Greetings from Boston

[ND Irish]

I've enjoyed reading everyone's posts.  I live in the Boston area.  I'm a big Pats fan as well as a Notre Dame fan (obviously) and a graduate.  I go to a handful of Pats games each year, and have smoked ribs for some of our tailgaters.  I received (purchased) a Bradley 4 rack digital smoker for Father's Day.  So far, I've been smoking BB Ribs using Hickory bisquettes.  I've been trying various techniques and rubs (Jan's rub is a personal favorite).  For the most part, I've been following the 2-2-1 method.  In some instances, I get "bite off the bone" ribs, and in other instances I don't.  I try to keep the smoker as close to 225 as possible, using a remote wireless thermometer.  I double wrap in heavy-duty foil with apple juice for the second step.  I open the foil hoping that the meat will have pulled off the bone, but more often than not, they haven't.  Should I keep the ribs in the foil for longer than 2 hrs?  Should I increase the heat?  I've read Myron Mixon's book, and he smokes for a shorter period of time, but at 250 degrees.  Any recommednations would be helpful.
Thanks!

[beefmann]

welcome aboard

[KyNola]

If you are seeking "fall off the bone" ribs, then yes, leave the ribs in the foil longer with some appple juice.

[ND Irish]

Thanks.  Really just looking to get consistent "bite off the bone" ribs.  I imagine additional foil time would get me closer to that goal as well.

[mikecorn.1]

Ditto on longer time in the foil. Welcome aboard. Though 2hrs in the foil usually does it. ???  They must be unicorn ribs cause I see no pics of said ribs. Those unicorn ribs sure are harder to cook than others ;) ;D


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[ND Irish]

The butcher was out of unicorn, so I ended up with Jackalope ribs.  Picture to come on Sunday.  Making them for our Pats-Colts tailgater.  Thanks for the Welcomes.  This is a great site.  Hoping to be able to contribute as I get more into it.

[KyNola]

Thanks.  Really just looking to get consistent "bite off the bone" ribs.  I imagine additional foil time would get me closer to that goal as well.

My apologies, I misread your post as "fall off the bone" ribs. :P

Sometimes it has nothing to do with you and everything to do with the pig that the ribs came from.  I wouldn't stress too much about it.  You'll dial it in.

[Habanero Smoker]

Hi ND Irish;

Welcome to the forum.

For "bite off the bone", if they are not quite done at the final step continue to cook them at the same temperature, and use a wooden skewer to test the meat at it's thickest point. When you are able to insert and retract the skewer with very little resistance, they are "bite off the bone" tender. If you are doing more then one rack, I have never had all the racks finish at the same time.

In my charcoal cooker, I do use 250°F, and I'm planning to try cooking at 270°F. If you can get your bradley up to 250°F, I use a modified Chris Hart's method. Cook for 3 hours naked, foil tightly (at this point you will add you butter, brown sugar etc), cook for 1 hour. Here is where I modified his recipe, at this point he rewraps the ribs, and let them sit at room temperature for 30 minutes and they are done. I find they are not quite done, so after the 1 hour wrapped, I unwrap them, and I put them back in the cooker, and use the wooden skewer test.

[Ketch22]

Welcome to the forum.

[ND Irish]

I will definitely test with a skewer.  Thanks for the tip!

[dman4505]

Welcome from another Fightn' Irish fan
You'll get great advice from the folks around here

Don

[Smoker John]

Welcome to the forum

[ND Irish]

Thanks everyone.  A few question on step 2 of 2-2-1.  Is there any benefit to wrapping the ribs in heavy duty aluminum foil vs. placing them in a baking pan covered with aluminum foil?  I've read some posts where people say not to wrap the ribs too tightly.  It seems that a baking pan would provide a much more open steaming environment.  Obviously the baking pan wouln't fit in the smoker, but sticking them in the oven at 225 gets you the same results since there's no smoke involved.  Plus, you probably get a more even temperature and balanced heat source throughout the process.  I'd love to get people's thoughts.  Thanks!

[Habanero Smoker]

I'm a BBQ judge, and I often get a chance to talk to some of the teams that are competing. Those that wrap their ribs, the consensus it to double foil wrap as tight as you can. They try to avoid pocket areas were steam can build up. Keep in mind they are cooking their ribs at 250 - 270°F

Having said that, most recipes that are developed to cook ribs in the oven, place them in a pan with a little liquid cover, with foil, and cook them that way; at higher temperatures. You may want to experiment with both method.

[ND Irish]

Ribs turned out great.  I marinated the ribs overnight in a ginger ale / orange juice / soy sauce / dried ranch dressing concoction.  Well not necessarily overnight since I did it at 1:30 am and got up at 6:00.  Fired up the smoker at 6:00 am, when the outdoor thermometer read 30 degrees.  Removed the ribs from the marinade.  Took a paper towel to pat down the ribs, applied the rub, and let them sit at room temperature for an hour.  I was smoking 3 racks, so the smoker had some difficulty getting up to 225 given the cold temps outside.  I left them in for about 2 1/2 with hickory (top smoker temp was about 200 degrees).  For step 2, I double wrapped in foil with apple juice, and put them in the indoor oven at 230 degrees for 2 hours.  Tested them with the wood skewer for doneness.

After 2 hours, I applied a "hog glaze" and put them back in the smoke for an hour. 

Here they are right before taking them out:



Finished product:


Huge hit at the tailgater.  Bite off the bone and very tender.  Nobody used any BBQ sauce.

Thanks for the tips everyone.  My next victim will be a brisket.