Why are these rib bones blowing out???

[Jason TQ]

They aren't overdone......they are tight. I have enough trophies to know what good comp ribs are and I say that with the utmost humility and just so no one thinks this is a novice who needs to practice more.

I don't want to switch ribs because so many guys cook these that I shouldn't be having this trouble but I'm running out of patience.

Cookers arent the problem I have used 4 different kinds and styles and temps from 225-300 with no change from any of those variables.

Then to truly help I think additional close up pictures of the fronts and backs of the trophies are needed to confirm your statements made :becky:.

 

[Atlasman]

Then to truly help I think additional close up pictures of the fronts and backs of the trophies are needed to confirm your statements made :becky:.

Inside joke??

 

[Burnt at Both Endz]

Can I ask one thing, did you change the way/times of your cooking when using these ribs? I'll say it one last time, with ET's everything happens quicker.

As far as"comp tender", ribs don't need cooked in foil to achieve that state. Foil is for adding a layer of flavor.

 

[bigdogphin]

They aren't overdone......they are tight. I have enough trophies to know what good comp ribs are and I say that with the utmost humility and just so no one thinks this is a novice who needs to practice more.

I don't want to switch ribs because so many guys cook these that I shouldn't be having this trouble but I'm running out of patience.

Cookers arent the problem I have used 4 different kinds and styles and temps from 225-300 with no change from any of those variables.

Actually it matters what direction the heat comes from but for some reason you don't want to listen. I had to change how I cook when I cooked the ets. It took me a while but I figured it out with some practice. There is some good advice in this thread already. Just keep practicing and you will get it. Start by limiting the conditions in which the blow out happens or change that environment. When are you checking your ribs in the foil? After 30 min after 45min after 1 hour? Would venting them help? Less liquid or more liquid? Maybe boneside up or boneside down is better?

 

[fernie1992]

Over cooked probably

 

[bpeyton89]

when your ribs are wrapped is the meat bone side down or meat side down. I ask because I have the same issue if put the bone side down. I know putting them meat side down washes off some of the rub etc, but for whatever reason I can't keep the bones from popping. I cook on a drum where they get hit hard with direct heat.

 

[Atlasman]

Actually it matters what direction the heat comes from but for some reason you don't want to listen.

Not listen??.....LOL....I have not only listened but tried every tip mentioned in this thread and already said so. I have hung them in a drum, done them in a WSM with and without water pan, used a cabinet smoker again with and without a water pan, also a pellet rig.......as I said it's not the smoker/heat source.

I had to change how I cook when I cooked the ets. It took me a while but I figured it out with some practice. There is some good advice in this thread already. Just keep practicing and you will get it. Start by limiting the conditions in which the blow out happens or change that environment. When are you checking your ribs in the foil? After 30 min after 45min after 1 hour? Would venting them help? Less liquid or more liquid? Maybe boneside up or boneside down is better?

As I have already said, I have tried temps from 225-300, I have altered my out of foil time and in foil time to nearly every extent with this last rack only being cooked 2:40 before exploding. I have done bone up and down, every mix of liquids you can imagine, did surgery quality peeling of membrane and even trying leaving it on. If the ribs stay in foil long enough to get tender they are useless because the bones explode, if I don't leave them in foil long enough I don't get the tenderness. I have vented, I have used pans instead of foil, and I am guessing I have cooked over 50 racks trying to figure this out.

My problem is certainly not that I'm not listening and/or practicing enough.

 

[Untraceable]

I don't get why you care so much about cooking them. Every weekend other brands/varieties work well for people. If they don't work for you, move on. Have you tasted anything so special that you can't live without them? Try cooking the All Natural "black label" Smithfield and see if you have the same problem. Same ribs minus the enhancement

Tip: you can enhance your own ribs

 

[bigdogphin]

If have found that if you turn the heat down when they are foiled they don't blow out. Also I no longer do boneside up and which doesn't allow the liquid to pool on the backside of the rib. These two changes have been the best for my process for the ET ribs.

