Stampede Rib Problem

[mikeporter616]

I cooked a rack of ribs yesterday using the HeyGrillHey Orange BBQ Ribs recipe. Let me first say that I think that the recipe is a killer. Mine did not turn out as expected. I started with a full rack and trimmed off what I though should be trimmed. The recipe is basically a 3-2-1 at 225 with a braze and a glaze. The ribs looked good, there was great pull back on the bones, but the temp seemed to be only 175-180. Since they were basically falling apart, I pulled them and let them rest in the cooler for ~an hour. The taste was excellent, but there was a tough band on the top. The picture shows the result (I cut the rack in half to fit in the pan for holding). Any thoughts on where I went wrong?

 

[Jim6820]

Did your get all the membrane pulled off? Sometimes, a strip will remain after the first pull. Otherwise, not sure what to suggest.

 

[mikeporter616]

I did pull the membrane. The tough layer was on the meat side. I haven't cook a lot of ribs, but this has never happened to me before.

 

[C. Keeper]

I cooked a rack of ribs yesterday using the HeyGrillHey Orange BBQ Ribs recipe. Let me first say that I think that the recipe is a killer. Mine did not turn out as expected. I started with a full rack and trimmed off what I though should be trimmed. The recipe is basically a 3-2-1 at 225 with a braze and a glaze. The ribs looked good, there was great pull back on the bones, but the temp seemed to be only 175-180. Since they were basically falling apart, I pulled them and let them rest in the cooler for ~an hour. The taste was excellent, but there was a tough band on the top. The picture shows the result (I cut the rack in half to fit in the pan for holding). Any thoughts on where I went wrong?View attachment 15024

I've had something similar with inferior meats. Swift comes to mind as one.

 

[mikeporter616]

VERY interesting! Mine was a Swift. Thanks.

 

[Greg Jones]

Were you trimming them to still be a full rack of spares, or to a St. Louis-style cut? I’ve found that full spares can be more challenging-I trim to St. Louis style and save the trim for use in beans, etc., or cook the trim along with the ribs to nibble on while ribs cook.

 

[C. Keeper]

VERY interesting! Mine was a Swift. Thanks.

Smithfield isn't as bad, but don't recommend.

 

[mikeporter616]

Greg Jones - I was trimming for a full rack. Don't think I did it right. The removed pieces can be seen in this picture.

 

[sdynak]

I won't buy Swift Ribs any more or at least from Costco. Last ones I got smelled rotten. My bet is on Swift as mentioned by @Jigsaw.

 

[Gonefishin]

Just a couple guesses

Can't tell you specifically why but I've occasionally had problems checking temp on ribs getting reading similar to yours, that's why I go more by using an instant read thermometer as a probe for tender, and doing the bend test when it seems done. Another thing is I use the instant read to check temp too, not the RT meat thermometer. Using the Instant read, I can check several spots as opposed to just seeing one. The RT is okay to get you in the ball park. The times my readings are like yours, the meat is way overcooked, which looks like your is. The temp thing might be all the juice is cooked out, but that's just a guess.

Did you wrap? I'm guessing the 2 of 3-2-1 was such. At time I can only wrap for an hour, got to check the temp and let that decide as opposed to doing a rigid 2 hours. An extra hour boiling already done ribs wouldn't be good.

Just opening the grill too much, checking temps and such, can reek havoc with temps.

When I do put the RT temp probe in I do it after using the instant read to find a spot where the temp is the lowest. It gives me an idea if the RT probe is in a good spot. Sometimes I move it a couple times during a cook in the same manner.

 

[Gonefishin]

I won't buy Swift Ribs any more or at least from Costco. Last ones I got smelled rotten. My bet is on Swift as mentioned by @Jigsaw.

I've given up on all the big packs of Costco pork. Had multiple packs of both ribs and butts that stunk. FWIW, on looking into this I was told to just rinse it well, it's still good.

