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My rematch with "baby" back ribs

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    My rematch with "baby" back ribs

    Hey folks, my cook tomorrow is a rack of pork back ribs, ostensibly "baby" back ribs. My very first smoke last July was a set of racks of what was billed as baby back ribs, but now that I've learned a heck of a lot more than I knew back then, I question whether they really were. That cook was disappointing; the meat was dry and overcooked at a little under six hours at 225F/107C. I didn't yet have my instant-read, but those ribs were thick enough to use the leave-in that came with the smoker. I've done six cooks with pork spare ribs since, which all came out great, but have not attempted pork back ribs since that ill-fated first cook.

    Here's what those first ones looked like compared to what's on tap for tomorrow. Dig the brand spanking new shiny metal box!
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    And here's tomorrow's rack:
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    Those first ones look for all the world like loin chops, and in reviewing my notes I think that's just what they were. Tomorrow's rack is from Wild Fork at ~3.2lb/1.5kg, and although they're plenty meaty, they're nowhere near the towering mountains of meat on those first ones.

    One mistake I made in the first try was trying to rely on the "bend test" for doneness, which I now can see was almost laughably hopeless with pieces like that. Tomorrow's rack is much more conducive to that, but of course now I'm much better equipped with temp probes, so it'll be much simpler to know when it's done.

    So my question today: I'm going to guess that these won't take more than about 3 hours to get done; what's your experience in pork back vs. spares in terms of cook time? Should they be done a little quicker in general? Thanks for all advice, as usual I'll be documenting the cook tomorrow right here in this thread.
    Last edited by DaveD; May 7, 2022, 06:57 AM.

    #2
    When I cook Baby Backs vs STL’s the baby backs are done usually +/- 45 minutes sooner than the STL’s
    I am smoking them in my girl Shirley patio model@ 250-275,,,,
    After about 3 hrs I check for pull back and then random bend test,,,continue cooking until they probe and bend to my likeness
    Ur nose will tell you a lot about how things are going too,,,,

    Comment


      #3
      This is gonna be a great and interesting write up Dave! Thanks for taking the time… here’s my little pea brained initial thoughts though. I’m not sure those ribs will be done in 3 hours, especially if you’re gonna do them at 225. Don’t give up on the bend test, that wasn’t a fair test on your first set of "ribs" last year. Most of us, not all, don’t probe for temps with ribs, I never have. There’s just not enough meat between the bones to rely on that. I’ve always done ribs at 250-275. After a few hours I’m usually seeing the meat begin to pull back from the bone. I look for that, as well as the bend test and the look of my bark. Most of the time, your baby backs should be done in about 4 hours or a little more. But YMMV.
      Last edited by Panhead John; May 7, 2022, 07:10 AM.

      Comment


      • CaptainMike
        CaptainMike commented
        Editing a comment
        Wut dis guy sed.

      • DogFaced PonySoldier
        DogFaced PonySoldier commented
        Editing a comment
        250F for sure, and I've never gone 6h. Usually they're done well before 5 for baby backs. If I leave 'em unwrapped the whole time, that is. If I wrap, I'll do like 2-2:30, :45-:60, :30-:60. The 3:2:1 method is for low low temps, if you ask me.

      • DaveD
        DaveD commented
        Editing a comment
        To be sure, I have no intention of giving up on the bend test. It just wasn't a good way to go when the cuts I had were that shape and thickness -- those things were NEVER gonna bend. And I will in fact be doing 250F/121C.

      #4
      I've smoked more pork loin/baby back ribs than I have spares over the years, and the bend test NEVER works on those for me. I just gotta go by tenderness. And I think I would do a crutch for an hour or two with them as well, then take back out of the foil to finish. Then they are often falling apart, more than I like, but the family likes it that way. They just don't have the fat content of the spares, and need more TLC. My preferred is Saint Louis cut spares these days, but I still do the occasional loin back rib cook.

      Comment


      • DogFaced PonySoldier
        DogFaced PonySoldier commented
        Editing a comment
        I agree, too much time in foil ALWAYS makes them way to fall-apart for me. I've got to where I'd rather do without wrapping and go a little longer, flipping and turning, and I get a good crust. And bend test isn't reliable with baby backs, not even.

      #5
      I haven't cooked many Baby Backs, just St. Louis racks. I cook at 275o - I found that they tend to dry out (unless you wrap) if cooked at a lower temp.
      Last edited by 58limited; May 7, 2022, 07:39 AM.

