first attempt at ribs somewhat of a failure

[matwell]

Hello All,
Well my first use of the DBS to make some baby back ribs was somewhat a failure. I had a couple of issues with following the recipe from a book on smoking to closely. I anticipated my ribs would only take about 4-5 hours according to the book smoking at 250f, however not realizing this books cooking times were not consistent for an electric smoker. Basically, what happened was I had to leave for work before the ribs were done and transferred the ribs to my oven not wrapped in foil at 250f so my wife could finish the job. My wife tasted the ribs fresh out of the oven and she said the flavor was very good. I did not get to taste them until the next day and when reheated wrapped in foil with juice they were flavorful but tough. I used a dry rub overnight and I noticed within the first 2 hours of smoking the ribs developed a crust like texture. Is this consistent with the use of a dry rub? I tried to keep the temp around 225f - 250f the whole time but I was relying on the DBS to be accurate. The ribs did pull clean from the bone using a fork but were far from the falling off the bone I had hoped for. Any ideas why? Was transferring the ribs from the smoker to the oven to blame? I definitely opened the Bradley too often and from what I have read the temp gauge of the DBS is not accurate. I plan to order the Maverick asap. I was also advised to add a brick to help with temp recovery. Any criticism on my cooking method? Should I have done FTC if so when do I do FTC or can I get good quality ribs smoking right out of the DBS. Your help is much appreciated.

[Gizmo]

Welcome,

I transfer mine to the oven wrapped in foil (with some liquid as well) all the time.  The effect is braising or steaming that will keep them moist (if you have not dried them out in the smoker first) and will make them falling off the bone.  You should be able to reheat them as well in the same manner.  I would also be willing to bet that if you have any left and put them in foil with 3 table spoons of Apple Juice, Jack Daniels or what ever, and heat them at 210 deg for 90 minutes.  The digital readout on the DBS is not very accurate for the temperature that your meat is experiencing.  Sometimes I don't closely monitor the box temp on the ribs.  When doing 3 racks or more, the oven set point is usually at or close to max for the first 3 hours and then I start dropping it.  The digital readout for my system typically reads about 20 deg low until the meat temp starts to get up around 140 deg.  For any meat that takes longer than 4 hours to cook, I always finish in the oven in a foil boat with some liquid and a foil lid.  I use the foil boat as the heavy duty foil tends to get holes in it and all the liquid drains out onto the floor of the oven.  If you want BBQ Sauce, you can put that on before putting them in the boat.  I will then finish them off on a very hot grill just to carmelize the sauce.  You can also use the BS as an oven.  I prefer my house oven as it is a convection oven and also has a temperature probe so that when the IT reaches the desired set point, the oven goes to a 150 deg hold mode.  Truely set it and forget it. 

[begolf25]

I follow the same method as Giz. My first couple batches of ribs turned out the same way yours did. Good flavor but tough. I usually smoke my ribs in the Bradley for about 2 hours then let them cook for another 3 at 210. Then transfer to my oven for 3-4 hours on 250-275 until done to desired tenderness. Then finish on the grill.

This is time consuming but well worth the wait. Good luck on your next batch!

[brderj]

I did ribs too, except I used spare ribs and I didn't trim them up.  I did that on purpose...by purpose I mean "dumb thing to do"  I had to stack the ribs and that let the juices run down on each other...which was fine until I got to the bottom stack of ribs and they were covered in juices.  All that fat pretty much rendered out but I lost a lot of my rub, which was to damn spicy anyway.   :o  Thank God I use a pan near the bottom otherwise I think my smoker would have been swimming in all that liquid making a huge mess.  Anyway.... ::)  I finished mine off in the oven as well, wrapped in foil.  They were good, tender, falling off the bone.  When I re heated them it was much of the same.  If I could do it over I would have trimmed them up or used baby backs, maybe get one of those rib stacker doo hickies.   ;)  Oh...and WAY less chipotle and pepper on the rub  ;D  ;D  ;D

[SKSmoker]

When I do ribs, I do them all in the smoker. My ribs take anywhere from 6 to 9 hours to smoke/cook at 250F. Forget BBQ books when using the bradley. The electric smoker is a totally different beast and things will take much, much longer to get done. I have never FTC'd my ribs, and I baste with BBQ sauce two times, 30 minutes before they come off. I also spray my ribs with either Apple juice/maple syrup combo or an Apple Cider juice, AFTER 1.5hours of smoking, every 30 minutes. Haven't had a dry rib yet. I place my ribs on the middle shelves and rotate up/down every hour and front to back every 2 hours.