how lomg should I smoke/cook baby backs

[Badger]

Ok I'm pretty much ready to go , I've applied Memphis Magic Dust to the meat and wrapped it in plastic wrap for the night and they look pretty good. I've made my sauce as directed byT squared and man does it smell good.

So tomorrow i'm thinking about getting started just after lunch and I'm not sure how long to smoke  and ultimately cook.

This is what I had planned, fire up the BS and get it up to about 200, then add the bowl with hot water, throw in the meat on two racks ( placed in the bottom 2 slots to be rotated later?) start smoking with 4 pucks in total alternating between maple and hickory. Probably reduce the temp to about 165 or 175 for about 3hrs.

At about 1.5 hrs I will swap rack location and start adding  sauce at 1/2 hr intervals.

After 3 or 4 hrs I'll probably throw them on the grill to crisp up the sauce a bit.

You guys have waaay more experience than I so let me know if I'm headed in the right direction here.

I can hardly wait... I've been thinking about this since Wednesday afternoon when I bought the meat. I don't think I've been this stoked about cooking anything in a long time.

[Badger]

Thinking about spritzing them with apple juice too....is it worth it or will I dilute the flaors of the rub/sauce?

[Gizmo]

My suggestions:
Heat the box up to 250 degrees or more with the water bowl and Vtray in the box.  The extra heat will go right out the door when you load the meat.  The overshoot will allow a quicker recovery after the meat is loaded.  I smoke for a full 4 hours (12 pucks) but then I like the smoke on the ribs.  I also leave the cab temp at 200 degrees with the rotation of racks and spritzing (apple juice and Jack Daniels - usually just the last hour).  I remove after 4 hours and wrap in foil with a little of the apple and jack then pop in a convection oven at 190 deg for a couple hours.  This makes the ribs falling off the bone.  If I want BBQ sauce (like Sopin' Sauce), I'll then toss on the grill for a quick glazing but won't finish them to the falling off the bone stage.
You method may work just fine.  I can't comment as I have never done them with that low of temperature.  Let us know how it goes if you do use that method.  Always good to compare.   :D

[Consiglieri]

Hi and good luck with your project, first of all.  Each cook has his/her own nuances and preferences when it comes to the ribs.  Most important beginning step, if you were to ask me, is to make sure to remove the membrane off the back.  That little piece of matter is like celophane and whether we're talking about seasoning or smoke, it just isn't going through that membrane over the back side of the meat.  Plus, when you add heat it shrinks and makes the ribs tougher.

As for the rest of your plan, I like it, but would offer these additional thoughts:

1.  Smoke time.  Each person has their own smoke preference.  Some like it thick.  Others, like my wife, prefer a lighter finish.  4 pucks (assuming you have three other pucks or bubba pucks to back them up) equals one hour, twenty minutes of smoke.  Not a whole lot.  Many here will apply smoke 4 of the 6 to 7 hours it will take to finish off a family size load of ribs.  Some will use hickory, or hickory and apple, or maple and apple, etc.  Wood choice also comes down to personal preference.  Before I had the Bradley, I used almond wood chunks over charcoal and it provided a nice, sweet taste.  With the Bradley, I like experimenting, but I always seem to come back to an apple with maple or apple with pecan selection.  I like hickory too, but the fruit and nut wood seems to suit my taste with pig.  I smoke for two hours, twenty minutes with a light weight of ribs.  With greater quantities like all 6 racks, cooking time can take 10 hours or more for me, and I'll figure about 1/3 of the time for smoke.

2.  Box temp.  With the DBS temp fluctuations, I'm starting to lean towards a little more heat on the temp setting (at least with a larger load). Letting the ribs come up to room temp is important, but if a whole bunch of meat has been in your fridge, it can take 2 or more hours to get it up to room temp.  Effect: drops the box temp like an anvil.  Might as well put a block of ice in for a few hours.  Long and short of it, IMHO: takes time to get the ribs loaded and the meat may be cold so to "equalize" between temp before I open the door, the time to load, and the chilly meat, I'm going to be preheating to 230-250 and then adjust.  Target cooking temp is still 210, but with the cold meat need to offset the starting hour(s) to compensate.  Maverick's box monitor is a big help here.

3.  Basting.  Apple juice is the bomb.  It's sweet, compliments the pork flavor, and requires no prep.  Start applying it about 1/2 way through the cooking time or after the third hour, which ever is earlier,(brushing or spraying) every 45 minutes or so.  If you have a favorite mop sauce, go for that instead.  But apple juice is hard to beat.

