Spare Ribs Live Blog

[jb]

Well, two weeks ago I did my first smoke- a Boston Butt- and it turned out ok. I posted about my day along with several questions here in this forum: http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=33048.0. It was fun and very helpful!

Butts are nice, but the real reason for purchasing my Bradley Smoker was for ribs... and that effort begins in earnest tomorrow around 6 am. Well, I guess it actually began tonight. And this thread is where I'll post my progress and throw out lots of annoying questions hoping that some are answered! Please feel free to tell me where I made a misstep so that I can plan for a better experience next time.

Friday evening:

• 2 racks of pork spare ribs.
• Drained, paper towel dried, "removed" the membrane. This was like some sort of medieval barbecuing torture/hazing. I had flashbacks of    my childhood, nailing catfish to a post and then attempting to peel off their skin while it was really more like mutilating them while they cooked in the hot summer sun. Anyway, I'm pretty sure I did not get all of the membrane. Q: So, have I already committed some sort of cardinal sin guaranteeing a bad result?
• Similarly, there was quite a lot of fat on these ribs. They did not look like the pictures I saw online as I searched for tips, etc. Q: Should I have removed that?
• Next I cut the racks in half so they would fit on my smoker racks. Q: Should I have waited to do this?
• Applied Jan's rub, saran wrapped, placed ribs in fridge, disinfected my entire house.

Saturday:

Here is my plan:

• 5:30 Take ribs out of fridge.✓
• 5:45 Turn on the heat... all the way up.✓
• 6:20 Once it gets to 250, load 3.5 hrs of hickory and start the smoke.✓
• 6:30 Hopefully smoke will have started rolling, and the temp will be ~250. If so, ribs go in: the 2 "big" half racks on the 2nd shelf, the 2 small half racks on the 3rd.✓(No drip pan.)
• Monitor temp now until I can get 225.✓ NOTE: At 8:35 my temp has finally recovered to 225.
• 9:30-9:40: Wrap ribs in foil and add some apple juice. ✓ NOTE: I also rinsed and replaced the water for the bowl. It had completely dried up, so a mistake there. I did, however, take saber's advice and used boiling water. This really helped: My temp dropped to 180 during the foil process, but was already back to 200 within a minute or so.
• 9:40-11:40: Back in the smoker for 2 hours. NOTE: My temp was back to 225 at 9:45.
• 11:40-11:50: Remove foil, sauce.✓ NOTE: I didn't apply too much sauce- just a glaze. They look great!
• 11:50-12:50: Last hour of the cook.✓ NOTE: The 2 smaller pieces on the 2nd shelf had to stay in about a half hour more.
• 12:50-2:00: FTC ✓
• 2:00:  :D✓

[Saber 4]

Looks like a good plan, I'll defer to the rib experts for the fine tuning questions you have. Looking forward to seeing your updates and pictures.

[KyNola]

The only thing I am going to tell you is if your target temp is 225, once you open the door and put the ribs in there, the temp in the tower is going to drop like a rock and you won't be maintaining your target temp for the next 3 hours unless you have modified your Bradley with extra heating elements and a PID or BBQ Guru to help you maintain the temperature.

A suggestion to remedy that is to preheat the Bradley as high as you can get it.  Have your ribs on the racks ready to go and very quickly open the door, put the ribs in and close the door.  Leave the oven temp setting as high as you can get it.  Watch the oven temp and as it finally gets up to your 225 target, drop the oven temp set down to 225.

I'll yield to the experts from here. 

[jb]

Thanks KyNola!

[jb]

I put the ribs in at 6:35. The temp was 250 at that time before the drop. It didn't reach the target temp 225 until 8:35- 2 hours into the cook.

1. Does this seem typical to y'all? Based on my first smoke 2 weeks ago, I expected the recovery to be faster.
2. Does this mean that my first 3 hour part of the cook should be extended?

[Saber 4]

I have seen temperature drops like that in my digital 4 rack, I use boiling water in my puck bowl and that seems to help minimize the temp drop for me, others have reported using foil covered bricks to help retain heat. I can't speak for the time aspect of your cook because I don't use that method of cooking and foiling so I will defer to those who do to answer that question for you.

[jb]

Thanks Saber.

[KyNola]

As you are using the 3-2-1 method, the 3 hour portion need not be extended.  The 3-2-1 is also not foolproof.  The ribs may finish earlier or later than 3-2-1.  It all depends on the pig.

Are you replying on the temp readings from the digital Bradley?  If so you may be receiving inaccurate temp readings as the BDS is known to be inaccurate due to the location of the temp sensor in the tower.  Many of us use the Maverick ET-732 to accurately monitor both the temp of the meat and the temp in the tower without having to open the door to do so.

[jb]

KyNola: Thanks for the info. I'm using a standard Bradley smoker. I will definitely invest in a remote thermometer like you suggest.

Yes, I'm using the 3-2-1 method.

Can you tell me the best way to know when my ribs are finished? Do I need to measure the temp? Or just eyeball test- meat pulling away from bone? Or toothpick method? Is it possible that they could finish during this foil portion of the cook?

[KyNola]

Sometimes the meat pulling back from the bone doesn't always indicate that the ribs are finished but lots of folks go by that method with success.  I find that trying to measure the temp of the meat is difficult at best due to the inability to adequately place a temp probe.  A toothpick or skewer that easily inserts into the meat and withdraws easily is a good indicator.  For me, I use the "bend" test.  I pick up the end of the rack with tongs and hold it about one third down the rack.  If the rack bends easily and the meat begins to crack open, they are done.  If the rack breaks apart they are overdone for my liking but some people prefer the "fall off the bone" doneness.

It is possible they could finish in the foiling process because during the foiling process you are actually steaming the meat.  Like I said, in the end it's all up to the pig. ;)

Good luck and enjoy the ride!

[jb]

Will post pics soon.

[Tenpoint5]

What do you mean by "no drip pan"? I am hoping your not cooking without the v tray. If you are you are just asking for a fire in your Bradley! Other than that sounds like you had a good experience with your ribs.

[jb]

Ok, here's the final product. I made the same mistake I made with the roast- too much rub. Still very good and an easy fix!

[jb]

What do you mean by "no drip pan"? I am hoping your not cooking without the v tray. If you are you are just asking for a fire in your Bradley! Other than that sounds like you had a good experience with your ribs.

I used the V tray. I decided against using another, aluminum tray as some suggest. I wanted more convection and it seemed to me that a big pan would get in the way.

[Saber 4]

Looks good, glad your plan worked for you.