3-2-1 Ribs Gone Bad

[C. Keeper]

I was wondering the same thing. I've never had any issues with ribs from the Costco stores I've been to in Minnesota.

I think the Costco in VA sells the Swift brand.

 

[BigDog]

Did you say what kind of ribs they were?

Do you know how much each rack weighed?

They were baby back from the Costco bag. Not sure of the weight.

 

[BigDog]

I was just going to comment asking if the pit temp has been verified with a 3rd party thermometer. That's what I am thinking is the most likely cause.

Thanks for the response I agree I need to verify the smoker temp I am not sure how that is done..

 

[Chevys10zr2003]

Thanks for the response I agree I need to verify the smoker temp I am not sure how that is done..

Set the pit for 225 or whatever temp you want and use an external thermometer like a Fireboard or Thermoworks Smoke or something similar to that and verify that the temp is actually at the temp you set it for. If it's not, go into the settings and adjust the temperature offset on the grill.

 

[BigDog]

This response is why I'm heavily thinking your pit temp isn't accurate. After 3 hours unwrapped, 2 hours wrapped and 1 hour unwrapped in a 225 degree pit I would say there is a 0.001% chance ribs are at 155 degrees.....unless the pit is only at 170 degrees.

My 1250 was about 175 degrees out of the box when set to 225 and I made the worst ribs ever. Didn't do the bend test or anything, just went off of what i had always done with other smokers. Then I checked the pit temp the next day and was amazed how far off it was.

Thanks for your input I will be checking the set temperature the next time I fire it up.

 

[RattleR]

Thanks for the response I agree I need to verify the smoker temp I am not sure how that is done..

Here is a YT from RecTeq

 

[BigDog]

Thanks everyone for the input. I remembered I had an old Weber probe I used to temp pork butts. I will verify its capability and check the temp of my RT590 controller. I guess my next item will be to find some better meat that may be a mucher harder task.

 

[Pacman]

Just FYI, that Weber probe is intended to be inserted into food and it may not give a totally accurate ambient pit temperature. If propped up properly it will get you close, but it's sort of a different animal than an air temp probe.

 

[BigDog]

Just FYI, that Weber probe is intended to be inserted into food and it may not give a totally accurate ambient pit temperature. If propped up properly it will get you close, but it's sort of a different animal than an air temp probe.

Thanks Pacman. I also found out this vintage Weber tops out at 199 F. I just ordered a ThermoWorks Square Dot it does both ambient temperature and probe temperature.

 

[Jim6820]

Thanks Pacman. I also found out this vintage Weber tops out at 199 F. I just ordered a ThermoWorks Square Dot it does both ambient temperature and probe temperature.

The TW Square Dot is a nice unit. I bought one for my wife to use in the oven on things I’m not allowed to cook on the grill. It works quite well.

I bought an extra food probe for it so she could either monitor two food items or use the included air probe when checking oven temperature.

 

[MikeK]

Well, I ran my normal 3-2-1 ribs yesterday and it went bad. I ened up being more like a 3-2-3 recipe. I hope someone can help me understand what went wrong. First the ribs were from Costco I had done some earlier this month on a diffent smoker and froze one slab. Thawed out the remaining one slab in the refrigerator for three days it was completely thawed. I added my rub and let them sit for about 45 minutes in the refrigerator while my ReqTeq RT590 came up to temp. 225F using Lumber Jack oak pellets. I did the normal 3 hours of smoke then wraped them in foil with brown sugar butter and honey for 2 hours. Everything looked good after the wrap but it took three more hours for them to finish and by the end outside was way too hard and tuff. Help with this odd occurrence. Thanks

My 321 recipe calls for apple cider also. Sounds like you dried them out.

 

[SmokeOCD]

The TW Square Dot is a nice unit. I bought one for my wife to use in the oven on things I’m not allowed to cook on the grill. It works quite well.

I bought an extra food probe for it so she could either monitor two food items or use the included air probe when checking oven temperature.

What’s not allowed on the grill?

 

[Jim6820]

What’s not allowed on the grill?

She also enjoys cooking, so it is kind of an equal opportunity thing.

 

[Gonefishin]

She also enjoys cooking, so it is kind of an equal opportunity thing.

Same here, I do all the meat type foods and pizza outside, she does pretty much the rest inside, not to include roasted items.

A lot of things I’d like to try outside, but I’m not going to mess with her turf.

Ciabatta and German Chocolate Cheese pie is hers today while I slave away in front of the tube while the pork cooks. Life’s tough sometimes.

