Mmmm ribs "Not"

[DarqMan]

I vote, Ribs look good!

But if you are not Happy, make them better next time.

It's called "Do Overs" ;D

I like do overs... and over and over and over... ;D

[HawkeyeSmokes]

Those ribs look pretty darned good from here Q!

Send samples so I can do a taste test!

;D ;D

[KyNola]

Bayamosmokes,
I have read about Trigg's method but I have never tried it and have to be honest and say I never will.  Butter, brown sugar and honey just doesn't work for me.  I'm an old school Kentucky boy who likes ribs hickory smoked with a nice rub on them.  Want sauce on 'em?  I can do that at the very end but personally like my ribs served dry.  I'm not disrespecting anyone who prefers their ribs wet.  I've had some great wet ribs.  I just prefer dry because I want to taste the meat.

Sorry, got off topic a bit.

[FLBentRider]

Q,

Maybe I missed it in here somewhere, but what was it you didn't like about the ribs?

Overcooked?

Tough?

Lack of flavor?

I've done multiple racks and had one or two that were perfect and one that was tougher. Sometimes I think it is a crap shoot.

[VI_Smoker]

Q,  could it be that the quality of the ribs you are getting might not be up to your standard?  Some of the posts I have read the members rave about organic,hormone free, grain fed pork.

[KevinG]

I gotta agree, they do look good. So as FLB said, what happened?

[hal4uk]

I don't like the 3-2-1 method (aka "the Texas Crutch").   There.  I said it.
However --- whatever method you use - it might depend on which smoker you're using.
EVERY SMOKER COOKS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT.
For all y'all havin' trouble gettin' 'em like you want...
I'm gonna give ya some FREE advice (So, it probably ain't worth much)...

Pay CLOSE attention to which smoker someone is using when they offer a "rib method".
Doesn't seem like it would matter that much --- but it does.
Awrighten.

[Quarlow]

Well, I have an OBS so that's all fine, but it's not that they were tough just that they were not real tender. They came off the bone clean but they weren't fall off the bone tender. And the flavour wasn't great. I think I would have been better off with just the Jan's rub and I am thinking that the sauces weren't right even though 2 racks were with CT. I think I will have to do some in depth research into this so as to nail down how to change this up. I believe "do over" is definitely in order.  ;D ;D So I will do them next time with Jan's rub, no foil, no sauce and just go 2 1/2 hrs smoke and cook till proper doneness. Then I will report the results as to the "do over" research. Then we can analysis the out come and see were this needs to go. Let's just call this a "work in progress" or "W.I.P." for short.
P.S. I don't have a good thermo to keep track of cabinet temp so this maybe part of the problem. I have been going by the door thermo for cab temp so I maybe cooking at to high of heat when the door says 225f when it is actually hotter.I have been holding off getting a ET-73 because I will be getting a dual probe Auber soon, eventually, someday, hopefully real soon, one of these days.

[FLBentRider]

Sounds like you are going to enjoy your research.

[FLBentRider]

And come to think about it, My worst ribs in the smoker have been better than any I've had in a restaurant.

[Quarlow]

Yeah the last ribs I had in a restaurant were mushy so nothing could be as bad as that.

[OU812]

The last ribs I had at a big chain they were soft tender kinda dry and had no taste at all.

They proud themselves on there MANY different kinds of BBQ sauce, so if you want ribs drowned in sauce they got it.

I ordered my ribs dry, you should have seen the look on the waitress's face you would have thought I said somethin unappropriated to her.

I only ate 2 bones and when she came back to ask how they were I said you can take these back I dont want em. She said you want some sauce, nope I want somethin that tastes like RIBS.

Good thing I ordered a big ole pile of wings.

She took the ribs back and didnt charge me for them.

[hal4uk]

They came off the bone clean but they weren't fall off the bone tender.

Q, that much is GOOOOOD---  Heck--- let's say, "PERFECT"! 
You don't want "fall off the bone tender" - cause that puts you toooooo close to rib "MUSH"...
(aka "Garbage")

You just want it to come off the bone CLEAN with a "wee" pull...
Just experiment with other factors...  Sounds like you hit the "doneness" dead on!

[ArnieM]

My wife asks "Why don't we go out for dinner anymore?"  I could only answer "Think about it."

If you want good food, you cook it yourself.

[db14]

Q, without an external temp sensor it will be hard to do multiple racks at one time.  I believe you can get by using the door sensor as long as you keep the meat above the sensor (which essientially is the top rack).  Once you get the meat below the sensor it starts to skew the door temp sensor reading.

A couple of things that I noticed before I was able to make ribs the way I liked them:
3-2-1 and 2-2-1 are guidelines.  I am aactually cooking my bbr's in a 3-1:30-:45 method most of the time.

225F is a good starting spot for the temp, but try to err on the low side of that.  I had issues with mine because I would be shooting for 225, and would end up at 240, then 235, then 230, you get the point.  I spent a lot of time over 225 while I was trying to get there.  Now I make sure I do the opposite and the results have been much better.  I spent a lot of time in the 210-220 range.  This seemed to make the biggest difference in going from what I would call chewy ribs to tender ribs.

I always go heavy on the rub.  Unless it's hot, there's really no downside.  Especially if you're foinling or sprtizin, I find that dulls down the rub flavor to begin with.

Meat does make a difference.  When I pay a little extra for the good meat, I can always tell the difference.

Patience and trial and error.  It may be beneficial to try smoking one rack at a time until you get it right.  There are less variables involved and less meat at stake.

Hope something in there was useful.  Keep at it.