Spare rib fail

TomatoBob

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I made another attempt at smoking a spare rib on my 340 smoker. This time was much better than my first attempt but it was still disappointing.

I marinated the salt and pepper seasoned ribs in apple juice overnight. In the morning I removed the silver skin and trimmed the ribs to Saint Louis style. I seasoned all sides with a highly recommended rub and put the meat on the smoker at noon. The temp was 225. I used Pit Boss's Fruit blend of cherry, apple and maple pellets.

Three hours later, I wrapped the meat in tin foil and put it back on the smoker without changing the temp.

Two hours after that, I removed the meat packets, opened the foil and coated the meat with some Linder's BBQ sauce. At this point everything looked and smelled great.

Following the 3-2-1 method, I let the sauce carnalize for an hour.

I must have done something wrong. The ribs tasted fantastic but they were dry and probably overcooked. The meat was falling off the bone, which was not my goal.

Based on the bend test after the two hour wrapped session, I think that everything was probably done at that point but I followed the 3-2-1 protocol and cooked them for another hour that may have been too much.

Should I have shortened any or all of the time segments? Where do you think I messed. up?

Bob
 
I made another attempt at smoking a spare rib on my 340 smoker. This time was much better than my first attempt but it was still disappointing.

I marinated the salt and pepper seasoned ribs in apple juice overnight. In the morning I removed the silver skin and trimmed the ribs to Saint Louis style. I seasoned all sides with a highly recommended rub and put the meat on the smoker at noon. The temp was 225. I used Pit Boss's Fruit blend of cherry, apple and maple pellets.

Three hours later, I wrapped the meat in tin foil and put it back on the smoker without changing the temp.

Two hours after that, I removed the meat packets, opened the foil and coated the meat with some Linder's BBQ sauce. At this point everything looked and smelled great.

Following the 3-2-1 method, I let the sauce carnalize for an hour.

I must have done something wrong. The ribs tasted fantastic but they were dry and probably overcooked. The meat was falling off the bone, which was not my goal.

Based on the bend test after the two hour wrapped session, I think that everything was probably done at that point but I followed the 3-2-1 protocol and cooked them for another hour that may have been too much.

Should I have shortened any or all of the time segments? Where do you think I messed. up?

Bob

The 3-2-1 is a good “guide” all meat cooks different. Like with a brisket they say X time per lb..... sometimes it’s more and sometimes it’s less. The positive thing is that you said better than the last time so it’s progress.... enjoy the small victories. Your though process I feel is correct, listen to your stomach, it felt done at the end of the 2 hour wrap call it then.
 
Marinades can mess with moisture and texture, so I typically will dry brine overnight instead. Wrapping in foil tends to overcook as well, as there is no escaping of the steam. I always go with 3-2-1 for ribs, though usually will alter it some depending on what the ribs look like. If there's less meat than usual, I will cut back the second and third part of the cook by 30 minutes or so to prevent overcooking. May want to try that the next time.

Have you verified pit temps? If they're off, everything will be off. Plus the right side tends to run hotter, so I will also rotate them around when I wrap them.
 
I gave up on the 321 rib cooking method quite awhile ago. I just throw the preped ST Louis ribs directly on the grill at 225 and let them ride out until the internal temperature is around 180 degrees I then pick them up using tongs to test the bend turn the grill up to 300 and apply sauce until finished. I found wrapped ribs generally come out fall off the bone and if that's what we're looking for I just use the Instapot and be done in around a hour. Since I stopped using the 321 method the ribs come out nice and moist with a nice bite and pull from the bone in around 5 ish hours.
 
I am along the same lines as MT59. I no longer wrap ribs, I rub them and then on the pit at 225 until they are done. Usually sauce for 30 minutes or so at the end. They have always come out tender and moist. Not fall off the bone though, if that is what you like.
You mentioned you wrapped the ribs after 3 hours and then back on the pit. Did you introduce any liquid to the wrap before seasoning? If there was no liquid added, could add to a dry rib as well. Just a thought.
 
I had the same thought as cookingjnj about adding anything to the foil. I used to do the 321 method all the time. But I like a bite to my ribs and I don't really feel like I was getting that. So I don't wrap anymore.

When I was doing them that way I did them a little different than you did yours. I did not marinate. I did use a dry rub with a hot sauce binder. Sometimes it sits overnight in the fridge, and sometimes it doesn't. It goes on the grill bone side down for 3 hours. After 3 hours I pull the ribs and wrap them individually in foil. I add apple juice, butter, honey and brown sugar to the foil and seal it tightly. Back onto the grill for 2 hours bone side up. For the last hour I unwrapped the ribs (be careful because there's a lot of hot liquid in there), and back on the grill for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, brush with your sauce, and go another 30 minutes.

It's a pretty fail proof method. And they have a really good flavor. But definitely a different texture than unwrapped.
 
Lots of good advice above, and I don’t have much to add about how to cook them. I will suggest a tweak you may want to make to your prep work. I would trim the ribs and remove the membrane and silver skin before marinating or applying your rub. You want as much marinate/rub penetration as possible on the meat you are going to eat, and if you trim last you are cutting away some of that flavor.
 
I've started using 3-1-.75 for mine to keep them from falling apart. Just a spritz of apple juice/cider vinegar before wrapping. Works for me.
Mad Scientist BBQ has a similar method. I like it a lot. Although after reading many of these posts I think I’ll try the unwrapped method. Throw them on the grill and cook til they’re done. Experimenting on the RT is one of my favorite things.
 

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