Does it make a difference between baby back and a full rack of beef or pork ribs? I figured I cooked them too long due to the size. I did 4.5 hours at around 275 (although I did poorer job at temp control because it kept sneaking up to 300) and then about 2.5-3 hours wrapped in foil. I also spritzed with an apple cider/apple juice mixture every hour. I followed the Aaron Franklin method but they werent that enjoyable.
Babys take less time to cook than spare/st louis cut. You know they are done when you grab them with tongs and the ribs start to split apart under the weight but don't actually completely fall apart. If you're at 4.5 hours nearing 300 degrees, I can guarantee you that you cooked them too long. If you can get the temp down to about 220-230, then you can do the 4.5 hour thing. With beef ribs, I'm not too sure of cook times because I never felt like spending the money on nice beef ribs. I do know they are wrapped though. When I go out for beef ribs, the bbq places always have to unwrap them each time. Edit: remember to remove the membrane on the under side of the ribs before you cook them.
Not sure if it's cheating, but I generally put my ribs (seasoned with salt, pepper, or dry rub) in the sous vide for 24hrs at about 150 degrees... it does a great job of breaking down the connective tissue while maintaining full moisture. I then let them cool down, dry-rub or sauce them, and then throw them on a low grill for a couple of hours. The biggest problem I have is that they sometimes get almost too tender and can be hard to keep on the bone. Next step is to get a smoker, for sure... but for now, that works out pretty well for me. Really easy, and now that stick sous vides are around $120 it's pretty cheap to get into.
I use the 3-2-1 method for ribs, I like mine a bit more tender than you’d find at a BBQ place. 3 hours in the smoker at around 275, two hours wrapped in foil at 275 and the and hour back in the smoke unwrapped to finish.
I instant pot my ribs now when I don’t wanna kill a day. Only downside is that the flavor is less smoky. Finish them off on the broiler. And I’m eating ribs in under an hour and a half. It’s cheating but I’m not competing.
I add a drop or two of liquid smoke to the ribs or pulled pork I do in the sous vide. More than anything it’s just easy. I get 90% of my meat in bulk from Costco. I bring it home and then slice it up and vacuum pack them. Ribs or pork tenderloin I will often season right then in the bag before freezing. I then say “I’d like some ribs tomorrow night” and throw the bag in the sous vide the day before and it slow cooks it. No fuss, no muss. Literally “set it and forget it”. Finish work the next day, crack a beer, slow cook the ribs on the bbq to finish them off while decompressing from the day. Works for me.
On my BGE, I've found success doing baby backs by smoking them at 325 for a few hours, then wrapping them in foil and putting them back on the Egg, bone up for an hour. Sauce, put back on for a bit for the sauce to thicken and caramelize. Plan on doing a brisket this year for the first time. Any pointers would be great.
I do babybacks at 225 for 3-4 hours depending on the size, and st louis/spare for 5-6 depending. I spritz with black coffee. Use the 5-4-3-2-1 rub (I add a little ginger powder). I also use that rub for my brisket, with some slight variations if I feel like it (add onion powder, ginger, increase the amount of pepper, etc.).
Cut the fat cap off the brisket when it’s done and chop up. Smoke for another 3-4 hours to make burnt ends. The best bbq out there.
I salt my side ribs with Kosher salt at 1/4 teaspoon per pound, and throw them on a rack in the fridge overnight. Next morning I add my rub (it has no salt) while the smoker is warming up. Throw them on at 225-235 Deg F for 5 hours, and then I check them with the tong method mentioned above. They're usually done in 5-5.5hrs. Fire the grill up full blast, sauce 'em, and sear 'em on both sides. Then serve. Boiling your ribs means the terrorists have won.
I smoked a whole chicken yesterday beer can style and it turned out great. I was a little worried about the skin because I wasn't spritzing it with anything while it smoked. I took it out of the smoker and slathered it with bbq sauce and let it rest for about an hour. Skin was nice and juicy after that. I got my smoker just a few months I go and I absolutely love it. Between it and the sous vide I am cooking up a ton of delicious meats.
It's called dry brining, and it turns an ok piece of meat into a great one, and a great one into a restaurant-quality melt in your mouth orgasmic experience. Everyone needs to do this. I always dry brine my steaks and pork anything, only takes about 30 min - 1 hr but of course the longer the better (diminishing returns after that first hr though unless it's a large cut of meat like ribs, brisket, etc).
Agreed. I got some ribeyes on sale the other day because the prime cuts were $10/lb and I salt and pepper each side and let them side in the fridge for a few hours to dry out a little. It’s the fucking best.
Agreed. I bump up the amount of salt to 1/2 teaspoon/lb of meat, if it's anything other than ribs. I apply salt and leave in the fridge until the crystals disappear unless it's a big clod of meat that's going on the smoker. Those are overnight jobs.
I find that it helps get a better char on the meat. Enhances the flavor more. When the meat is put on the grill or skillet when the outside is dry, I find that it cooks better versus when it rinsed, dried and thrown in the grill.
Here's a great explanation of dry brining. Do it once and you'll hate yourself for having not done it before.
Started a little experiment yesterday. Picked myself up a "small" 12lb packer brisket from Costco the other day that I then trimmed up and put my regular brisket rub on to sit overnight. Then into the electric smoker for 5 hours at 225 just to get that smoke flavor into it. Now it's sitting in my sous vide cooler at 155 until tomorrow. The plan is to pop it out in the morning, un-bag it, paper towel it off, re-rub, throw it into the fridge for a few hours then blast it in the oven under the broiler to try and make a makeshift crust on it.
And here's the finished product. Definitely an interesting result for a first time experiment. Identified some areas where it could be improved next go around but everyone else seemed to enjoy it without any issues.