Fix my Ribs

[SmokinAussie]

You know I don't really see a problem other than it's not perfection.

Allow yourself to fark it up occasionally.

 

[Nuco59]

"perfection is the enemy of good"

“Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without.”

Those are good looking ribs (IMHO) and if the family loves them (despite not getting the color that you are pining over) is it a big deal? If so- keep experimenting as suggested above. There might be a perfect rack of ribs in your future- hope you find it.

 

[Fsonicsmith]

I have the Shirley 94 which is nearly identical. This design "draws like a hurricane" and what is happening is that even though you think your temps are optimum, they are not. All that current/draw of heat running so swiftly over and under your racks is causing them to basically, uh, burn.
Try these things;
1) Cook at lower temps
2) Place your racks on top of sheets of foil
3) Try using the top rack
4) Place a large split in front of the firebox opening or place a water pan there (or both)
5) Damp down the stack and close down the firebox vent more so as to lessen the draft.
6) Spritz down with water frequently.
7) Select rubs with less sugar
8 ) Use smaller splits of very well aged wood and keep your fire size small
9) Watch for optimum color and then wrap but with holes poked in the foil so that they don't steam into mushy ribs.

 

[SweetHeatBBQnSC]

A lot of good advice here about wrapping to color and more. I will add that Killer Hogs The BBQ Rub adds a level of red or Mahagony that I have not seen other rubs add. It has 5 or more different types of paprika in it that helps with the color.

 

[blackdogbbq21]

If you are going for a texas style rib this is what i would try. it might not be the flavor profile your family prefers but should produce a rib with the color you describe.



Simple rub either salt and coarse pepper or Lawrys and pepper. No sugar in the rub and not even paprika, let the color come from the smoke.



Cook unwrapped until you like the color on them.



Either don't sauce until you pull them or set a little sauce on the ribs then finish in foil. Whatever sauce i would use something slightly sweet and thin it out with vinegar.

 

[marvda1]

I also found that smoking with pecan wood gives ribs a lighter, redish color.

 

[4ever3]

Your fire is not the problem, if it was your ribs would be acrid and bitter.

 

[CaptainQ]

Thanks for everyone's suggestions. I am going to try several of them. The most notable may be to wrap earlier.

 

[cholloway]

If this is the color you're looking for, I smoked these spares using splits of cherry wood.
Cherry is great for any pork cut.

 

[Connor_Macleod]

Either don't sauce until you pull them or set a little sauce on the ribs then finish in foil. Whatever sauce i would use something slightly sweet and thin it out with vinegar.

I like the advice above. If you feel like sauce is a must, I would recommend holding off on it until the very end of the cook (post-wrap if you wrap). Thin out the sauce with vinegar or bourbon; paint it on the ribs; and then take the ribs off once the sauce has set.

Also, I frequently will spread a layer of brown sugar on the ribs post-rub and then caramelize the brown sugar by blasting it with a roofing torch. No sauce involved. This pairs particularly well with spicy rubs. Photo of this from a recent cook below.

 

[LYU370]

I dont wrap and I care more about how they taste than how they look.

No foil and no goo...

Ditto. Still not sure what everyone's fascination with wrapping is. I always heard it was for cooking full spares for comps at 225, none of which I do.

Never had an issue with not wrapping, always tasty and more often than not they come out pretty good looking too. One off the FEC the other off the Big Joe. Try using cherry, maple or pecan.

 

[CaptainQ]

Good lookin' ribs guys. Any and all advice is appreciated.

 

[kls44]

When I cook ribs, I use apple for taste and cherry for color.

 

[Robert]

Personal eating: no wrap, no goo, sauce on the side if you desire. Competition: wrap and goo and all other forms of potions, lotions, emotions and any other types of voodoo that the judges seem to love. And I will throw out this caveat. Of the four categories in KCBS, ribs were our weakest. For us it was brisket, chicken, pork then ribs.



I prefer a clean bite off the bone rib (competition style if you will) versus a gnaw off the bone or fall off the bone. Dark ribs don't bother me unless they are over smoked or the rub is scorched or both.



When I had the restaurant, used to take the ribs off the Ole Hickory after 3 hours at 275, wrap meat side down with 1/4 cup of apple juice in plastic wrap then foil(to catch any juice that might leak). Then straight into our warming cabinet set at 150. Ribs always came out with beautiful mahogany color and bite off the bone tender and moist.


ATTST there are many different ways to get to the destination. Lots of good advice here. Best I can offer is know your cooker first, then work on the rest. Keep a log book of each cook so you can refer back to those notes. Record what worked and what didn't, what impressed you and what didn't. If cooking for different tastes within the family record what each person liked or disliked.

Good luck and keep the smoke rollin'

Robert

 

[4ever3]

Thanks for everyone's suggestions. I am going to try several of them. The most notable may be to wrap earlier.

(walks away, shaking head)

 

[Shiv]

I typically smoke ribs between 250 and 275. They are usually tender but not FOB. They are also juicy and have a good flavor profile. The color though is darker than I would prefer. I'd love to have that beautiful mahogany color that you see on all the TX restaurants' social media accounts. These are sauced up due to my wife and daughters preference, but you can get the idea.

I'll usually smoke around 3+ hrs then wrap with the standard goo. We usually unwrap and eat. Occasionally I'll sauce and put back on the smokier for a bit.
Other times rather than wrapping with honey, brown sugar, etc, I'll just wrap with sauce and ASV. I also spritz the ribs at times. Help a brutha' out!

I allways do it like this:
2.5h smoke. 225 Spirit with pinneapple every 30-40m
1.5h foil 250 With some liquid (pinneapple juice)
30 min naked 275 to fix the bark.

For FOB, add 30 min to the foiled ones.

 

[bned]

I agree with using cheery wood will give ribs a lighter color.

 

[cayenne]

I do

Are you running the smoke stack wide open?

I do in my offset.

Very rarely do I close it any....

 

[shares]

Ditch the lion/back ribs and cook spares.
Then focus on technique, taste, texture and color.

 

[Headgear]

I have the Shirley 94 which is nearly identical. This design "draws like a hurricane" and what is happening is that even though you think your temps are optimum, they are not. All that current/draw of heat running so swiftly over and under your racks is causing them to basically, uh, burn.
Try these things;
1) Cook at lower temps
2) Place your racks on top of sheets of foil
3) Try using the top rack
4) Place a large split in front of the firebox opening or place a water pan there (or both)
5) Damp down the stack and close down the firebox vent more so as to lessen the draft.
6) Spritz down with water frequently.
7) Select rubs with less sugar
8 ) Use smaller splits of very well aged wood and keep your fire size small
9) Watch for optimum color and then wrap but with holes poked in the foil so that they don't steam into mushy ribs.

I don't want to derail the thread but what does placing ribs on foil do? keep the bottom from burning?