      Comment


        #6
        Wait, did I miss a new smoker purchase Dave?!

        I always do baby back ribs over SLC. I usually do 250-275 and 2-1-1. 2 hours cooking, 1 hour in the crutch, and then 1 hour back on the smoker. I usually start checking for doneness after the crutch and watch for the meat to pull back from the bones. The bend test has usually resulted in overcooked ribs for me.

        I am not a fan of wrapping in general and usually do not do it. But reflecting on my rib cooks, the best ones are when I wrapped and drizzled honey etc. for extra flavor.
        Last edited by STEbbq; May 7, 2022, 08:04 AM.

        Comment


        • DaveD
          DaveD commented
          Editing a comment
          No sir, this is the only smoker I have, I was comparing my very first cook with it from last July, when it was new.

        #7
        I stopped doing back ribs at all. The butchers have made including too much loin meat on them a standard practice. Just too hard to keep them from drying out. Plus, it p****s me off. They are charging the higher rib meat prices for much cheaper loin meat. Then they market them as something special. One butcher here calls them "custom cut" back ribs and charges $8.99per pound for them. He's been doing it for years so people must be buying them. Costco had back ribs for $4.49 per pound yesterday. I only cook St. Louis spares these days.

        Comment


        • shify
          shify commented
          Editing a comment
          Same. Can’t find baby backs that aren’t "extra meaty", so I stopped cooking them. It wasn’t even just about the extra cost but rather I don’t like them as much and they are too hard to cook without drying out the loin meat. Paying more for a worse product is a double NO!

        • DaveD
          DaveD commented
          Editing a comment
          Pretty sure that's exactly what happened on those first ones, which I did get from a local butcher shop...

        • MarkN
          MarkN commented
          Editing a comment
          Originally posted by Jfrosty27 View Post
          ... The butchers have made including too much loin meat on them a standard practice.
          That is EXACTLY what happened to me a few years back. Since then, if I am going to do Baby Backs (which I rarely do) I trim off that excess loin meat and use it for something else (advice I got from here).

        #8
        I’m lazy, I put the ribs on for 5 hours, then I wrap them at 5 hours with butcher paper, and put them back on meat side down. I also hang them in my wsm. But, I rarely ever look at my ribs until the 5 hour mark. I cook in the 260-275 range on spares, and the 225-250 range on baby backs. If all together, then I go 275, and pull the babybacks early and rest them in a lower temp cook to hold. I also do not utilize the bend text. I just probe around a bit and make sure it feels right. I like to take my ribs out 6-7 hours. It, I like to spend time staring at my grill enjoying a beverage. So the longer the better, plus, why be in a hurry. Enjoy your cook, looking forward to the results and feedback.
        Last edited by Richard Chrz; May 7, 2022, 08:56 AM.

        Comment


          #9
          Hey, thanks for all the great comments folks! Sounds like I'm on the right track here. Some feedback:

          - Indeed I have not abandoned the bend test on spares, but y'all confirmed that it's not so useful for bb's.
          - I do in fact plan to run at 250F/121C
          - I'm not in any hurry! Just looking for some situational awareness on the timing, and I'm glad I asked. If I were to have waited until 2pm to put them in, that would probably have been a mistake.
          - I don't plan to wrap 'em, but will leave that option open depending on how things look. I definitely don't want "fall off the bone," I much prefer "tug off the bone" consistency. I've yet to wrap any of the pork ribs I've done (all spares except for that first cook) so my preference would be not to on these, just to not introduce an additional variable.

          I appreciate all the input!

          Comment


          • DaveD
            DaveD commented
            Editing a comment
            Right??? I got SO sick of that guy!

          • Richard Chrz
            Richard Chrz commented
            Editing a comment
            I like how you look for the variables. That has been my entire journey so far. I’ve found the butcher paper at the end, although not at all necessary, it adds a bit of bark as the fat can’t escape, and the butcher paper breathes so well, that it does not over cook like foil can, or as I have heard it can. I’ve never wrapped in foil.

          • DaveD
            DaveD commented
            Editing a comment
            Richard Chrz - one of the first things I read from Meathead totally resonated with me: changing as few things at a time as possible, preferably just one thing. Exactly how lab scientists like me roll, change just one thing so that if there's a difference, you know what to attribute it to. Not always possible/practical of course, but always the goal!

