Why are these rib bones blowing out???

[ModelMaker]

Has anybody just for sharts and giggles ever cooked a rack of pre-cut individual bones?
Think they would just shrink away to nothing?
Ed

 

[gettinbasted]

Has anybody just for sharts and giggles ever cooked a rack of pre-cut individual bones?
Think they would just shrink away to nothing?
Ed

Yes I have. It's not good.

 

[Atlasman]

Well unfortunately this weekend didn't help with the rib struggles. 16th overall and I cooked 6 racks opposed to my usual 4 trying to give myself more choices. I had to scrounge from 3 racks to fill my box due to popped bones and what I could use had to come from thin end which I hate due to short bones but it was the only acceptable tenderness area of the racks that had usable bones.

Lots of 8's and a couple 7's which is not unusual for the northeast but no where near what I know we are capable of.

On the plus side getting to talk to a bunch of teams for the first time this year I confirmed my guess that this is a problem MANY guys are having with the ET ribs. Same response from everyone I talked to about when they lose these ribs it's due to bones blowing out. Why this hasn't been a more popular topic here is weird if so many guys are fighting it.

Consensus from all the teams I spoke with seems to be they just can't handle high temps in foil. Guys are getting them to foil temp every way known and commonly used, hanging or laying in drums, stick burners, cabinets and WSM and pellet rigs didn't seem to matter. BUT........knocking the foil temp down in some cases dramatically was the only solution everyone agreed helped the most.

Sound right????.......if so how much lower from your cooking temp are you going??.......indirect heat maybe??

Wednesday is my next day to practice so I will be attempting a 275 cook and 225 foil with hopefully less explosions LOL but I have tried this before but I only dropped the foil temp to 250 I believe and no noticeable change was noted.

 

[Atlasman]

If anyone has a pic or two of your ET ribs bone side when they are done comp ready I would LOVE to see some as another thing many teams said is they are boxing and sending them with exposed (not blown out) bones and trusting the meat won't all come off on the judges bite.

Risk I'd rather not take but maybe a couple bones I am dismissing as unusable are actually able to hold up.

 

[Burnt at Both Endz]

On the plus side getting to talk to a bunch of teams for the first time this year I confirmed my guess that this is a problem MANY guys are having with the ET ribs. Same response from everyone I talked to about when they lose these ribs it's due to bones blowing out. Why this hasn't been a more popular topic here is weird if so many guys are fighting it.

Consensus from all the teams I spoke with seems to be they just can't handle high temps in foil. Guys are getting them to foil temp every way known and commonly used, hanging or laying in drums, stick burners, cabinets and WSM and pellet rigs didn't seem to matter. BUT........knocking the foil temp down in some cases dramatically was the only solution everyone agreed helped the most.

I was taught a long time ago, that you really need to check ones references when it comes to taking advice from them. I'm assuming that you talked to teams that are always getting rib calls?

You need to focus more at what stage the ribs are at before they are being foiled, in my humble opinion.

Two of my three racks of ET's cooked at 275*, I'm pretty sure it can be done.:shocked:

 

[Atlasman]

I was taught a long time ago, that you really need to check ones references when it comes to taking advice from them. I'm assuming that you talked to teams that are always getting rib calls?

You need to focus more at what stage the ribs are at before they are being foiled, in my humble opinion.

You don't honestly believe I would be seeking out guys who never walk in ribs for opinions do you?? I don't wonder IF these guys are gonna walk in ribs, but how high. 95% of the time this group will GC or reserve.

I'm all ears about your pre foil theory.

Any bone side pics??........your pic doesn't really help as mine look fine from the meat side as well.

 

[Burnt at Both Endz]

Everything happens faster.

If you are foiling at the same times that you were with fresh ribs, maybe you need to foil quicker? Try three racks, one 30 minutes quicker, one 20 minutes quicker, one ten minutes quicker. Then cut off 15 minutes off foil time, let us all know how things went!

That's where this rib cook would start.

 

[Atlasman]

Everything happens faster.