4.  BBQ Sauce.  This is another point of personal preference.  Sometimes, a well cooked, well seasoned "dry" rib suits.  Other times, the barbeque sauce is preferred.  When I'm cooking enough volume, I like to experiment between rubs, dry/wet finishes.  If adding bbq sauce or a glaze, I like to brush on a coat about an hour before the anticipated finish, then another about 30 minutes later (with a dish on the table if people want to add more).  Others like to brush it on and then grill the meat.  Others still brush it on, wrap the meat in foil, and put it into a warm oven for  an hour or more, but to me this seems more like an FTC finish.

5.  Resting.  Here is another point of personal preference.  Some will tell you to tent your ribs loosely in foil for 15 minutes to let the meat settle, etc.  They're correct... but, man, one of the best tricks to be learned on this site is the FTC magic.  To FTC (Foil, Towel, Cooler), grab your favorite cooler about 20 minutes before you pull the meat from the heat and add some hot water (I use a kettle full) to preheat your finishing environment.  When you're ready to pull the meat, dump out the hot water, spritz the ribs with apple juice and/or a bit more sauce, wrap the ribs in foil, and then also wrap with the towel to add a bunch of insulation, and put all the bundle into the cooler for an hour.... or two or three... some say even five.  The meat is kept warm and internal temp is maintained too.  Plus, the meat breaks down like stew meat and becomes falling off the bone tender.

Some great techniques discussed here, with a lot of variation.  Again, good luck and send me some ribs.   ;)   Or a beer.   Or two.  Cheers.

[Wildcat]

Ribs can be tricky to learn what you like.  Both of the above provide good pointers.  I try to smoke/cook mine at 190 to 210 (average 200).  Icerat4 has a good method as well.

[icerat4]

Nice con very nice . ;)

[Consiglieri]

Thank you , Mr. Rat.  Looking forward to hearing how those ribs turned out.

[Badger]

Well, they turned out OK but I think I may have tried too many options.

1.) I probably put on too much rub, Memphis Magic Dust, wrapped in saran over night.

2.) I could have smoked them a little longer, 9 pucks plus a sacrificial to get my 9. Gotta get a bubba.

3.) Started applying apple juice spritz, not sure this complimented the rub very well.

4.) Tried the FTC deal but the meat still wasn't what I would call falling off the bone, tender for sure though. ( only in the cooler for about an hour).

Total cooking time about 7 hrs right around 200 temp, probably averaged at tiny bit lower than that.

All in all I would say it was a positive first attempt and the meat was good, but I prefer a more sweet tasting meat over the slightly hot flavor I got from the rub, again probably because I put it on a little thick.

Thanks to all for the pointers and tips, I'll definitley be starting a log to keep track of what I did so when I hit that magical combination I'll be sure to hang on to it.

[coyote]

It'll get better every time Badger. That's the fun part....Tweeking ;D
                                                Happy Smokin', Coyote

[MWS]

Taking notes really helps. Of course, I don't always follow my own advice.

[Wildcat]

I keep losing my notes.   ::)

[Gizmo]

I keep wearing out the LCD erasing all the changes I make.  Just wing it now.  Wife already knows I can't duplicate that last most awesome dish I made cause I didn't write it down.  How could I, the LCD was worn out again.   ;)

[icerat4]

Bager how many pounds did ya smoke.Also try this next time.After 4-5 hours of smoke take the ribs out of the smoker place in a foil pan.Then spritz with a lil apple juice on top and in the botton of the tray.Then foil the tray and place in an oven at 190 for 3-4 hours that will get ya fall off the bone ribbies.Remember weight has alot to do with the finished product keep that in mind always.Here are a few pics to show how.












SEE i do at least 14-20 pounds at a time .14-16 average those ya see in the pics are huge baby backs.In any case 14 pounds of ribs 4-5 hours smoke at 190-205 temps .then into the foil pan and in the oven at 190-195 for the rest of the time which could be another 3-4-5 hours dependens on your oven.I have a convection oven very nice and even heat so.Dont be afraid to check after the 3 hour time things should be melting down by then.Hope this helps out.Let me know how ya do next time.See i feel when ya took them out and ftc them there wasnt enough heat aka steam to keep the meat magic happening so the ftc didnt do very well .Thats why i do the foil pan with foil lid and in oven,this insures a great fall off the bone deal.Even when done with that you still would be able to toss them on a grill if so desired.Ive never done it but its not going to hurt.So there ya have it.

[standles]

Quick Question...

when your preparing the ribs for the smoker...  How much do you trim them up?

The sams ribs have alot of meat but there is silverskin to deal with.   I don't want to trim away meat that I can eat but I have always heard to get rid of the silverskin.

???

Looking at the pics it doesn't seem there was any trimming or very little.

Steven

[Gizmo]

Depends on the type of ribs you buy.  You will always want to remove the membrane on the back side of ribs.  The ribs I usually buy, do not require any trimming. If you get ribs with the flap on the back, many will trim that off and will use them for other dishes cooked sperately.  I usually leave it on.  There are little bones inside that you have to eat around but then I have some eaters that love to chew bone.