          #10
          The first ribs look more like bone-in pork loin.
          You got the right idea, the one I learned too, namely cook to temp/doneness.
          Happy grilling to you and smoking too

          Comment


          • DaveD
            DaveD commented
            Editing a comment
            Yup, that was my conclusion too... eventually. Wished I'd a figured it out back then, but I was literally brand new at this business...

          #11
          Have fun with your cook today.

          FWIW I use those super skinny short Fireboard Competition probes with ribs. They work well. I also use them with boneless chicken and fish.

          I've never had much luck with the bend test, so the probes let me know when I'm coming close to the finish line.

          Kathryn

          Comment


          • DogFaced PonySoldier
            DogFaced PonySoldier commented
            Editing a comment
            I've got those probes now, too - the 1" and the 3". What do you shoot for temp-wise? Around 200ish, or you're just using it as a guide to watch them and see where they're at, temp-wise?

          • fzxdoc
            fzxdoc commented
            Editing a comment
            I start paying attention at about 195ish, usually pulling at 200ish, @DogFacedPonySoldier .

            K.

          #12
          Like you, and Jfrosty27 , I’ve run into that same thing with baby backs. It’s full spares with tips attached for us now.

          I’m just commiserating, I got nothing to add to how to deal with it. Everyone has this one nailed.

          Comment


          • DaveD
            DaveD commented
            Editing a comment
            I'll take commiseration any day!

          #13
          Another gloomy day, as yesterday's low pressure slowly crawls out of the area. It's only 42F/6C this morning as the last of the light drizzle wanes. Game plan is to put the ribs in at about noon. Here's how they looked after I salted them last night.

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          I'll be using a rub recipe I found on Serious Eats, if memory serves (a coin toss these days), dubbed Central BBQ Rib Rub. Omitting the salt in the recipe, it works out to equal parts cumin, paprika, granulated garlic, granulated onion, brown sugar and chili powder; and one-third part white, black, and cayenne pepper (1 tbsp of each of the former list, 1 tsp each of the latter).

          I'll also be doing the latest in my series of live music streams this afternoon on my Youtube channel, which will last an hour or a bit more starting at 10a PDT / 11a MDT / noon CDT / 1p EDT / 5p GMT. I play four or five guitars each time in various tunings and cover artists like Bob Dylan, John Hiatt, John Fogerty, Julie & Buddy Miller, Lucinda Williams, Paul Simon, Jackson Browne, Dave Alvin, Warren Zevon, Beatles, Stones, Zep, and especially James McMurtry - I'm a big fan of what's come to be known as Americana style music. All are welcome to drop in for any or all of it! Typically have a dozen or so fellow music fans I've gotten to know online during these past couple years, a very friendly and welcoming bunch One can visit this link at the appointed hour and mash refresh til it comes up (I'm usually very punctual). (I don't typically self-promote but hey, it's my thread! )

          Dave Draper - YouTube

          Comment


          • Mosca
            Mosca commented
            Editing a comment
            Live in Aught Three is on my Top Ten Albums of All Time list.

          • DaveD
            DaveD commented
            Editing a comment
            Alright Mosca !! That's one of the best live albums ever recorded IMO. Plus the only recording of Lights of Cheyenne...

          #14
          I have navigated to St. Louis style ribs for the few years because of the fat content. True baby backs can be very lean and take a different technique to get nice and tender.

          My wife likes the meat "fall off the bone" but I would rather the ribs not be so tender. One thing I have tried is when wrapping the ribs going meat side down or meat side up. Meat side down seems to braise and gets her that fall off the bone. Meat side up doesn't get quite as tender.

          I have found that all ribs are different and even St. Louis ribs vary but I go more by how they are cooking depending on pullback and color. I'd say I am usually in the 2-1.5-.5 range but that can vary too.

          The first pic appears to be a pork rib roast (available at Publix here all the time at $3.49/lb), a very good cut that gives a good meal but I will cook them until 140 internal. They are usually small and for the two of us they work pretty good.

          Comment


          • DaveD
            DaveD commented
            Editing a comment
            I have one other rack in the freezer from our local grocery labeled "extra meaty back ribs". When their turn comes I'll pay close attention to what that "extra" meat is...

          #15
          Rubbed & ready, firing up in an hour or so.

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