Difficulties cooking thicker racks of ribs

[James132]

I am newer to competition BBQ and am struggling a little with ribs. We cook St. Louis style ribs (not baby back). It seems that if I get a thinner rack of ribs, it is much easier to get a good tender bite than if I get thicker racks. I cook on a gateway drum smoker at 300 for about two hours before wrapping and cook until probe tender (usually around 205). It seems like the thicker racks can tend to get more chewy even if they probe tender.

I have tried pushing the thicker racks further, but it can sometimes get to the point where the bones are releasing from the back of the ribs before they get tender enough to not have any chew.

A few questions:
1. Any tips for working with thicker racks to get them to render the same and provide just as good of a bite as the thinner racks?
2. Would dropping the temp to around 275 help break them down more?
3. Do you notice any difference in cooking if wrapping tight in foil vs having an air gap at the top of the wrap?

It seems like many people like thick racks but I seem to struggle cooking them so I would greatly appreciate any tips in working with thicker vs thinner racks.

[Troutman]

Couple of questions. Are you wrapping in foil or paper? Foil will help with tenderizing. Also if you use some liquid in the wrap (like juice along with some butter) it will help with the braise.

Last, are you cooking baby backs or spares? Thick BBs have loin meat that tends to dry out and get tough, Try spares with more belly meat and fat. Good luck 👍

[Jerod Broussard]

SLC

[STEbbq]

This is a common and frustrating issue with ribs. The best solutions are typically to trim off the extra thickness to make for a “normal” thin rib cook or to simply buy 2.6 or 2.7 pound racks in the case of baby back ribs. I am not sure of the comparable weight for “thin” St. Louis or spare ribs as I don’t cook those usually. Certainly, the smallest racks you can find for sure.

[Finster]

Weight of Baby backs has been mentioned before in previous threads. Since then, I have made an effort to look for racks that are around the 2.5 range. I find them pretty difficult to find..

[bbqLuv]

Ditto
I trimmed off the "fat cap" on the last SLC. And, it worked out well.
For the backyard cook, that is.

[RonB]

I don't cook enough ribs to be of any help, but welcome to The Pit.

[Jerod Broussard]

I tried 300 on SLC's and found better texture running 275.

[James132]

Couple of questions. Are you wrapping in foil or paper? Foil will help with tenderizing. Also if you use some liquid in the wrap (like juice along with some butter) it will help with the braise.

Last, are you cooking baby backs or spares? Thick BBs have loin meat that tends to dry out and get tough, Try spares with more belly meat and fat. Good luck 👍

St. Louis style. I wrap in foil with butter, sugar in the raw and a vinegar based bbq sauce.

[James132]

This is a common and frustrating issue with ribs. The best solutions are typically to trim off the extra thickness to make for a “normal” thin rib cook or to simply buy 2.6 or 2.7 pound racks in the case of baby back ribs. I am not sure of the comparable weight for “thin” St. Louis or spare ribs as I don’t cook those usually. Certainly, the smallest racks you can find for sure.

Thanks for the response! Thinner racks seem easier to find but it just seems like it would be a better bite with thicker ribs. On BBQ USA (I believe it was the 1st episode), Joe from Slaps appeared to have really thick ribs that were also very tender. It seems like teams prefer a thicker rib, but they just seem more difficult to get right and I have not been able to figure out why.

At the last comp we were at, we had decently thick ribs that looked really good, but when it came to tasting them, they were not exactly what we were looking for.

I'll probably play around a bit more with thicker ribs, but might try both until I figure them out.

[James132]

I tried 300 on SLC's and found better texture running 275.

I will give it a try!

[Mosca]

Is this an issue that comes up in just competition, or both competition and back yard? If it’s just competition, you might get better response putting it in that section. A solution that works in the back yard might solve one competition problem but create another.

Jerod Broussard?

[RiverJeff]

I am 4 years new to smoking SL ribs however I keep temp same all the way to the end and have been playing with wrap times with butter and brown sugar.

[James132]

Is this an issue that comes up in just competition, or both competition and back yard? If it’s just competition, you might get better response putting it in that section. A solution that works in the back yard might solve one competition problem but create another.

Jerod Broussard?

I typically cook the same way if cooking for a competition or at home. Just curious how I can get the thicker racks to be as tender as the thinner ones.

