Bull First cook fail

[Madstereoman]

Two babyback slabs. 1.5 hours on low for max smoke. 4 hours on 225. Still somewhat raw. Ugh

 

[motsco]

i ain’t done till it’s done.
provide pics and more info please.

 

[Tgrimm001]

Two babyback slabs. 1.5 hours on low for max smoke. 4 hours on 225. Still somewhat raw. Ugh

A lot of people will just do the bend test on ribs. I personally like to check them with a thermometer. 195 is about the earliest I'll pull mine. Over 200° for my wife because she likes fall off the bone. Either way seems to work well. What temp did you pull them at?

 

[Madstereoman]

I didn’t go by temp just went with recipes on line that said 3-4 hours on 225

 

[Buckeye1]

Did you wrap them.

 

[Madstereoman]

No

 

[chadinsc]

it just needed more time. my first cook on my bull was bad. but i have gotten better and so will you. if you want to redeem your self go get a steak of your choice and cook it at 200 until you hit an internal temp of 110 then pull the steaks off and put grill on full. once it gets above 425-450 put them back on and flip them once they hit 120 and pull at 135. your family will never want to goto a steakhouse again i promise!

 

[Kamikazee494]

I didn’t go by temp just went with recipes on line that said 3-4 hours on 225

I always give myself at least 5 hours for baby backs(no wrap). I don’t have experience on a pellet grill yet. But my baby backs are almost always done in about 4 hours on my Weber kettle at 225. Not fall off the bone but a nice clean bite. These were done on Memorial Day. Probably pulled off the grill at about 3 and a half hours. Went by the bend test.

 

[ken g]

My experience with baby backs is they require 5-6 hours at 225 (no wrap) until they pass the bend test. Toss out any recipe that instructs you to smoke ribs for a specific time. Ribs are like pets and children. No two slabs are alike.

 

[Blues1]

There is a bit of a learning curve to cooking on a pellet smoker. Seems like everything I cook takes longer than prescribed. I've learned to start earlier and roll with it...don't let it discourage you

 

[NBK]

I always wrap @ about 160°. Unwrap @ 180°- 185° and run uncovered for the final 10°. Try to pull off at 195°. Works every time for "tug off the bone" ribs.

 

[jfjohn77]

@Madstereoman your internal RTD probe may not be reading correctly. You may need to calibrate it, could be reading high. I'm pretty sure mine is reading high, I need to check it but I don't have anything at the moment that I trust to be accurate.

​

 

[Roaniecowpony]

I always give myself at least 5 hours for baby backs(no wrap). I don’t have experience on a pellet grill yet. But my baby backs are almost always done in about 4 hours on my Weber kettle at 225. Not fall off the bone but a nice clean bite. These were done on Memorial Day. Probably pulled off the grill at about 3 and a half hours. Went by the bend test.

A kettle is a great and versatile cooker. But, comparing cooking times of a kettle vs pellet grill is complicated by the difference in heat types. A typical kettle setup for bbq ribs, has a combination of infrared (IR) and convective heat. A pellet grill setup for ribs is primarily convective heating. So the addition of the IR heating, in a kettle, will transfer heat to the surface of the meat faster and more efficiently, resulting in faster cooking.

 

[MikeyB]

Two babyback slabs. 1.5 hours on low for max smoke. 4 hours on 225. Still somewhat raw. Ugh

Check out my post titled Baby Back Fail. I had a similar issue and got a lot of great responses from everyone here.

 

[Roaniecowpony]

I didn’t go by temp just went with recipes on line that said 3-4 hours on 225

With mostly convective heating in a pellet grill, you'd need to cook at about 275-300F to cook ribs in 3-4 hours. At 225F in the pellet grill, figure on 5-7 hours to tender. If you wrap, it shortens cooking time.

 

[sdynak]

Just my experience that is not long enough for BB @225 .. I just did 2 racks on Monday and went for ~ 7.5 hrs using the bend test. Even though both went on the same and stayed on the same time one rack was slightly more tender than the other. They do vary also. You likely needed another hour to 2.

The great thing is you can do it over and over till you perfect it and enjoy them every time.

 

[Kamikazee494]

A kettle is a great and versatile cooker. But, comparing cooking times of a kettle vs pellet grill is complicated by the difference in heat types. A typical kettle setup for bbq ribs, has a combination of infrared (IR) and convective heat. A pellet grill setup for ribs is primarily convective heating. So the addition of the IR heating, in a kettle, will transfer heat to the surface of the meat faster and more efficiently, resulting in faster cooking.

So does this go for all low and slow cooks on a pellet grill, I should expect longer cook times than what I am used to? Again, new to pellet grills, mine arrives in a week...can't wait. I'm expecting a lot of trial and error coming from a charcoal set up. But I'm definitely ok with longer cook times...more time for beers with family and friends!

 

[Stinkring]

So does this go for all low and slow cooks on a pellet grill, I should expect longer cook times than what I am used to? Again, new to pellet grills, mine arrives in a week...can't wait. I'm expecting a lot of trial and error coming from a charcoal set up. But I'm definitely ok with longer cook times...more time for beers with family and friends!

I'm new to the RT too. I'm curious as to when you ordered your Bull? I just ordered a couple of days ago and trying to figure the lead time. I got an email from RT saying they're shipping via a freight carrier (semi) on a pallet. That's going to be an interesting situation because I live on a lake with limited access.

 

[Kamikazee494]

I'm new to the RT too. I'm curious as to when you ordered your Bull? I just ordered a couple of days ago and trying to figure the lead time. I got an email from RT saying they're shipping via a freight carrier (semi) on a pallet. That's going to be an interesting situation because I live on a lake with limited access.

Well that's a long story. I actually have one in my yard now, but it was damaged beyond repair on arrival. RT customer service fixed me up and sent another. I believe they sent it UPS freight on June 4th. Not sure when it actually arrives at the freight terminal but UPS already contacted me and set a delivery appointment on Monday the 14th. So about 10 days. But I live about as far away from rec teq as you can get. On and Island in the Puget Sound, WA state. I totally get limited access too. I have to meet the driver about 2 miles from my house with my tractor and pallet forks. I got some weird looks from nearby neighbors driving the first one home last week LOL!

 

[Roaniecowpony]

So does this go for all low and slow cooks on a pellet grill, I should expect longer cook times than what I am used to? Again, new to pellet grills, mine arrives in a week...can't wait. I'm expecting a lot of trial and error coming from a charcoal set up. But I'm definitely ok with longer cook times...more time for beers with family and friends!

To answer your question, it would depend on what type of bbq you are comparing the pellet grill to.

If you comparing to a stickburner offset to a pellet grill, my experience is that the cook times are the same. But any cooker where there is IR heating (direct line of sight between the meat and heat source), cook times will be shorter.