If you are foiling at the same times that you were with fresh ribs, maybe you need to foil quicker? Try three racks, one 30 minutes quicker, one 20 minutes quicker, one ten minutes quicker. Then cut off 15 minutes off foil time, let us all know how things went!

That's where this rib cook would start.

I don't really go to foil by time.......more by color but I would guess my avg at 1:45-2:00 at 275 on racks in the 3.3-3.5 range. I also don't really foil to a time other then I start checking them at 30 min in and every 10 min after.

i think we both would agree that it's not necessary to try a cook at 1:15 then foil for 15 minutes.

I've temped my ribs before foil for no other reason then data and they are 150-160's usually so I don't think I am foiling late..........and the pics I've shown are of ribs that never made it past 180's and were still tight. A shorter foil time will most likely save the bones but do you believe it will get me to desired tenderness??

Thanks.

 

[ModelMaker]

Well unfortunately this weekend didn't help with the rib struggles. 16th overall and I cooked 6 racks opposed to my usual 4 trying to give myself more choices. I had to scrounge from 3 racks to fill my box due to popped bones and what I could use had to come from thin end which I hate due to short bones but it was the only acceptable tenderness area of the racks that had usable bones.

Lots of 8's and a couple 7's which is not unusual for the northeast but no where near what I know we are capable of.

On the plus side getting to talk to a bunch of teams for the first time this year I confirmed my guess that this is a problem MANY guys are having with the ET ribs. Same response from everyone I talked to about when they lose these ribs it's due to bones blowing out. Why this hasn't been a more popular topic here is weird if so many guys are fighting it.

Consensus from all the teams I spoke with seems to be they just can't handle high temps in foil. Guys are getting them to foil temp every way known and commonly used, hanging or laying in drums, stick burners, cabinets and WSM and pellet rigs didn't seem to matter. BUT........knocking the foil temp down in some cases dramatically was the only solution everyone agreed helped the most.

Sound right????.......if so how much lower from your cooking temp are you going??.......indirect heat maybe??

Wednesday is my next day to practice so I will be attempting a 275 cook and 225 foil with hopefully less explosions LOL but I have tried this before but I only dropped the foil temp to 250 I believe and no noticeable change was noted.

Dude, how many times are you going to hit your thumb with that hammer?
Either quit wrapping or change meat....
Ed

 

[Burnt at Both Endz]

I don't really go to foil by time.......more by color but I would guess my avg at 1:45-2:00 at 275 on racks in the 3.3-3.5 range. I also don't really foil to a time other then I start checking them at 30 min in and every 10 min after.

i think we both would agree that it's not necessary to try a cook at 1:15 then foil for 15 minutes.

I've temped my ribs before foil for no other reason then data and they are 150-160's usually so I don't think I am foiling late..........and the pics I've shown are of ribs that never made it past 180's and were still tight. A shorter foil time will most likely save the bones but do you believe it will get me to desired tenderness??

Thanks.

I think we both would agree that those ribs weren't cooked for 1:45 minutes and foiled for 30 minutes at 275*, if so, I have no advise for you!

 

[Roo-B-Que]

You don't honestly believe I would be seeking out guys who never walk in ribs for opinions do you?? I don't wonder IF these guys are gonna walk in ribs, but how high. 95% of the time this group will GC or reserve.

I'm all ears about your pre foil theory.

Any bone side pics??........your pic doesn't really help as mine look fine from the meat side as well.

If yours look good from the meat side then whats the problem? All that is left is taste and tenderness and if they are right on those then you wont have a problem.

I cook ET's and never have an issue with them blowing out.

 

[ThunderDomeBBQ]

I struggled w/ ET's. The chew primarily. I went to the Prime Reserves from Sams and my times and temps worked better w/ those.

 

[Atlasman]

I think we both would agree that those ribs weren't cooked for 1:45 minutes and foiled for 30 minutes at 275*, if so, I have no advise for you!

They were cooked for 2:00 and 40 in foil and were only temping in low 180's and were VERY tight still. If I reduce to 1:45 and 30 I'm sure the bones will look better but the ribs won't be even close to tenderness.

