Overdone Ribs and Pork??

[Savage_1977]

What happens if the ribs are overdone? Do they get tough? I've tried smoking babybacks for about 5 to 6 hours @ 200 and they are still tough with the majority of the fat still present? What am I doing wrong?

[bsolomon]

First of all, welcome to the forum.  As to ribs, yes, if you overcook them they do become dry and tough.  One thing you will have to learn with the "low and slow" cookng mehtod employed here is that food is ready when it's ready.  Not to be evasive, but for the most part, you cannot judge simply by cooking time.  The real measure that is meaningful is internal temperature.  Ribs typically need to be cooked until they reach an internal temperature of somewhere around 185 degrees F.

So what does this mean?  First off, many of the people here swear by their thermometers, and many favor a dual-probe remote style, like a Maverick ET-73.  this lets you accurately monitor the cabinet temperature, as well as the temperature of the food item.  If you don't have agood thermometer, that might be the first thing to get on your wish list.  some peole here do equally well without it, but that typically requires a lot more practice.  

Second, you note that you have been cooking at 200 degrees.  this is a good target temperature for the cabinet, but one thing to keep in mind is that the built-in thermometer may not be the most robust or accurate ever created.  Certainly check it against another thermometer before you trust that that is the actual tempreature.

Third, after 5 to 6 hours, you say they are still fatty looking.  this tells us two things - for whatever reason they are not as cooked as they should be, and two - you peeked!  Seriously, one thing you have to learn with the Bradley is to keep the door closed and let the smoker do its thing.  If you have opened the door more than once, then expect to have to add 15-30 minutes for each time to compensate for lost heat.  People new to this smoker who don't trust their thermometer or instincts, tend to open the door a lot, and their cooking times go way up.

Fourth, what was the condition of the smoker and the meat when you started?  We typically recommend a 1 hour preheat for the smoker before putting in the meat, and as you get ready to start the preheat, we usually pull the meat out of the fridge to let it sit out for one hour.  This lets it warm up slightly.  When youput it in the cabinet, you need to be fairly quick.  Little or no preheat, fresh out of the fridge meat, and a lot of fiddling around to start off will result in a very long start-up time before things get cooking.

Let us know if any or all of this applies, and if not, give us more deatils and we'll give more advice.  Also, if you are worried about them drying out, you can place cheap, fatty bacon in a layer on the topmost rack, and it will "baste" the ribs while they cook.

[BigSmoker]

bsolomon with very good advice here.  The ribs were tough because they weren't done yet.  I love the part when he nailed you on peeking(did you?).  Very funny.  Welcome to the forum and your well on your way to the best ribs you've ever eaten[;)].

Jeff
//www.bbqshopping.com

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Some say BBQ is in your blood, if thats true my blood must be BBQ sauce.

[MallardWacker]

Here is a tread that might help a little.  Jeff and bsolomon is correct.

http://www.bradleysmoker.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=161&whichpage=1


SmokeOn,

mski
Perryville, Arkansas
Wooo-Pig-Soooie

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