 

[SmokeOCD]

Just because this is the newest rib thread, I wanted to report that I will no longer be doing official low and slow on ribs. I did Lo for about 45 minutes just for smoke, turned it up to 270, naked all the way, spritzing every 30 for almost 3 hours, sauced one side, 10 minutes later flip and sauce, gave it 15 to tack up. Everyone likes the texture of the meat better, still a little tug, I personally don’t like fall off the bone. It’s more moist, still easy to clean to the bone, good bite, blah blah blah.

Pepper, kosher salt, lowreys, garlic
Glazed with SBR cut with soy sauce and ACV.

Got the idea from Canadian dad bbq video. His process is more complex than what I did, but he’s also cooking on a kamado. I skipped foiling.

 

[Gonefishin]

Is 4 hours right? Be good to try, never know when I need a fast mode.

 

[SmokeOCD]

Is 4 hours right? Be good to try, never know when I need a fast mode.

Yes, 45 smoke, 2.5 @ 270, then about 30 glazing, giving 10-15 per side to set the sauce. I couldn’t get the thermometer in there right, was reading everything from 145 to 198, but picking them up with tongs they wanted to start breaking under their own weight, so I knew they were ready to glaze. I was a little under 4 hours, it’ll vary a little with each cook I’m sure.

The Canadian dad does a 300 degree cook in 3 hours side by side with a 6 hour low and slow. But he foil boats to protect the bottom. Fine for 1 rack but total pita for six racks. I just spritzed every 30. ACV and grape juice.

 

[mfmoyni]

Well, I ran my normal 3-2-1 ribs yesterday and it went bad. I ened up being more like a 3-2-3 recipe. I hope someone can help me understand what went wrong. First the ribs were from Costco I had done some earlier this month on a diffent smoker and froze one slab. Thawed out the remaining one slab in the refrigerator for three days it was completely thawed. I added my rub and let them sit for about 45 minutes in the refrigerator while my ReqTeq RT590 came up to temp. 225F using Lumber Jack oak pellets. I did the normal 3 hours of smoke then wraped them in foil with brown sugar butter and honey for 2 hours. Everything looked good after the wrap but it took three more hours for them to finish and by the end outside was way too hard and tuff. Help with this odd occurrence. Thanks

3-2-1 ribs always go bad, i.e., pull off the bone. Take an hour off the time and you’ll be fine.

 

[SmokeZilla]

Yes, 45 smoke, 2.5 @ 270, then about 30 glazing, giving 10-15 per side to set the sauce. I couldn’t get the thermometer in there right, was reading everything from 145 to 198, but picking them up with tongs they wanted to start breaking under their own weight, so I knew they were ready to glaze. I was a little under 4 hours, it’ll vary a little with each cook I’m sure.

The Canadian dad does a 300 degree cook in 3 hours side by side with a 6 hour low and slow. But he foil boats to protect the bottom. Fine for 1 rack but total pita for six racks. I just spritzed every 30. ACV and grape juice.

Smoke,

I can’t give full credit to “Canadian dad” for this recipe. That‘s the way we’ve done ribs in the Carolina’s for over 6 generations on open stick burners and charcoal grills. It is quicker but was used primarily for what is now called St. Louis style ribs (we called them whole ribs since STL was barely formed when my family was cooking outdoors). If not done at the higher temps, you couldn’t leave church and have dinner that night before it got so dark you couldn’t see, lol. When I started cooking ribs for over 4 hours it was only because the modern enclosed grills held temps better allowing the slower roasting times without taking you away from your family all day. Another interesting thing about traditional prep is that the pork flavor seemed more intense but maybe that was because our supply source was grazing in the hog pen behind my grandparents house. Another benefit was not needing to remove the silver skin as the “old” method left it crunchy like a very thin chip. Just my thoughts.

 

[SmokeOCD]

Smoke,

I can’t give full credit to “Canadian dad” for this recipe. That‘s the way we’ve done ribs in the Carolina’s for over 6 generations on open stick burners and charcoal grills. It is quicker but was used primarily for what is now called St. Louis style ribs (we called them whole ribs since STL was barely formed when my family was cooking outdoors). If not done at the higher temps, you couldn’t leave church and have dinner that night before it got so dark you couldn’t see, lol. When I started cooking ribs for over 4 hours it was only because the modern enclosed grills held temps better allowing the slower roasting times without taking you away from your family all day. Another interesting thing about traditional prep is that the pork flavor seemed more intense but maybe that was because our supply source was grazing in the hog pen behind my grandparents house. Another benefit was not needing to remove the silver skin as the “old” method left it crunchy like a very thin chip. Just my thoughts.

Make a video, I’ll call them Zilla Ribs. Honestly just put that there if anyone wanted to look for my reference. I tried to be brief, adding the reference kept me from writing a full novel.
You probably have a mix of fond memories and better pork making it all the better in your mind.
I didn’t peel them, another time saver - as you say crispy chip with bbq sauce.