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ribs not as tender in the PBC....

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    ribs not as tender in the PBC....

    First, let me state the since winning my PBC through the Pitmaster Club monthly prize program, I have been amazed by the tool and my family is eating incredible meals. Love the thing.

    The catch has been ribs.....they cook quickly, they look great, they taste great....but they have not been as tender as when I do them on the Weber(and fuss it to death to keep the temps rights). This has happened 2x now. In myquite limited experience, I like ribs better off the Weber than the PBC.

    I got to wondering about this. I attribute it to my lack of technique, though I've watched Noah's rib video a couple of times. Perhaps it was just the meat as every animal is different.

    In doing some research about this, I found a comment from another forum where by the poster suggested that to get tender ribs off of PBC, they would need wrapped and finished in the oven. This caught my attention as it matches my (again, very limited) experience.

    Today I will try again. Just wondering if anyone might have some suggestions or experiences that might help me with my quest to get the best product off of my PBC. And *should* tender ribs be possible on this cooker? I"m thinking yes but as I'm not the only one to experience this, I wanted to "run it up the flag pole" here and see what others have to say.


    #2
    I have noticed the same thing, but then again I prefer my ribs with a little more chew to them. My husband, however, does not. I wrap his in foil with a little hard cider and put them on the gas grill while mine are finishing up ( I start mine just a little later).

    I've found that the PBC does ribs more like what I get from our local bbq joints and less like what I get from a "fall off the bone" restaurant. We also don't add sauce, just rub.

    Glad you're enjoying your PBC...I love mine!

    Comment


      #3
      Where to draw the line on tenderness? A question for the ages, probably! If they look right in all regards, and seem to be responding correctly to the 'bend test' (see last meal ribs post), and they pull clean off the bone with a small amount of resistance, they are probably considered pretty good ribs!

      If you want to go more tender, wrap them with a liquid. I suspect this might need to be done after the first hour / 1.5 hours, given the speed of the PBC. They may well be done quicker too - 2hours? 2.5 hours? I'd be watching them closely.

      Good luck! Matt

      Comment


        #4
        I just tried my first wrapped ribs on the PBC and it does make quite a bit of difference. These cook fast so instead of a 3-2-1 mine was about 1.5/1/1. I double hooked mine like they do in the PBC video. That allows me to hang it again for the last hour without fear.

        Comment


          #5
          mtford72, agreed, where to draw the line. It is so subjective. What I can say for certain is that they didn't achieve the tenderness I enjoy. My ribs off the Weber kettle with an improvised Smokenator type set up were more to my liking and pretty consistent.

          That said, I've never crutched ribs before. I think today I will and see what there is to see.

          Comment


            #6
            I agree with John boy. If want them more tender, you gotta wraps those puppies. And try to get your temp down as close to 225 as possible.

            Comment


              #7
              I've never wrapped in the Pit Barrel, and they have been plenty tender. So tender my thin end bones end up being shiners. Makes the thicker end JUST RIGHT.

              Once they pass the bend test with flying colors, 15-20 more minutes and magnifique.

              Comment


                #8
                I'm with Jerod, I have never wrapped ribs on the PBC, and my temp runs about 280. I probe test mine, once my handheld temp probe goes through like butter between the bones on the thicker end, I sauce them and let that set for 10 to 15 minutes . They have come out perfect bite every time. I've always cooked good ribs no matter what I used, but the PBC ones have consistently been my best ones.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Maybe it is just me, but I never could get my ribs right before I got my PBC. On a Weber with a Smokenator (and a guru), I still struggled. One issue was always the need to "rotate" the ribs to get the heat "even". But with the PBC, even 9 racks of baby backs come out amazing. I found the hardest part was learning when to pull--missing a bit early is better than missing a bit late, IMO.

                  Not saying that ribs cannot be great on a Weber or an Egg or something else, but I never got the hang of it, especially when cooking multiple racks. I can't imagine anything else does a better job at large volume rib cooks than the PBC does.

