Ribs question??

[colin985]

Hey. I just got a new bradley four rack for christmas. I was very excited to try it out so I picked up some baby back ribs a few days later to give it a try.  Up until now Ive only been smoking on an upright charcoal smoker I bought second hand a couple of years ago. But my father thought I should have an upgrade. :) So I did some reading on hear before I started and decided to try the 3 2 1 method at about 220*. My ribs were a little dry and didn't fall off the bone. I was a little disapointed. :( Also I found the meat of the ribs lost the pink color I'm use to. With my old charcoal smoker I would maintain a similar temperature for a similar amount of time and never wrapped them in foil and seemed to have much better results. Now a couple days after I decided to try smoking a chicken and had great results, and yesterday I cooked some salmon in my bradley which also turned out great. I was just wondering if anyone else out there continues using a different smoker for some things and uses their bradley for others? Or maybe I'm just doing something wrong? Thanks a lot for any help!

[KyNola]

Welcome to the forum.  Let me answer your last question first.  Yes, many of us have multiple smokers that we use for different products.

Baby back ribs typically don't take as long as the 3-2-1 method for spare ribs.  Next time, try 3-1-1 and see if that works better for you or don't foil them at all.  As for "they didn't fall off the bone", I'm not going to open that argument.  The reason they were a little dry is because the 3-2-1 method probably caused that.  A Bradley is not going to produce a smoke ring like your other smoker will.  I can't explain the chemistry as to why it won't but there is a chemical reaction reason that it doesn't.  Others will come along and explain the chemistry.

In the meantime, enjoy your smoker and don't get frustrated.  We have no mistakes here, just happy accidents that we get to eat! :)

[beefmann]

welcome aboard, and you are on the right track,, and kynola also gave some good advice