How Long to Smoke Ribs

TedEbear · September 25, 2011, 05:18:21 PM

This weekend there was a huge regional BBQ bash competition about 1.5 miles from my house. It is an annual event but this was the first year my wife and I decided to go. I marveled at some of the $20-30,000 and higher smoker setups some of these teams had. One pro that I was surprised who took the time to talk to me for several minutes gave me some hints on how he cooks his ribs. I told him I was just a back yard amateur and had a small electric smoker compared to his mammoth one in the background that held 30 slabs of ribs.

I told him about how I cook baby back ribs using the 3-2-1 method and the Texas Crutch, etc. He says that for one, smoking the meat over 2 hours is a waste and if you smoke it too much longer than that it will start to leave a bitter taste. Interesting. This came from a pro who had a table of trophies to show that he apparently knows what he is doing.

He was using real wood in his smoker. Do the Bradley pucks produce less intense smoke or something and thus a longer smoke time would be required?

BTW, I sampled some brats, pulled pork and a few other things from various vendors out of the 100+ booths. Truthfully, I was not bedazzled by anything compared to what I've managed to do at home. I bought a $20 slab of spare ribs from the guy I mentioned above and am getting ready to heat them back up and watch the premiere of the Amazing Race in a few minutes. I'll see if this guy's ribs are as good as what his trophies claim.

GusRobin · September 25, 2011, 05:24:15 PM

Interesting - did he tell you how he cooks his?

Meat tooth · September 25, 2011, 05:27:56 PM

Personally, I find it very hard to go out and eat anymore. I can make ribs as good as and usually better (IMHO). But it never hurts to try someone else's ideas. 8)

KyNola · September 25, 2011, 05:30:22 PM

Actually just the opposite is true to some degree. The Bradley pucks put out a much purer concentrated smoke than a stick burner so the smoking time is much shorter. When I do ribs in the Bradley the smoke time is around 2 hours and 40 minutes. The rest of the time is just cooking. Not sure what kind of wood the guy you talked to was burning but stick wood has a lot of impurities in it such as the bark of the tree. That may lead to the bitter taste he was referring to. Also, the type of wood he is burning may lead to the bitter taste such as mesquite. If he is only smoking his ribs for 2 hours, did he mention what his heat source was for the remaining cooking portion if he wasn't burning wood for the entire time?

hal4uk · September 25, 2011, 05:35:21 PM

Lordy... There's a whole BUNCH of variables involved --- smoker type, fuel type, temps, moisture, beer, etc...

mikecorn.1 · September 25, 2011, 06:02:39 PM

Quote from: hal4uk on September 25, 2011, 05:35:21 PM
Lordy... There's a whole BUNCH of variables involved --- smoker type, fuel type, temps, moisture, beer, etc...

:D

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SouthernSmoked · September 25, 2011, 06:56:26 PM

Quote from: hal4uk on September 25, 2011, 05:35:21 PM
Lordy... There's a whole BUNCH of variables involved --- smoker type, fuel type, temps, moisture, beer, etc...

You said beer...here hold mine for a minute.

Quote from: KyNola on September 25, 2011, 05:30:22 PM
Actually just the opposite is true to some degree. The Bradley pucks put out a much purer concentrated smoke than a stick burner so the smoking time is much shorter. When I do ribs in the Bradley the smoke time is around 2 hours and 40 minutes. The rest of the time is just cooking. Not sure what kind of wood the guy you talked to was burning but stick wood has a lot of impurities in it such as the bark of the tree. That may lead to the bitter taste he was referring to. Also, the type of wood he is burning may lead to the bitter taste such as mesquite. If he is only smoking his ribs for 2 hours, did he mention what his heat source was for the remaining cooking portion if he wasn't burning wood for the entire time?

Ditto!!

TedEbear · September 26, 2011, 09:52:00 PM

Quote from: GusRobin on September 25, 2011, 05:24:15 PM
Interesting - did he tell you how he cooks his?

I figured most of the BBQ gurus there wouldn't divulge their secrets of the trade so I didn't ask too many questions. He did say that he doesn't wrap them in foil or anything. He just leaves them in the smoker for 3-4 hours, at least the ones being sold to the public. I'm not sure what type of wood he was using but I did see what looked like some regular firewood in the area.

I ate part of the $20 slab last night that I bought from his booth. Although the ribs had a nice smoky flavor they weren't as tender as the ones I make with 3-2-1 and the Texas Crutch. I didn't think the flavor had anymore "pizazz" than mine, either. Maybe I should enter some of these competitions. ;D