I will cook some tomorrow and take plenty of pics at all stages.

 

[Atlasman]

If yours look good from the meat side then whats the problem? All that is left is taste and tenderness and if they are right on those then you wont have a problem.

I cook ET's and never have an issue with them blowing out.

Tough for a judge to get a clean bite off a totally exposed bone......any pull from the bite will just strip all the meat and you will get killed for overdone even if they aren't.

You've NEVER seen this???.......what temp are you rolling when they are foiled and how long can they run wrapped with no issues? Normal size racks....3.75ish??

Thanks

 

[Burnt at Both Endz]

I can't remember if you said what you were cooking on?, but I'm assuming you are cooking on direct heat, because of your times?

Are you cooking bones up or down, are you flipping, are you spritzing, or hanging them.

Is your 275* grate temp?

 

[Atlasman]

I can't remember if you said what you were cooking on?, but I'm assuming you are cooking on direct heat, because of your times?

Are you cooking bones up or down, are you flipping, are you spritzing, or hanging them.

Is your 275* grate temp?

I have hung and layed in a drum, WSM with and without water pan, cabinet smoker (backwoods style) with and without water pan, XL Big Green Egg indirect and 3 different pellet rigs........oh and even a pit barrel cooker.

That's every cooker I own.

Drum temps obviously not ALWAYS tight on 275 but not crazy off. PBC runs closer to 300. WSM, cabinet, and egg all double checked with guru probes and backup Mavericks at grate. Pellet rigs set at 275 and checked with Mavericks.

Spritz has been tried with apple juice, apple juice and oil, parkay spray and ICBINB spray.

Always cook meat side up and have foiled up, down, in pans, tight, loose, vented, direct, indirect and even transferred from one to the other.........drum cook pellet foil and all combos in between.

Tomorrow I plan on a very low and slow cook even though I don't want to cook that way at a contest.......also I'm going to try a 275 cook then 225 or lower foil.

Who knows??........I feel like I've tried everything at this point but we'll see.

 

[Burnt at Both Endz]

I flip my ribs 1/3 of the way when getting color and then spritz the backside with water twice, I don't want them to dry out there.

I foil with boneside up, with them holding some moisture there.

The first pic you posted, I would say they needed foiled 10-15 minutes faster and cooked in foil 5 minutes longer.

Good luck!

 

[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!

Is it frowned upon to quote yourself because you feel like the OP completely ignored your post and suggestion? Eh, I'll do it anyway because I don't really care about social norms...

I will add to this though. I do not change my temperature when I wrap, so I don't necessarily subscribe to that theory. They do cook faster than non-enhanced ribs, so a shorter foil time *may* work.

What I will come back to again is that I "foil" in pans and not in a tight wrap. Not saying that's the end-all, be-all to your issue, but I do believe it is a factor you're not considering. You, and one other person I know personally who has had this issue, wrap in foil boats.

I'm sure there are teams who wrap in foil and don't have this issue, and I am just one measly person whose opinion fell to the wayside, but I am telling you we've done well this season and we use pans.

 

[Jason TQ]

Dude, how many times are you going to hit your thumb with that hammer?
Either quit wrapping or change meat....
Ed

I'm still waiting to see the pics of the trophies....

And agreed. It's like saying "I went to the Nut Kicking Factory again and all I got was kicked in the nuts, WTF?!?!"

Maybe a few more expensive comps to test before cutting bait.

 

[Jason TQ]

You don't honestly believe I would be seeking out guys who never walk in ribs for opinions do you?? I don't wonder IF these guys are gonna walk in ribs, but how high. 95% of the time this group will GC or reserve.

I mean.............since you can't seem to figure out when to leave the horse carcass including doing something at a contest you know could hammer you and cost you a shot at a overall good finish when you could have easily just used a different product (possibly due to self admitted stubbornness)..........Yes, yes is the answer to that question :becky:. I would say your judgement is impaired :loco:

This article might help your rib problem. Replace the word "Partner" with "Ribs" :thumb: