Sorry if this has been covered before, I couldn't find any posts on this.
How many of you using the PBC use the "Texas Crunch" or wrap your ribs during the cook? I'd like to leave mine hanging for the full cook but I (almost) always see people wrapping the ribs at some point. Challenge with the PBC is getting more than 3 wrapped racks of ribs on the round grill. Thanks in advance.
I’ve cooked ribs twice and have hung the entire time. And, come to think of it, I’ve never wrapped ribs at all on any grill or smoker. Ribs on the PBC are pretty darn good.
My gear:
22 Weber Kettle
Napoleon PRO Charcoal Kettle Grill
Broil King Keg
Traeger Pro 34
Napoleon Prestige Pro 500
Pit Barrel Cooker
Blackstone Range Combo Griddle
Frankly, I don't wrap anything and definitely wouldn't wrap ribs. I tried the 3,2,1 method once and while tasty, the ribs were fall of the bone which to me means they are over cooked.
I've done them both ways. My family particularly liked the racks I wrapped a couple of different times sorta following Heath Riles' method. I haven't done it a lot, but it seems to me if I'm choosing to wrap its a balance of getting them tender and juicy vs. still not having them be "fall off the bone" and losing your bark. If they do get too tender, you can't rehang them in the PBC to firm the bark back up - they'll fall off the hook and into your charcoal basket (trust me on this one). I think 2 hours (3-2-1 method) is waaaay too long, at least in my limited experience, I'm looking more at 45 min to an hour tops. Next time I decide to wrap ribs I will probably just stick to the kettle where I can more easily firm it back up and tend to get better bark anyway. If I want that killer PBC flavor, I'll just hang them and let 'em ride. They're all delicious, just different IMHO.
I, like pkadare do not wrap ribs, brisket or butts. I take ribs to where they just start to crack which allows them to be pulled off the bone clean. They are not fall off the bone which is to well done, even at the championship shows. Brisket and butts have enough fat to stay nice and juicy without wrapping and maintain a better bark. IMHO. I have been doing this along time and tried the wrap with butcher paper and no significant difference so dropped it.
Last edited by mountainsmoker; August 29, 2019, 03:39 PM.
Reason: Made a couple of typo's.
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Location: Farwell, Michigan - near Clare (dead center of lower peninsula).
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No need to wrap ribs on the PBC. Well as far as I'm concerned. That darn PBC cooks ribs (3ish hours) and chickens just right. I do wrap larger hunks of meat. Just Do It! as they say. Have fun doing it and don't get all wanged out on temps. pbc, pbc, pbc,p……..
If not cooking outdoors, I am cooking on the stovetop with my 14" carbon steel wok, 12" CI skillet, or in the oven with my two Lodge CI pizza pans, or two dutch ovens. I've also got a nifty Lodge carbon steel grill pan that rocks for veggies outdoors.
One of the weird food items at this year's Canadian National Exhibition is Pickle Lemonade. Lemonade with pickle brine. Even just typing that made me throw up in my mouth a little bit.
A Big Tex entry at the Texas State Fair this year.
FERNIE’S FRIED BURNT END BURRITO by Winter Family Concessions
The pinnacle of barbecue combined with everyone’s favorite spicy appetizer! A large flour tortilla is filled with a jalapeno popper spread of cream cheese, savory bacon, Mexican blend cheese, mildly spicy diced jalapenos, pepper jack and smoky nuggets of barbecue burnt ends. Quick fried to a golden brown crispy and served with a sweet tangy, spicy barbecue sauce.
I think it would be pretty difficult to Texas Crutch ribs that hang the way they do on a PBC. If you miscalculate the amount of liquid or the length of time to crutch you can end up with fall off the bone ribs that will fall off your hook and into the coals.
I just started crutching ribs because I got tired of just putting ribs in the smoker and pulling them out a few hours later, in other words, I wanted to try something different. It's a technique that does have a learning curve. Too much liquid and too much time turns good pork into mush. I also found that the time you crutch can vary depending on the rack your cooking. Some ribs just seem to cook faster and you have to adjust for that. I find that the texture of the meat can change too, for the better or the worse depending on what you do. I also like the fact that you can add ingredients when you crutch changing how the ribs taste.
I've done about 8 racks of spareribs over the last 2 months and I've wrapped all but one time when I was doing Memphis-style dry. I usually cook at 275° and wrap them sometime between as little as an hour an a half to two and half hours, depending on how their color is. I don't use a sweet rub so adding a little brown sugar, margarine and very little honey in the wrap, kind of rounds out flavors. I only wrap for 1 hour and then put the ribs back on the grate and check them until they pass the toothpick test. We don't like fall-off-the-bone ribs, but we do like 'em tender. Works for us, but I seem to be in minority here.
pbc, pbc, pbc,p……..
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