Rib success

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starwalt12

Cook
Joined
Nov 1, 2011
Messages
81
Location
Windsor, IL
Thursday night I was bound and determined to do some ribs and get it right. I started by inviting a couple of friends over that night for some drinks and later on some BBQ. I asked several questions on the board here and all were answered. I started the smoker at 4:15 pm at 5:10 pm the tibs hit the smoker and at that point it was holding a steady 250 degrees for about 20 minutes( throuhg the whole smoke it didnt budge from 250). I used the minion methond, almost completely filling the chamber with charcoal, layering 3 chunks of apple wood in the middle and then placing 3 chunks on top. I then lit 25 coals and placed them evenly around the top of the camber full of charcoal. anyway, ribs went on then the baked beans went in on bottom rack with a few holes in the foil top to allow the smoke to get into there too, and as it would be the rib juices dripped in there too :D . I didnt open that smoker for 3 hours then got the ribs out foiled them put them back in and waited 2 hours before opening again. Took ribs out of foil and went anohter hour, I followed the "texas crutch" to the T. took them off and wrapped in foil and let rest for around 20 min maybe 30, I was unable to wait any longer. Now, these ribs had the look, the color, and the smell. These ribs were AWESOME!! I dicided I may do one or two things differently next time such as modifying the "crutch: , modifying the amount of rub, and so on. Only one friend was able to show up and only his second time eating ribs in his life. I made him a fan. I must say I was rather proud of my self.

The bad news: I was so excited I remembered a picture after we ate like we had never eaten before.
 
bbquzz said:
Sorry .... No Pictures = No Cook!

Ya I figured I had that comin :oops: . However I forgot that I took a pic with my crappy phone. tryin ti figure out how to get it on here. It was however a pic before the ribs went on for the last hour.
 
When you foil next time, try a layer of honey, margarine and brown sugar on the foil the length of the ribs. Lay the ribs meat down in that mix, then do the same on the bones then fold up the foil and continue to cook meat down. Double foil so the mixture won’t run out. You'll have candied ribs. A bit sweet but really good We do 2.5 hrs no foil than 1.5-2 hrs with the foil. Remove them leaving in the foil and keep them in the Cambro till turn in time. They go back on the smoker for 15-20 min to dry em up a bit then slice and sauce. We took our scores to top 10 calls at almost every comp doing this. Again they come out really sweet and if done correctly you’ll have a bit of a candy coating on the ribs.
 
Nick Prochilo said:
Now I can believe it! Glad it all worked out! What kind of things are you going to do different next time?

Yeah, what Nick said, now I too can believe, crappy or not, pictures prove it. Those rib and the picture look good! Thanks for posting.
 
Nick Prochilo said:
Now I can believe it! Glad it all worked out! What kind of things are you going to do different next time?

Well, I believe i'ma use just a bit less rub, my wife said it was a bit salty, it didnt seem like it that night. I had had a few drinks, actually more than a few, but the next day it was, just a bit salty, not overly but just a lil bit. I also think I may modify, as someoneelse said here on the board, to shorten the foiled time by an hour and to split that hour and add a half each to the beginning and end cook times. The rub I used here was 17th Street rub, it is good stuff. Thanks for the kind words guys!
 
Starwalt, you probably already know this, but if it was salty, maybe it's the wrong rub for the taste YOU are trying to get on your ribs. Now, I'm one to talk, I have one rub that I use religiously on everything, brisket to fish. But realize that different rubs are meant to accent the meat itself. Next time you do the ribs, maybe tweak your rub by adding a little more brown sugar??

One thing that has helped me is to write everything down. Times, temps, weather, prep. Then note the result and if you want to try something different next time. Sounds kind of geeky, but it helped me! But sounds like you are on the right track! Keep Smokin!
 
Very easy to get ribs too salty..think it the meat to bone ratio meaning there really aint much meat there. If you have a salty rub use less or else trade it in for a lower salt concoction. My ribs never played well with honey in the foil. Wound up getting some with the case hardening "candy crunch" bite. If you do it just right it gets hard as a rock on the outside to where it can't hardly be cut with a knife. Once you break the shell the ribs is ok on the inside. The crunchy outside never seemed to impress any judges where we were at. Maybe we were using too much. Hard to say. Now I do like a little honey in the glazing step.
 
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