BB Ribs Question

You do not have to foil at all. For BB, most foil at the 2 hour mark, for 1 hour if that.

Just reread your question again and got confused. Are you talking about foiling while cooking or wrapping them for holding once done??

grillnputt said:

Here I go! Do I wrap the ribs AFTER they've pulled back from the bone, or do I wrap them after 2-3 hours and then take them off the smoker after they've pulled back from the bone and then cooler for 1 hour. Ribs are supposed to be easy. They drive me nuts!!!:crazy:

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If you wait til pull back, you've waited too long IMHO. Wrap after the bark looks right, and take out of foil once tender. Some folks say to wrap til pull back.

3-2-1 is sometimes too long for spares, and way too long for babybacks.

3-2-1 is just a suggested time frame. If doing that method, I think you smoke til bark looks right, as I stated above, then wrap til pull back, then finish smoking til tender.

What are you cooking them on? In my WSM I'm going 2-1-(10 minutes) @ 275 with great results. At the 2 hour mark I already have pull back then it pulls more when foiled.

Will work for bbq said:

What are you cooking them on? In my WSM I'm going 2-1-(10 minutes) @ 275 with great results. At the 2 hour mark I already have pull back then it pulls more when foiled.

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Yep, that's the method I'm using as well.

We tried the 2-1- ten min last week very good.

They are done when they are done (wish I had said that first).........just cook em till they REALLY droop when you pick them up in the middle of the slab with tongs. If they almost want to break in half...they are done.

No foil (or as Paul Kirk calls it "Texas Crutch") , no timing. Just spritz them with some moisture every 45 minutes (I like beer for this such as Shiner Bock)

For BB slabs, about 4 hours maybe up to 5 hours at 250*. If the slabs are under 2 pounds, closer to 3 1/2 - 4 hours.

3 hours and 10 minutes seems short. I have seen the 3-1-1/2 method do well but you end up cooking for 5 1/2 hours because of the downtime of wrapping, glazing and adjusting in the cooker. Also it hasn't been mentioned but wrap meat side down. I look for a good color and "crispness" to the bark before I wrap. I want the meat to look like its been cooked which occurs around the three hour mark for me in my cooker. The rib will still have a spring to it when held with tongs. It goes into the foil meat side down for about an hour or until the wrapped product droops under it own weight when held from both ends. Unwrap and glaze. When glaze is to your liking remove. I cook at 230 and slowly raise to 275 while wrapped.

What kind of cooker you are using will greatly change the style of cooking too. I have a cooker that when full of meat cooks ribs without need of wrapping and also offers and incredibly tasty bark that never was submerged in liquids. Some of the bullet cookers really throw heat, as I am sure UDS's do as well, and can destroy the underside of your ribs if the heat spikes. I never turn my ribs meat side down in the cooker but some cookers require you to turn....although that may be the cook telling you that.

Ok now that I've confused you let me leave you with this. Cook it the same way a few times before you change something. There is no magic bullet and you need to learn you own groove; your own way. Gook luck.

3 hrs-10 minutes does seem short and I thought too good to be true but it works great. I noticed the OP sig listed a WSM so it's worth a shot. Heres a thread I started with some pron on the results.
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=90182

My cooker's sweet spot is 260 degrees. I cook baby back ribs at this temp, unfoiled, for 3.5 hours, approx. Works every time.
Of course, final done-ness is determined by feel,not temp. but the three plus hours seems to always work, regardless of weight, since the thickness is almost always the same.
No mopping, no tinkering. Just cook, add a little glaze last 20 minutes or so [just to make my wife happy, I am good with dry rubbed ribs.]

BB's we cook at 245 to 255. We foil at 1.5 hours because we're on hickory which can after a while consume a BB if much longer. We go to a total of 5 to 5.25 hours, unwrap,
sauce ever-so-lightly, put back on for 5 minutes, take off and consume WAY too quickly.
If we want them falling apart (some of our fans prefer them this way), we go to 5.75
hours.

If you're foil'ing, you ain't BBQ'ing...

Not that I haven't done it myself over high heat when trying to keep them from burning, or to speed up the tenderizing, or to hold them till serving time, etc. The technique was invented by folks in comps or restaurants (who don't use foil but drawers and pans with lids). It serves a purpose, but isn't the true form of BBQ.

Learn to BBQ without foil. Cook till they're done and enjoy. You'll get better taste, texture, and moisture.

:beer:

Skip said:

3 hours and 10 minutes seems short.

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This is just a suggested time frame, but is pretty close if cooking three and under st. louis ribs around 275-300. I'd guess the larger loinbacks you see nowadays would take about the same time. One thing to note though is that if you're cooking with one of the new wsms, as a lot of folks have bought lately, the new factory gauge reads 25 or so lower than grate. IOW, if they say they cooked at 275, they might've cooked closer to 300.

/dev/bbq said:

If you're foil'ing, you ain't BBQ'ing...

Not that I haven't done it myself over high heat when trying to keep them from burning, or to speed up the tenderizing, or to hold them till serving time, etc. The technique was invented by folks in comps or restaurants (who don't use foil but drawers and pans with lids). It serves a purpose, but isn't the true form of BBQ.

Learn to BBQ without foil. Cook till they're done and enjoy. You'll get better taste, texture, and moisture.

:beer:

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I've smoked ribs with and without foil, at temps under 225, around 250, 275-300, and the best ones so far were smoked 275-300, 3-1-10 min. method. Gotta be a fluke, huh? We'll try and try again. Honestly though, I really don't care what's "true BBQ". I'm just looking for juicy and tender, with a nice texture. Whatever works, no what I mean?

Be careful with the foiling times. They become mushy the longer you keep 'em in. If you want fall-off-the-bone, then foil for about an hour. You can use a little apple juice in the foil wrap too.

Cooking times depend on your cooker. On my little CharBroil Silver offset firebox cooker, I use a 3.5,0.5, 1.0+ method at 225*. I like a little tug from my BB's.