Ribs?

[Arcwelder76]

So; just a quick question….. Thinking about doing ribs on this new device. My question is this. If using the 3-2-1 method will the ribs turn out more pot roasted fall apart like or will they still have a little chewyness? I’ve always done ribs low and slow on a Weber kettle but for simple ease of use I want to try out the 700 on ribs. Thanks in advance for any comments or tips & have a great day !

 

[Greg Jones]

So; just a quick question….. Thinking about doing ribs on this new device. My question is this. If using the 3-2-1 method will the ribs turn out more pot roasted fall apart like or will they still have a little chewyness? I’ve always done ribs low and slow on a Weber kettle but for simple ease of use I want to try out the 700 on ribs. Thanks in advance for any comments or tips & have a great day !

In my experience, 3-2-1 ribs always results in ‘fall off the bone’, so if that’s what you are looking for, you are in luck. If you are happy with the ribs off your Weber, using the same process on the recteq would be a good starting point.

 

[Waterboy]

A lot depends on what type of ribs and what temperature you plan to use. Baby back ribs at 250 or St. Louis ribs at 225 will give you completely different results using 3-2-1.
Like @Greg Jones said if you are happy with your Weber kettle use the same time and temps and you get similar results.

You should feel how they are coming along at each stage and adjust as necessary. I’d recommend you check the wrapped time at the 1 hour mark then again at the 1 1/2 hour mark to see if they are tender enough for your liking.

 

[mdkraft99]

I'll preface that I think it always comes down to personal preference, so in my opinion there is no "wrong" way, I'm just offering my opinion on this. I've tried 3-2-1 and other methods, and personally I'm not the biggest fan of the 3-2-1 method. Sure, they can still turn out great, but from my experience they can either be "fall off the bone", or overcooked, or lacking bark. I have changed my approach and do not use 3-2-1 and do not wrap - I season and let sit for 1 - 2 hours uncovered in the fridge before smoking. Then I smoke at ~225 and I don't look or touch them for about an hour to let some smoke set in. After about 1 hour, I start spritzing with a mixture of apple juice and apple cider, I continue that every ~30 min for the remainder of the cook. For the last ~30 min or so, I like to apply a little sauce and crank up the temp to get a glaze on them. I find that the total cook time needed is in the 4 - 5 hour range, and they are done (both by checking temp and holding up with tongs). I'm attaching a picture of a cook from this summer - I'm not a pro, but I think they turn out great, the way we like them - some bark but not completely charred, light glaze of sauce, great flavor, still juicy. The key is the moisture - you have to keep up with the spritzing or they can dry out (clearly a wrap can help avoid that if you prefer that method).

One of the things I love about BBQ - there are different techniques and it's fun to try them, find whatever you like and go with it. I hope this help - enjoy!

-Mike

P.S. I should note that I pretty much always use baby back ribs.

 

[Lager1829]

I just did a St Louis rack yesterday 5-0-0. 225 for three hours then 250 for the last two. No wrap. They were probe tender and clean tug off the bone with a nice bark.

 

[SmokeZilla]

You didn’t say what kind or ribs (STL, B-Back, Loin) but I agree with GJ. Not only will you get fall off the bone but you can also risk drying the meat to a “well done” condition for the BBs and Loin as that is a lot of cook time. For those, I use more of a 2.5-2-0.5 method. The best way to get consistent results includes leaving them on until you like to bark for the first phase, then adorn and wrap for the second phase until you get about 1/4” pull back on the bone end of the meat, then sauce and either leave them in a wrap boat, or put them directly on the grill to seal the sauce/sear. Enjoy.

 

[Gonefishin]

In the you can't trust 3-2-1 category, did @ome baby backs last week, it took 3-2-1.5 to get just before fall off the bone.

Did the 2nd pack of ribs, bought at the same time and same weight as the top example. Did 3-2, unwrapped (butchers paper) and the ribs were beyond fall off the bone

Don't go by time, do like smokezilla suggests. Every rack may be different.

 

[Arcwelder76]

Thank you all for the tips. Wrapped them after 2 hours @225&1 hr at 180. Cheating with the wraps meaning in lieu of brown sugar/butter etc. I just applied sauce and wrapped. I’ll probably unwrap after an hour and finish them. This thing is really growing on me.

 

[JTolbert]

Did one rack baby back and one rack st louis cut last week on BFG 180 for 3 225 wrapped for 2 1 hour 225 unwrapped and glazed. As others have said here 3 2 1 for babyback on the verge of too long. The st louis not long enough they were tough and need more time. Babyback fall off bone I prefer a Lil bite and a clean pull from bone.

 

[Motodad1776]

3-2-1 is for sure too long for babies, I do mine overall very much like mdkraft99.

 

[BDawg]

I do my Baby Backs 1-1-2-1. Unwrapped for 1 hr on LO, unwrapped for 1 @ 225F, then wrapped for 2 in butcher paper (NOT foil) at 250F, then hit them with a glazing sauce and unwrapped for 1 at 275. They come out nice - pull off the bone, not fall off the bone.

For KC ribs, same idea except 1-2-2-1 with 2hrs unwrapped @225 instead of only 1.

When I used foil, that's when they came out overdone/mushy.
Moving to butcher paper solved that problem. I won't go back to foil, unless for some reason I screwed up planning and was trying to speed up cook time on a big piece like a butt. Even then, I would only use the foil for a portion of the wrap time.

 

[SmokeZilla]

I do my Baby Backs 1-1-2-1. Unwrapped for 1 hr on LO, unwrapped for 1 @ 225F, then wrapped for 2 in butcher paper (NOT foil) at 250F, then hit them with a glazing sauce and unwrapped for 1 at 275. They come out nice - pull off the bone, not fall off the bone.

For KC ribs, same idea except 1-2-2-1 with 2hrs unwrapped @225 instead of only 1.

When I used foil, that's when they came out overdone/mushy.
Moving to butcher paper solved that problem. I won't go back to foil, unless for some reason I screwed up planning and was trying to speed up cook time on a big piece like a butt. Even then, I would only use the foil for a portion of the wrap time.

Well stated. When cooking, it is all about the series of adjustments you make to achieve the desired output. A real chef didn’t write the book because his/her hands were greasy.