I've never had a single pack of Chairman's Choice pork smell, and it's pretty much all I use.

 

[C. Keeper]

I've given up on all the big packs of Costco pork. Had multiple packs of both ribs and butts that stunk. FWIW, on looking into this I was told to just rinse it well, it's still good.

Agree! Done with all Costco pork.
I tried Ranchers Reserve and happy with the quality.

 

[sdynak]

I've given up on all the big packs of Costco pork. Had multiple packs of both ribs and butts that stunk. FWIW, on looking into this I was told to just rinse it well, it's still good.

Yeah.. I got the Butt I just did there and it was ok but my last set of ribs were so bad I hesitated with that even. I did try to rinse them down.. it didn't make a difference. It was rancid. They lost me on that one going forward for sure.

 

[Greg Jones]

I personally have not had a foul smelling issue with Swift/Costco ribs, but I’ve switched to Wild Fork for ribs as well. What bugs me about Costco these days is that they want to promote themselves as discount/member’s club savings yet charge the same, or more, then other suppliers such as KOW or Wild Fork which are clearly premium. If gas at Costco were the same as everywhere else, I probably would drop my membership. We have a Buc-ee’s opening 4 miles from my house in less than two months, so even the fuel incentive is going away.

 

[JGW]

Note.....cry-o-pak meat, especially pork, will have an off note. This IS normal. It's part of the vacuum sealing process.

See this:. https://yourmeatguide.com/vacuum-sealed-meat-smells-bad/

 

[sdynak]

Note.....cry-o-pak meat, especially pork, will have an off note. This IS normal. It's part of the vacuum sealing process.

See this:. https://yourmeatguide.com/vacuum-sealed-meat-smells-bad/

Trust me.. mine was rancid and not normal on that one. I have opened a few packs of meat over my 50 years .

 

[BethV]

I never buy pork from Costco anymore. I can't even count how many times I have gotten bad pork. Granted, there might be an odor from ribs packed tightly in cyro but it's very obvious when pork is on it's way out. It reeks. It's a very obvious odor. No amount of washing gets it out. And it should not be cooked. It's a bit like playing Russian Roulette. I know many of you don't mind the smell and cook it anyway. My motto when it comes to food safety...when in doubt...don't.

Regarding the toughness on the top part of your ribs, I can only think that there may have been some silverskin that was not removed. That is tough and and does not render out when cooked. It's like a band of rubber. It's not something you normally see on the top but that is all I can think of. Otherwise there is just fat, meat and bones making up the ribs.

I no longer wrap. I like the flavors of the 3-2-1 ribs but I'm just as happy letting them go for 5-6 hours at 225F unwrapped until they pass the bend test.

 

[Roaniecowpony]

I personally have not had a foul smelling issue with Swift/Costco ribs, but I’ve switched to Wild Fork for ribs as well. What bugs me about Costco these days is that they want to promote themselves as discount/member’s club savings yet charge the same, or more, then other suppliers such as KOW or Wild Fork which are clearly premium. If gas at Costco were the same as everywhere else, I probably would drop my membership. We have a Buc-ee’s opening 4 miles from my house in less than two months, so even the fuel incentive is going away.

...but the wine prices are great.

 

[Roaniecowpony]

To the OP's question; if it is about the temperature which the meat finished, I'd say leave the thermometer in the drawer, for ribs especially. Cook till the bark is set and as dark as you like, wrap and cook till tender as desired. Each animal is different and we're even dealing with different breeds of pigs across the states and stores.

 

[Jim6820]

I guess I’ve just been lucky, but I haven’t (at least, yet) gotten any bad pork from Costco. And, I’m pretty picky about the quality of meat I buy.

Maybe it’s because I’m less than a hundred miles from Costco’s HQ in Issaquah, Washington. I do know the quality control manager at Costco and will let him know what I’ve been hearing (but haven’t experienced) about their pork.