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Ribs, internal temperature

B

Bencops

Guest
Hi all
first post... I was at knuckleheads though at the Royal last year so I have been at a BBQ Bretheren do!

I was just wondering why I don't monitor the internal temperature of ribs when cooking them like with pork or brisket. Seems to me I could miss those terrible overcooked moments if I knew what temp they were at.

Does anyone do this and does it work, or are the ribs too thin? And if you do, what temp gives the best degree of done-ness?

cheers

Ben
 
Ribs are too thin and have too many bones to accurately judge done-ness by temperature. You need to go by feel. If the ribs have a nice bend to them and start to break a little when picked up in the middle with a pair of tongs they should be good. Search for bend test on here or google it for me details.
 
The issue is exactly that ribs do not have enough room top to bottom, or bone to bone, to get a reliable reading of the meat temperature. The other issue is the speed with which the meat renders once it comes out of stall. Yes, I said ribs can stall. The same rules apply to ribs as butt or brisket, there is a period of time when the collagen and connective tissue is rendering. The issue is that it is a much shorter time in ribs. Feel is a lot better measure for a consistent shape like ribs. I do like Barbefunkoramaque's method of hearing the weep, but, for us small cooker folks, it is much harder to hear it.
 
I use bend test as well. Takes a few tries to master it but no better way to produce consistent Q
 
I read somewhere that the internal temperature for ribs is 205ºF. As others have stated, gauging done-ness by temperature is not very reliable. Here are three different methods for checking done-ness that I have learned. Keep in mind, these methods work for competition style ribs. These ribs are not falling off the bone tender. (I hate that cliché and ribs cooked that way!)

1. I learned this from Fast Eddy. Grab the slab of ribs in the center with a pair of tongs. If both ends of the ribs touch each other, they are done.

2. I learned this from drbbq. Poke a toothpick into the meat area of the ribs. If the toothpick slides in easily, the ribs are done.

3. I learned this from db of Pork Patrol fame. If you can easily remove the smallest bone on the end of a slab, the ribs are done.

Lager,

Juggy
 
landarc said:
The issue is exactly that ribs do not have enough room top to bottom, or bone to bone, to get a reliable reading of the meat temperature. The other issue is the speed with which the meat renders once it comes out of stall. Yes, I said ribs can stall. The same rules apply to ribs as butt or brisket, there is a period of time when the collagen and connective tissue is rendering. The issue is that it is a much shorter time in ribs. Feel is a lot better measure for a consistent shape like ribs. I do like Barbefunkoramaque's method of hearing the weep, but, for us small cooker folks, it is much harder to hear it.
Click to expand...

Exactly. I like and use the weep method, but ultimately go by "feel" of the racks flexibility to determine when they come off the cooker.
 
I generally look for some pull-back from the bones.
Then rely on the bend test. I've also been told that if you pull the ends of two bones apart from each other and they easily break away (cleanly) from the meat, they're done as well (I think that's Paul Kirk's advice), but then that's pretty much sononimous (sp?) with the bend test, IMO.
 
Philly-QueMaster said:
Ribs are too thin and have too many bones to accurately judge done-ness by temperature. You need to go by feel. If the ribs have a nice bend to them and start to break a little when picked up in the middle with a pair of tongs they should be good. Search for bend test on here or google it for me details.
Click to expand...
I do. I use my Maverick. Worst can happen is it reads too high on a bone. I confirm with my Thermapen. Never had a problem and it works great for me.
 
Baysidebob said:
I do. I use my Maverick. Worst can happen is it reads too high on a bone. I confirm with my Thermapen. Never had a problem and it works great for me.
Click to expand...

What temp do you shoot for? I've stuck my temp gauge in my ribs a few times just to see how they read, I never used this method to rely on telling me if the ribs were done. Last rack of ribs, the best reading I got was 202 when I considered it being done. That was on the thickest end of the rack.
 
I've become a huge fan of the toothpick test.

It's not the bend test, where I could dick up presentation.
I just take a stab at the ribs here and there, and it works out well.

When I can withdraw the toothpick (and I prefer a rather fat toothpick) with very little resistance... it's perfect.

I'm sorry if this muddies the waters... but, that's how I do it.
I blame Keith (FWIsmoker).. :p
 
IT ? For Ribs, Brisket..... :shock:


In last 30 seconds watch the probe test......I probe with Bamboo skewer also.......

[ame]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GbBFZstQRUY[/ame]
 
Folk sure get caught in the "temp game"- and I blame baking: exact recipe, exact technique, exact temps, exact timing.
BBQ is simpler:
not done? cook it some more
done? eat it
little overdone? eat it and pronounce it as "al Carbon"
way overcooked? make notes, eat what you can- bury the rest :-D
 
I have always done the bend test/cut one off and take a bite person but I am adding the toothpick test as well just to have another indicator. The only thing is that it is critical to keep track of all toothpicks and where they are as those little buggers love to stick to things and hide under a piece of meet and I don't like any of the judges enough to want to give them a free toothpick, and get a DQ!!
 
This will go contrary to what almost everyone has said but I do have some friends who temp ribs. Using something very accurate and fast like a thermopen they look for 195 for tender but clean bite and 200 for fall off the bone. I know traditionally people say it can't be done, but they consistently produce ribs with the same texture by using these ITs. I usually just do the bend or toothpick or taste test myself, but they few times I have tried this with some thicker racks, it worked out as promised.
 
Different strokes for different folks. I don't know that anyone said it was "impossible" - the gist was more that it was "impractical" bordering on "unnecessary". Ribs are short cooks (relatively)- it's easy to tell when they are done (a couple/ three different ways) and the lack of meat and proximity to bones makes temping sort of "iffy". Most people don't cook bbq to a particular temp and yell "voila". Not saying it's not done- it's just doesn't seem to be a widespread practice.
 
thunderalley3 said:
I have always done the bend test/cut one off and take a bite person but I am adding the toothpick test as well just to have another indicator. The only thing is that it is critical to keep track of all toothpicks and where they are as those little buggers love to stick to things and hide under a piece of meet and I don't like any of the judges enough to want to give them a free toothpick, and get a DQ!!
Click to expand...

Man I'll second this. Don't lose them on the floor. I lost a toothpick one time found it in the middle of the night walking through the house. Had the toothpick go completely through the webbing of my feet. It wasn't pretty, Had to pull it out myself!
 
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