St Louis Ribs

[squirtthecat]

First time ribs, so everyone cross your fingers!

They look pretty in the package:




Rubbed (just a light Pecan rub from Houston) and coming to room temp:




Into the hot box:




CT probe placement: (thx to whoever for the paperclip trick)



Handy accessories I found at GFS. (food service supply store)  Just the right size to hold the Bradley racks, and they fit in the dishwasher:




I'll flip/rotate racks around 2:30 or so. The meatier ones are on the bottom right now.  

We'll see how they look at 4 when I boat them.

Wish me luck!

[FLBentRider]

Good luck!

You look like you are off to a good start.

Just to be clear, boating is more like a submarine than a canoe.

[squirtthecat]

Good luck!

You look like you are off to a good start.

Just to be clear, boating is more like a submarine than a canoe.

Thx!  I'm going to pile them in a foil pan w/ apple juice and cover tightly.  These bones look pretty sharp.

[mikecorn.1]

Ohhh yeah. love them pics. keep on posting.  ;D

[HawkeyeSmokes]

Looking good there Squirt, how's that cast iron pan working for you? Still need to add a heat sink in mine.

[squirtthecat]

Looking good there Squirt, how's that cast iron pan working for you? Still need to add a heat sink in mine.

Works great!   It recovered quickly (30 mins or so) after I put the coolish ribs.    That's measuring at my meat-level cabinet probe, not the door thermometer.  It'll be a an hour or so before that guy catches up.

Right now it is starting to rain, the temps are dropping and the breeze is picking up, so it will continue to fluctuate.   I've got my Maverick remote sitting here on my desk.  208..  It had shot over 230 earlier, so I backed the heat down a smidgen.   Touchy little critter.

[squirtthecat]

2.5 hours in...  Time to rotate/swap.

[pensrock]

looking great so far, i'm sure they will be very tasty when finished.
pens

[mikecorn.1]

Yeah. looking good. keep them pics coming.  :) :)

[squirtthecat]

Update...

Pulled at 4 to boat up with some apple juice.





Went to church at 5.   Had to turn the smoke generator off and the temps down as it was spinning past 230 as we were getting ready to leave.

[insert a few extra Hail Mary's here]

Came back at 6:20 and the box was down to 180.  Whoops.

Pulled the pan out for a peak:



Good, but the bones weren't loose at all.  The racks on the bottom of the pan were a little more tender than the ones on the top.   I think when the temperature dropped it went from 'cooking' to just 'staying warm'.


So, back up to 220 degrees and back in the Bradley.  Will check again in an hour.

I did slice a bit off of one end, and it does taste good.  But needs to soften up a bit.

The meat isn't pulling away from the bones yet, so I think they need some more time at the 200-ish range.


Thoughts?

[HawkeyeSmokes]

Looking good. Be patient and allow a little extra time for the temp drop and checking them. One other test for done is to twist the end of a bone, once it turns easy they should be falling off the bone ready.

[squirtthecat]

Looking good. Be patient and allow a little extra time for the temp drop and checking them. One other test for done is to twist the end of a bone, once it turns easy they should be falling off the bone ready.

Yeah, they didn't turn at all...   Hardly budged.     I think I shut down the cooking process at 5 when we left.  Will carry them at 210 for a while and check back later. (they are wrapped up tight in the pan now, as they were when I 'boated' them at 4-ish)




Question:   We're not eating these until tomorrow afternoon - should I put the entire 'boat' in the fridge overnight, or take them out of the juice and individually wrap them in foil for storage?

[mikecorn.1]

Will be looking forward to the final product. Hang in there, you got them ribs whipped.  ;D

[squirtthecat]

Thanks everyone for the tips/support.

I guess it is like the old "How do you get to Carnegie hall?" question...

Practice.
Practice.
Practice.

Holding at 208 now.  Will peek again at 8PM.     

Pizza for dinner, and Pujols (STL Cardinals) is up now...   Too much going on...

[HawkeyeSmokes]

I think that I would drain the juice, reserve it, and FTC the ribs, then refrigerate overnight.  Tomorrow, defat the juice and add some back to the ribs to rewarm before reheating them. Then off to the grill with your sauce as planned.