My First Smoke in Digital 4 Rack - Ribs

[OTB]

I had burried this at the bottom of another post, but decided to move it here:
=============================================

Well the day has finally come.  After everybodys help, and all my stupid questions, I finally picked up 3 racks of baby back ribs yesterday, rubbed them last night and wrapped in plastic wrap, then seasoned the smoker this morning before starting my first batch.  Costco had baby backs for $3.49/lb which isn't too bad.

The rub I ended up using as follows (I will share if it was any good after eating):
    * 1 TBS Garlic powder
    * 1 TBS Onion Powder
    * 1/2 Cup TBS Kosher Salt (not table salt)
    * 2 Teaspoons Cayenne Powder
    * 2 Teaspoons Ancho Chili Powder
    * 1 Teaspoon Cumin
    * 1 TBS Black Pepper
    * 1 TBS White Pepper
    * 1 Cup Brown Sugar
    * 1/2 Cup Paprika


Here are some images of what I did:

Ribs just after being rubbed (remembered to take pic after I had already wrapped half of them)


Ribs stacked and about to be wrapped




Ribs the next morning about to go into smoker


In the smoker for 2 hours of smoke (hickory and cherry) 220F


Here they are after 2 hours of smoke, and one hour w/o smoke


Just wrapped in foil and apple juice and back into the smoker for another hour or two

I will update with pics as the day goes on.

[Tommy3Putts]

Looking good.  How'd they turn out????

[bears fan]

What are the last 3 pucks in the puck tube?  Is that what I've heard called puck savers?

[TTNuge]

What are the last 3 pucks in the puck tube?  Is that what I've heard called puck savers?

Yep, puck savers or Bubba Pucks.  I feel they are a must have.

[OTB]

Yes those are bubba pucks.

I just removed the ribs from the foil and put them back in for the final hour.

The meat was pulling from the bone on only a few of the racks so I didn't sauce them yet.  Just sprayed them with applejuice/oil.  I figure we are not eating until 7pm PST so I have a half an hour to play with.  Instead of FTC I am going to wait for last half hour of cooking to put sauce on half of them (leave the others unsauced) and then if they need more time, I can cook them for another 30 minutes.

Not sure if FTC is really needed for these, but I sure would like to have them fall off the bone tender.  Maybe our dinner guest will be late and I can FTC them at 7 and delay dinner until 7:30.   ;D

[Thor]

Well the day has finally come.  After everybodys help, and all my stupid questions, I finally picked up 3 racks of baby back ribs yesterday

Sorry I can not resist.  There are no stupid questions on this forum, only stupid people.... and I am at the top of the list.   

everybodys

Do you work for Toyota?  Remember the "everyday people" campaign?    Sorry.  2 martini happy hour.

Looks great.   Hope the family loved them and have that good sticky rib feeling going.  My boys give me a thumbs up or down or if it is really good I get a thumbs up all all body parts.   

BTW.  That smoker looks really shiny.. Did you season it first?   You know unseasoned smokers cause sterility and make you go blind. At least that is what they told me in grade school.  Maybe a good thing. 

[OTB]

Will post picture of final product once it transfers from phone....

Ribs turned out good.  I had placed the smaller ribs on one rack and larger ribs on another rack...the larger ones went at bottom of smoker.

Still the larger ribs didn't cook all the way through.  Next time I will give myself more time and I can always pull the smaller ones off and FTC them.  I personally didn't mind a little pink in my ribs.

The rub turned out Awesome!!

I learned some valuable lessons today with my new smoker!!  Thanks to everyone!

[seemore]

Waiting for those pictures of the finished product!!!!!
Mrs

[OTB]

Here is a pic of one of the ribs that was fully cooked.  Sorry for the bad pic, but my daughter was not happy when I grabbed her plate from her and wanted to take a pic before she could eat.   :D

[seemore]

That is a plateful of YUM!!!!  I can see why she did not want Dad taking her plate away!
Great looking ribs!
Mrs

[FLBentRider]

You're lucky she didn't bite your hand.

[OU812]

Those are some good lookin ribs OTB.

[OTB]

Thanks for the kind words.

I am hoping that next time all of the racks will look like that.   

Time to plan what to cook next weekend.  Was looking at the salmon at Costco but they are all skinless.  Not sure if I am comfortable enough to do a brisket all night yet.  Hmmm...decisions decisions.  Hey...maybe more ribs.

[Caneyscud]

OTB,

Glad your ribs turned out for you.  But I have a couple of questions.  What temp did you cook them on?  I'm reading that they cooked for more than 7 or 8 hours probably closer to 10 hours.  With 5 to 8 hours of that in a steam bath in foil.  That's a loooooong time for BBribs.  At 225, my BBribs are done most of the time in  4 hours, with a time or two at 5 hour and sometimes less than 4 hours.  I find it very hard to believe that the bottom ribs did not get cooked all the way through in that many hours of cooking. 

On a BBrib, the meat shrinking and exposing the end of the bone is not always the best determination of doneness.  I'd use the bounce test, (pick up the slab with tongs and bounce a little, if it bends and the surface cracks - probably done.  Or just try to separate some of the bones in the middle of the slab.  If it gives way like you want - then done.  Or try twisting a bone.  If it twists it is certainly done - if it twists easily, might be overdone. 

Foil if you want, but if must be understood that foiling doesn't guarantee tenderness or moistness.  Here is a portion of an earlier post about foiling. 

"When you put the ..... in the foil ...... - that is the point you technically stopped "barbecuing" and started braising.  Both are low-n-slow methods of cooking but with a difference - one is a dry method and the other a wet method.  A common definition of braising is - a method for cooking less tender cuts of meat by browning, covering and cooking meat in a small amount of liquid at a low temperature for a long period of time.

................................................

One problem with the braising is that many cooks don't realize they [sic - might be] actually boiling the meat in steam.  And by sealing it up, you are likely contributing to overcooking [if not closely monitored].  In an oven at 250 or 300, the liquid will start to boil and the resulting steam heats the meat to a very high temperature compared to the same temperature of dry heat.

You may, at this point, be scratching your head.  We cook steaks over a 400+ degree fire and roast turkeys at 375 degrees.  So why is boiling at 212 degrees different?  First liquid and or steam is far more effective at transmitting heat than hot air. That is not necessarily a bad thing, just something you have to keep in mind.  Think about it.  [Why does a fried turkey get done faster than a baked turkey - liguid]  Cook a chuck in a smoker at 225 and it takes hours to get tender.  But cut the chuck up into cubes and throw in a stew and it is tender in possibly minutes – certainly not hours – why, because the transfer of heat was faster.  But cook it too long and that same meat is dry.  Ever wonder why those chunks of chicken (at least I hope it is chicken) in canned chicken noodle soup are so dry even if they are in liquid – overcooked!

One tip about using foil (the so-called "Texas Crutch), leave a little gap in the seal so some steam can escape.  Having a somewhat closed system, the liquid will quickly reach boiling point (212) and quickly over-cook the meat. But by allowing steam to escape the temperature of the liquid is kept down to around maybe 160 to 170 degrees - even in a 250 degree oven. The liquid will simmer and not boil producing a hopefully more tender result.  "

[BigJohnT]

What are the last 3 pucks in the puck tube?  Is that what I've heard called puck savers?

You can get them from Scott's Place

JT