ribs have good flavor but meat is tough

SMOKERDAVE · June 16, 2007, 10:43:09 AM

Hello everyone I just got my bradley original smoker about a week ago. I have smoked several chickens and porks butts with great results but the ribs turned out really tough. The flavor was good but needed a knife to eat. I used a dry rub and smoked them for 3 hrs at 220. I did not use a mop sauce or spray with apple juice. The ribs remp when done was 160 F. Do I need to spray with apple juice or mop suace to get them to come out tender. Will smoking them longer help also. I am new to smoking and am lovin it. This forum has some great info so keep up the goodposts.

Wildcat · June 16, 2007, 10:54:38 AM

Welcome to the forum. Did you remove the membrane? If not, that is part of your problem. If you want to do the total cook in the BS, then smoke for 2 to 4 hours and then simply let them stay until the meat on the ends tend to pull away from the bone with a gentle twist. I also recommend spraying with apple juice about every hour after the first 2 hours. I like to cook at 190 to 210 until done and FTC for 3 hours when I do the entire cook in the BS. Ribs are difficult to master so do not get discouraged. Practice makes perfect as they say.

smokin stu · June 16, 2007, 11:56:03 AM

I cook up two racks at a time regularly, normally 200 degrees for five hours, with the first three with smoke. I used to diamond cut the membranes until recently, when the fine folks on this forum convinced me to peel the membrane off. I use my own dry rub which is modified from Ted Reader's "Bone Dust" recipe.

I rotate the racks at three hours and spray with apple juice.

After five hours, they are a nice dry rib, but I like them a bit more juice so I paint them thick with a nice BBQ sauce and then FTC them stacked on each other and then in the foil. The BBQ sauce and the heat cook them up some more and distribute the juices.

Tasty, juicy, nice colour and texture, and fall off the bone.

SMOKERDAVE · June 20, 2007, 09:13:29 PM

Thanks alot for the info. I tried as best as I could to get them membrane of and after the fact found out you can just pull it off in one piece generally. I will try a couple of racks this weekend with the tips you guys gave me. Sad to say I went to roadhouse grill tonight and had their babybacks and they put mine to shame. Guess I got something to work towards. For some reason I thought cooking them longer would make the meat tougher. I had the best luck so far with the pork shoulders and chicken. Has anyone ever put the chicken in the oven under the broiler or high temp for awhile to crisp up the skin? Would this work or just dryout or overcook the meat? Ill have to try it? Thanks again and happy smokin!!!

Habanero Smoker · June 21, 2007, 02:37:54 AM

Crisp is a difficult texture to compare between people, so I like to say improving the chicken skin; because I have never been able to improve the texture to my satisfaction. I wouldn't place a whole chicken under the broiler. It would be better to use a hot oven temperature of 450°F - 475°F. If you have chicken parts, you could you the broiler, and monitor the closely.

I was going to experiment more before posting this, but thought if more were try this we may come up with a technique that will work. I read an article sometime back in Cook's Country in which they sprinkled cornstarch on the skin of chicken prior to grilling or roasting, and it improved the crispness of the skin. I recently made some chicken thighs and prior to smoking dusted the skin on some with corn starch. The results were mixed, and it may be related to not applying enough cornstarch and consistent coats.

Coming out of the smoker the skin was the same as the skin of the chicken that was not treated, but had a lighter color. I then grilled both at high heat to improve the texture of the skin. Most of the treated thighs, did get crisp (I do mean crisp), but it was only temporary. After about an hour the skin lost it's crispness. I'm going to try again, but apply more cornstarch, or maybe switch to arrow root.

PetersCreek · June 21, 2007, 09:52:32 AM

Howdy Dave...I made the very same mistake you did when I first tried smokin' ribs on my grill. I didn't let 'em go anywhere near long enough. They looked great and had good flavor but the just weren't chew-friendly. Nowadays, I usually cook three full racks in the Bradley at around 200°F for about 10 hours or so, then FTC 'em after that.

Vaison · November 05, 2007, 12:50:42 PM

Okay, I was about to write a similar post as I have had the same problem. I have only used my smoker twice - one brisket and one time for ribs. I simply followed the recipe instructions that Bradley provided and both meats came out dry and tough. I don't quite understand the lingo since I am new - ie. "FTC" them. I will try to make some time to browse through other posts to become familar, but any assistance to get me started here would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Wildcat · November 05, 2007, 01:00:35 PM

FTC = Foil, Towel, Cooler.

Click on the search button and type FTC. You can also search for brisket, ribs, pulled pork, chicken, etc. This is a quick way to find posts regarding the subject you want. You should also look at the recipe site. Click on the link at the very bottom of this post. Lots of good information. Welcome to the forum.

Gizmo · November 05, 2007, 09:22:05 PM

Smokerdave,
Do you still have any of them chewy ribs left?
Did the meat shrink back from the ends of the bone? Should be 1/2 inch or more?

If you have some ribs left over try this.
Take a large section of heavy duty foil. Place 3 or 4 tablespoons full of water, applejuice, or Jack Daniels, (I like the JD and AJ combination) on the foil with the ribs. Wrap tightly. Heat in an oven at 250 deg for 90 minutes. This should tenderize the ribs and add some moisture as well. When you unwrap the foil, the meat should have shrunk back from the ends of the bones if they were not already there. Let me know if this works for you.

Consiglieri · November 07, 2007, 12:05:16 AM

Well, here's a link to Iceman's technique, which has helped me form my own strategy:
http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=4290.0

Here's a summary of information gathered here and elsewhere that's helped me (it's an over simplification, but a good start):

http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=5348.msg49957

begolf25 · November 07, 2007, 06:38:19 AM

Welcome Dave! I had the very same problem when I started doing ribs. I realized ribs take patience, which is hard to have when you are starving and have a smoker full of ribs!

I usually smoke my ribs for about two hours then let them cook for another 3 in my Bradley for a total of 5 hours at 210. Then I will put them in a aluminum lasagna pan, add some apple juice, cover with foil and put them into the oven on 250-275 for another 3-4 hours. Then finish on the grill. I love the meat falling off the bone so that is why I go a little longer on my cook times.

Bryan

Stickbowcrafter · November 28, 2007, 12:13:20 PM

Welcome aboard! Sounds like you got some great advice above. Don't give up now...

-Brian

smokergirl · May 04, 2008, 02:45:55 PM

Hey there SmokerDave!

I have 3 Bradley's now. Orig- Dig- and the Propane- I still have no idea what I am doing!!! Ha ha . I very rarely smoke cause here in Bc a mishap is pricey but this forum is awesome as you may have found by now. I am peeking in today cause I am attempting ribs. GHusband insisted on the pre boil that I have been warned away from so it should be interesting.
Enjoy!

Smokergirl
(love to hear all hints and info as always)