 

[Atlasman]

I don't get why you care so much about cooking them. Every weekend other brands/varieties work well for people. If they don't work for you, move on. Have you tasted anything so special that you can't live without them? Try cooking the All Natural "black label" Smithfield and see if you have the same problem. Same ribs minus the enhancement

Tip: you can enhance your own ribs

Stubborn I guess......plus when I see so many guys doing well with them I see no reason why I can't make them work. I have also cooked them and won a bunch but it's random and either they are great or they suck. I just feel like I must be doing something obvious (but not to me) that is killing me and once I identify it I'll be fine.

Having said that my patience is almost at an end and I personally don't give a damn what ribs I use. If I tank ribs this weekend I'm most likely done with them and will just move on.

 

[Atlasman]

If have found that if you turn the heat down when they are foiled they don't blow out. Also I no longer do boneside up and which doesn't allow the liquid to pool on the backside of the rib. These two changes have been the best for my process for the ET ribs.

Thank you......I have tried that but I don't think I lowered the temp enough so I may give a more drastic difference a try tomorrow.

 

[J&B'sBBQ]

I have cooked these without any problems for months. It did take me 3 months of practicing (almost every weekend) to get them right though.

Cook on a rack in the cooker at 250* for 2hrs. Wrap meat side down in large aluminum pans with butter/sugar mixture (I do not worry about the liquid being on the back when I start, but it does not cover the ribs in the mix when melted). Back in the cooker at 250* for 2hrs or until they are tender. Once they're wrapped, I check them every 20mins for tenderness. I rotate the pans, as needed, to ensure all 4 racks cook properly and evenly. IF they finish before my pull time, I put them into the cambro as is. If not, they get pulled from the liquid at 11:15, sauced, and back into the cooker to let the sauce set. Any that are in the cambro get sauced at this time as well. I continue to check tenderness even after sauced to make sure they don't run over. If they are close, they go back into the cambro and wait.

This process has worked beautifully for us for this season. In 6 competitions, all using ETs, we've had 5 rib calls (and the 6th competition was a bit of an anomaly).

Good luck!

 

[ATucker]

The only thing that I can think of that hasn't been mentioned (maybe it has but I missed it), is that these enhanced ribs are sometimes very "soft" feeling in the cryovac. I have picked up racks in the store that "flopped" over like a piece of well cooked brisket over a finger. Almost like they have been in the brine to long. I wonder of that could have an effect on the membrane when cooking? Just thinking out loud...

 

[rikun]

Tip: you can enhance your own ribs

Would a general guideline be to begin with salty water with phosphates & msg, injected overnight?

I'd like to test enhancing ribs, since we don't have any enhanced products available over here...

Do people actually do this who start with "natural" ribs?

 

[J&B'sBBQ]

The only thing that I can think of that hasn't been mentioned (maybe it has but I missed it), is that these enhanced ribs are sometimes very "soft" feeling in the cryovac. I have picked up racks in the store that "flopped" over like a piece of well cooked brisket over a finger. Almost like they have been in the brine to long. I wonder of that could have an effect on the membrane when cooking? Just thinking out loud...

I buy mine while still frozen to ensure they're not sitting in the liquid brine too long. Other teams have mentioned an interesting flavor with these enhanced products, and we have not experienced that, but I do believe that could be related to buying them frozen as well.

 

[Butcher BBQ]

2 racks is insane. There are no style points for difficulty.

eazy peazy

 

[Untraceable]

You've forgotten more than I've known. You don't count

 

[gettinbasted]

I only cook individual bones, but I hang them all.

 

[5am]

I only cook individual bones, but I hang them all.

You don't debone the ribs and cook them in the firebasket anymore like you taught in class???? :boxing:

 

[bpeyton89]

I only cook individual bones, but I hang them all.

not according to the stolen class notes I found on WikiLeaks... I want my money back.