[Troutman]

I was actually eating some of my leftover ribs from the weekend cook last night. These last few were from a rack of ribs that came from my local grocery and were supposedly Duroc in origin. The other rack I cooked were basic commodity pork (I think it was Swift). Both had about the same amount of thickness but the commodity pork had a lot more fat so they rendered down a little more tender than the Duroc which had a little thicker, meaty cap. I think a lot of your problem may be in the type of pork you are using and the resultant fat content. Like with baby backs, the loin meat on those tends to dry out and have a tougher texture.

You may be experiencing lean meat that needs to be braised longer. Try smoking at a much lower temperature and maybe upping your wrap time. That will allow the braising part of the cook to work it's magic. You might want to consider a slightly fattier rack of ribs as well.

Good luck, let us know how things progress. We also like to see pictures, they speak volumes. And lastly, pay the price and join our little club. You'll be amazed at what you can learn on this site

[James132]

I was actually eating some of my leftover ribs from the weekend cook last night. These last few were from a rack of ribs that came from my local grocery and were supposedly Duroc in origin. The other rack I cooked were basic commodity pork (I think it was Swift). Both had about the same amount of thickness but the commodity pork had a lot more fat so they rendered down a little more tender than the Duroc which had a little thicker, meaty cap. I think a lot of your problem may be in the type of pork you are using and the resultant fat content. Like with baby backs, the loin meat on those tends to dry out and have a tougher texture.

You may be experiencing lean meat that needs to be braised longer. Try smoking at a much lower temperature and maybe upping your wrap time. That will allow the braising part of the cook to work it's magic. You might want to consider a slightly fattier rack of ribs as well.

Good luck, let us know how things progress. We also like to see pictures, they speak volumes. And lastly, pay the price and join our little club. You'll be amazed at what you can learn on this site

Thanks for the response! We typically look around a lot when picking out our comp ribs to find some that have good marbling. It usually takes multiple walmart runs to get some good ribs but they are not always the thickest.

Some BBQ shops are selling ribs now to comp guys and they are getting a larger average weight than what I would typically find at walmart. They claim that the larger ones are pulled separately some of the time and sold to other suppliers instead of walmart. Regardless, it is clear that the comp BBQ shops and many of their customers are looking for thicker racks of ribs over the thinner racks.

I have been able to source some thicker racks of prairie fresh prime ribs with good marbling, but my experience in cooking thicker racks tends to them being a little more chewy. I think it must be more in how we are cooking them as opposed to the quality of the meat as we have tried to be fairly picky on rib selection.

I will try a bit lower of a temp and longer in the braise. Thanks!

[randy.56]

A few tip's learned. Never buy frozen, always fresh. Low and slow gives you a better tasting and texture. The spares do not have as much fat as baby backs, so they are easier to dry out, wrap earlier than baby backs. I usually wrap about 160 unless the color looks good, open wrap and glaze at 200 - 205 get them off the heat 10-15 minutes. 275 is top heat temp, for me anyway. You are smart to pick you ribs carefully. Resting in Cambro or cooler is important, before slicing. Never used a drum before, principles are the same. Good luck.

[TripleB]

Hey James, I'm a KCBS judge (43 events under my belt) and you're right that judges are looking for thicker spares than thinner spares. It is not a requirement, but just makes for a better bite when judging. I've also noticed that at least 1/2 the competition teams are using UDS's. Gateways in particular and when I talk to the pit masters after judging, they are all at around 300d.

I don't wrap anymore. My smokers do just fine on getting the ribs to tenderness without the wrap crutch.

So a couple observations and suggestions to try (FWIW):

1. Try butcher paper. Paper breathes a bit and does not compromise the bark which foil does.
2. Try a Hollywood cut and see if that does not help some on the bite.
3. Try injecting. I've never done that, but some teams I talked to do.
4. Just remember to not over sauce your ribs. That is the one thing that brings a taste score down from a 9 to an 8 in a heartbeat. We're not judging sauce, we're judging meat.

Good luck!

[Troutman]

I guess, sounds like a comp hack for sure. Me? I don't sacrifice a thing that can go into my tummy

[TripleB]

Troutman Absolutely a competition trick. You should see what they do to pork butts. Ever hear of a blossom cut on a pork butt? The butt has a few muscles in it and this cut allows all the muscles to be exposed to the heat and smoke (more bark). The money muscle is also trimmed and smoked independently. So the box can have pull, strands and medallions of the MM.

[Troutman]

TripleB I knew about the money muscle (i do that as well) but the blossom method actually has great merit. The more bark the better....wooof....wooof !!!