry no pics). Rubbed them the night before and smoked for about 3 hours at right around 225F. I know they were good when - my wife said these are good. She's not a huge BBQ (ribs, brisket, etc) fan - mainly she likes steak, burgers, hotdogs. So I knew they must be good because she even went back for seconds.

I think I may have cooked them slightly over - they weren't real juicy. But they were good. Now I can't wait to give it a go again, but this time experiment slightly since I have some sort of idea what I am doing.

I do have a question: I have some leftover and was wondering if I just threw these on the grill for like 5 mins would this work to warm them back up and would they be fine this way??

-PP
 
As you said they weren't super juicy, I'd wrap them in plastic wrap and then foil and toss them on the grill to warm up. If you think it's needed, a little added moisture like sauce or beer before wrapping can't hurt either. They'll be fine.

Cheers, TB.
 
The good thing about cooking low and slow is, if meat gets dry, the only think that escaped is water, not flavor. Fill a spray bottle with apple juice and spray the ribs down every 30 minutes or so. This adds the water back in with some flavor as well. The key is to keep them moist and not let them dry out.
 
thats strange because i usually cook mine for about 4-5 hours minumum and they never dry out...

i usually follow a 3-1-1 idea... 3 hours in smoker,1 hour wrapped in foil(with liquid in foil), 1 hour back on the smoker out of the foil(i add sauce here) to firm up

and yes on the reheating them on the grill...will be good...maybe add a little sauce to them as well...
 
Anytime I smoke I always add a mixture of apple cider and water in either a drip pan or a water box. Luckily my large smoker holds 2 gallons of liquid and built into the smoker directly over the fire box. I just fill it up and it has nice little then slices that allow a mist of steam to excape for the first 2 hours the meat is cooking. Helps keep moisture in especially for those long smokes. Make sure to get some pics next time.
 
BamsBBQ said:
thats strange because i usually cook mine for about 4-5 hours minumum and they never dry out...

i usually follow a 3-1-1 idea... 3 hours in smoker,1 hour wrapped in foil(with liquid in foil), 1 hour back on the smoker out of the foil(i add sauce here) to firm up

and yes on the reheating them on the grill...will be good...maybe add a little sauce to them as well...
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I don't think I've ever had meat dry out from smoking either. You can smoke a pretty long time without anything drying out. Your temperature gauge may be off, sounds like the temperature was too hot and too much moisture escaped.

EDIT: I see you were at 225, that's the top end for smoking, really it is over a bit, smoking is ideally 180-220 (Bam correct me if I'm wrong). So if your gauge is off by 5 degress, you were at 230 which is too high. Just a guess.
 
I do about 220 and I like that temp. I also do lower. Works for me.
 
there is no wrong way to smoke/bbq...everybody has their desired temps...

but on my smokers/bbq's my gauges read like this

bbq_thermometer_gauge_2_6.jpg
 
BamsBBQ said:
there is no wrong way to smoke/bbq...everybody has their desired temps...

but on my smokers/bbq's my gauges read like this

bbq_thermometer_gauge_2_6.jpg
Click to expand...

actually thats the exact same gauge i have. my smoker is electric (yeah I know it's the lazy man's way) and I was at about 225F - after I added the ribs I had to raise the setting on my control to get back to 225F - maybe I should have left well enough alone and let it go. i did like the whole package of ribs (2 racks) was only like $9 (st. louis style cut). so it's not that expensive for me to experiment more next time.
 
Just in case you're talking past each other, barbeque is never actually juicy the way a steak is. The only real exception being cut up chicken. But mammal you end up cooking it to hell and back and the wet feel in your mouth is fat. Unless of course you braise them, but that's different.
 
Vespucci said:
Just in case you're talking past each other, barbeque is never actually juicy the way a steak is. The only real exception being cut up chicken. But mammal you end up cooking it to hell and back and the wet feel in your mouth is fat. Unless of course you braise them, but that's different.
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ummm then you havent had good bbq then... my pulled pork,brisket and ribs are juicy... if its overcooked or not done properly then yah
 
Agreed Bam. Everything I made Monday came out juicy. Maybe it's the water-smoker or maybe just good karma.
 
Agree with Bam here. Pulled pork must be juicy to be able to shred, that's when you do it just right and reach the perfect internal temp. If it's dry, it's chopped pork, because it won't pull, so you take a couple cleavers to it.
 
thehotpepper.com said:
Agree with Bam here. Pulled pork must be juicy to be able to shred, that's when you do it just right and reach the perfect internal temp. If it's dry, it's chopped pork, because it won't pull, so you take a couple cleavers to it.
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and 99 times out of a 100 the reason it wont pull and you have to chop it is because it wasnt brought up to proper pulling temps. the collagen in the meat wasnt converted To gelatin and the connective tissue wasnt broken down enough

i inject my butts and brisket and follow a general guideline of For sliced pork, cook to 180-185°
For pulled pork, cook to 190-205°

but each piece of meat is different and one butt will pull at 180 and another wont
 
Hey PP were you smoking on a smoker or indirectly with like a weber kettle or something in the like? indirect is a bit more difficult to keep the ribs off direct heat and can get away from you. LIke said above 220-250 is your zone. I do the same as Bam with 3-1-1 which is usually for baby backs large rack of spares I tend to go with a 3-2-1 -- The first hour they are on dont open the hood and check on them after that hour apply your mop about every time you add some chips about every 1/2 hour or so. Drying out tends to be to hot -- low and slow is the mantra and have plenty of cold ones -- it takes a couple of times to get it to where you like it then you are prejudice against most bbq unless its yours.

Good luck
 
Vespucci said:
Here is a great video discussing this exact subject matter. Granted it's from a TV show. 5:00 to 7:00 being the most relevant segment.
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yup you just proved my point...alton says to bring it up to 200*F... he then let it rest for an hour to bring the juices back into the meat

his still wasnt brought up to proper temps because he had a hard time pulling it and ended up chopping it..
 
LUCKYDOG said:
Hey PP were you smoking on a smoker or indirectly with like a weber kettle or something in the like? indirect is a bit more difficult to keep the ribs off direct heat and can get away from you. LIke said above 220-250 is your zone. I do the same as Bam with 3-1-1 which is usually for baby backs large rack of spares I tend to go with a 3-2-1 -- The first hour they are on dont open the hood and check on them after that hour apply your mop about every time you add some chips about every 1/2 hour or so. Drying out tends to be to hot -- low and slow is the mantra and have plenty of cold ones -- it takes a couple of times to get it to where you like it then you are prejudice against most bbq unless its yours.

Good luck
Click to expand...



no it was on a smoker. I think I'm going to stop and get some ribs on the way home tonight and give another go this weekend. so i can try again.
 
Were they close to the opening to the firebox? Pickup an oven thermometer to place on the rack to check temps they are sold at the gorcery mart. Try using a mop as well good luck !
Here is a simple mop you put in a spray bottle or dab on:

3-cups Apple juice - (or beer)
1-Cup Vegetable oil
1/2 Cup Worcestershire sauce
1/2 Cup Cider Vinegar
1-2 Tbsp of your Rub (optional)
 
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