                  I have never wrapped ribs on the PBC. I do wrap briskets and pork butts routinely, though, so I can see how it could help with ribs, too. Just seemed like a lot of extra work when the results are already great, but I could be tempted to try just to see, I guess.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Interesting. My experience is opposite this. Today I hung the racks for 2.5 hrs, lotsa cherry and apple chips, crutched for 45 minutes with a splash of Bud Lime, cried that my rub washed off(first time crutching, lesson learned), sauced with Sweet Baby Ray's and hung them back in the Pit for another 45 minutes to tighten the sauce.

                    They came out quite well. Tender, beautiful smoke ring, nicely cooked, my best effort at ribs on the PBC yet. My Mom loved them and she's a rather healthy eater in as literal sense.


                    Not sure what to make of it. Time will tell. The PBC is a great tool but I think I like ribs better off my Weber kettle and burn a fair amount less charcoal in the process. Not to poor mouth it, it's just some charcoal......no big deal...... but if better equals less, I see value.

                    My expectations might need adjusted. Time to revisit a rack on the Weber and see if I'm just being ridiculously difficult about things. This remains a very real possibility.

                    At any rate, the ribs were popular with the audience. I can not complain.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      The most amazing ribs I've ever made have all come on the PBC. They pass the bend test in about 5 hours or so and hang, sans crutch the entire time. The pit likes to run at 280 but I do have to do a little fussing with the lid during the cook to keep the temp as steady as I'd like.
                      I'm a 'sauce is for the table' smoker so it's just my dry rub the whole time. The only issue I have with the PBC and ribs is the distance between the rebar and the charcoal basket... sometimes my baby back rib racks hang right down onto the coals .... they shrink up over the cook but the bottom bone is usually charred beyond edibility. The rest of the rack comes out perfectly tender with the meat pulled back from the bone ends by 1/4 to 1/2 inch. Next time, I may halve the racks to get them off the coals.

                      Comment


                      • JPP
                        JPP commented
                        Editing a comment
                        I try to avoid the end char (assuming the temp is under control) by choking up a bit on the hook (I go to the third rib on the thick end) and triming the thin end down almost to the last bone. Especially if there are a few "short bones" down there, I just get rid of them, freezing and saving for some other type or use. I find cooking 6 racks at a time generally will keep things very nice and damp inside the cooker and hence inside the ribs themselves. Last time I cooked (check the pbc page) I had a devil of a time keeping the temp stable.... so I had the lid opened alot! This helped char the ends for sure since an open lid will cause a bigger layering of temperature with it blazing hot down at the coals.... but I only lost the meat on the fire-side of the very last rib.

                      • moteltan
                        moteltan commented
                        Editing a comment
                        I'm tempted to cut my 4 racks in half, use all 8 hooks that came with my PBC, and keep those ends off the coals. Then again, I did 4 racks of St. Louis last weekend and was not at all displeased with the bottom ones.

                      #12
                      I believe Ernest mentioned in another thread that the PBC, due to its design and higher temps is more of a 'roasting' than 'smoking'.

                      I have turned out better ribs on the ECB (and hope to do so with the smokenator), but as far as low maintenance, hassle-free cooking you cannot beat the PBC.

                      I have not wrapped mine, but I have sauced a la "Last Meal" ribs and they are better than plain nekkid in the PBC.

                      The glazed sauce doesn't overpower the rub; but I do prefer a horizontal cook on ribs so you can pile up rub (or brown sugar like Huskee) without it falling off in the fire.

                      Comment


                        #13
                        WAIT, you won a PBC here?!

                        Comment


                          #14
                          From my experience with ribs, if you are doing baby backs, because they are so lean, they cannot take the amount of initial smoke (220 degrees) time that a St. Louis or a "spare rib" can. I do crutch my baby backs after 75-90 minutes with some apple juice. It seems if I cook them any longer initially the ribs will turn out chewy or almost over done. So I take care depending on the type of ribs that I cook. I now use a Rec-Tec and love it.

                          Comment


                            #15
                            Originally posted by Ernest View Post
                            WAIT, you won a PBC here?!
                            Guilty as charged. Also a Thermoworks BBQ kit. Just one of the many perks to Pit membership!

                            Comment


                            • Ernest
                              Ernest commented
                              Editing a comment
                              You won twice?? Where did you enter this draw?

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