Got The Big Head, Thought I Could Do No Wrong….Big Fail !

[rlozinak]

All was not lost, you had a story to tell.

[Panhead John]

Yeah you’re right. And I’m glad this bunch here has no problem sharing screwups. The worst part for me was, I was all excited to share this cook, thought it was gonna be great! As I was eating the first rib, then the second, I was like, well this sucks. What do I do? I decided it’s best to post it and warn others. Maybe I’ll try it again later, much later, with modifications.

[Jfrosty27]

Hey, you know we all have had something similar happen. Heck, my first brisket was so bad, I threw it out, all 14 pounds of it, after just a few bites. The second one turned out perfect after applying what I learned from the first one

[CaptainMike]

Failure is just success telling you to try again.

[Murdy]

And if you don't try again, you may just end up living in a van down by the river, without any ribs.

[jfmorris]

Yeah, I think a baste or mop sauce with vinegar or balsamic would work well during the cook, but just don't see marinated ribs doing well. Glad to know now so I don't repeat the same mistake myself.

[Finster]

Thanks for sharing this.
I too have not quite mastered the vortex ribs as noted in my most recent post on the subject.
I feel like I only have maybe a couple more chances of using my family as Guinea pigs in this experiment before they say enough....lol.
I do think the better of my two cooks was with spares, not baby backs, so will try with those again. It was also suggested to me by someone else to try marinating them... probably a short soak would be best regardless...

[Panhead John]

Yeah, maybe a 5 minute marinade at first, followed by a mop near the end would work.

[smokin fool]

I can never hit on the right amount of balsamic, its either too much or too little, never just right.
Gave up on the stuff.

[tstalafuse]

You know what they say, if at first you don't succeed go do something else..

[Panhead John]

Yep, that’s it for me. No more of this smoking nonsense!…….[till Thursday]

[WI Bubba]

Unless you're talking about skydiving. You really want to get that right the first time, and every time after that,

[tstalafuse]

WI Bubba I recall an Adam's Family episode where Gomez was attempting to demonstrate that you could build up your tolerance for sky diving with smaller and smaller chutes eventually you wouldn't need one..

[Starsky]

With all our recent successes with the Vortex ribs, along with my suggestion of Good Seasons Italian Dressing and Tony’s, I thought I had a sure fire, slam dunk cook. Something new I wanted to try. Why not marinate the individually sliced ribs in the Good Seasons and Tony’s? Sounded great to me. Then do them on the Vortex! Hell, what could go wrong? I found out tonight.

I marinated the ribs for 4 hours before the cook. Wrong, they took on too much of the balsamic vinegar flavor. 1-2 hours would have been plenty. After I took them out of the marinade,I sprinkled on more Tony’s….wrong. It was too salty. I also cooked them at temps of around 400* for about one hour. They were a little burnt on the outside, and not too much to my liking. The pics might look good, and honestly, they were…O.K. but man, there’s definitely room for improvement. Sometimes, less is mo bettah…..



9

I've done the same thing. I've said to myself " that was pretty good. More would be better right?" Myself was wrong. Live and learn I guess

[bbqLuv]

Pride goth before a fall, so I have been told. But failure can be a stepping stone, rather than a stumbling block.
Keep on Trucking Brother in BBQ

[Northern lights smoke]

Should've used the bronco, that was the biggest mistake😁! Oh well learned from it and move on to do better. We can never stop learning no matter how good we are.

[jfmorris]

Actually, this has me thinking. We know the famous Rendezvous in Memphis DIRECT GRILLS their ribs for about an hour, 2 to 3 feet above a charcoal fire. They baste with vinegar/water and season with their dry rub during the cook. If he keeps the fire in the bottom of the Bronco, but DIRECT GRILLS on the cooking grate, won't that put the meat 18 inches or so above the fire? Just run wide open, like the open pits at the 'Vous?

[Panhead John]

jfmorris Now y’all have got ME thinking! I just measured my Bronco. With the heat deflector removed, it’s almost 16 1/2 “ from the top of the charcoal pan to the upper cooking grate. Why couldn’t we try that direct grill method on ribs, with the Bronco?

[Panhead John]

Northern lights smoke jfmorris I’m gonna try something on the Bronco tonight, coals are lit now. If it turns out good I’ll post it tonight, if I don’t, you’ll know it sucked. 😂

[MBMorgan]

Or ... to quote my dad: "Well that was stupid. Have you got s#!t for brains?"

Not sure if that helps, PJ ... but little pearls of wisdom like those somehow saw me through a turbulent, yet interminable, childhood.

[jfmorris]

I think if you had boiled the ribs first, maybe they would have turned out.... just saying! Maybe you should add that step next time!

First ribs I ever made when I was maybe 23 and out on my own, I call home long distance (remember those days?) and ask my parents how to cook the ribs I just bought, on my Sunbeam H-burner gas grill from K-mart. I was instructed to cut them up into 3-4 rib hunks, and boil for about 15 minutes, then grill.... talk about TOUGH!

I think I should have dialed into AOL, Compuserve or Genie and asked someone there how to make the ribs, haha. Hard to remember a world without the Internet.

[Panhead John]

The ONE time I don’t boil em, they sucked. 🥸

[WI Bubba]

Sometime knowing how not to do something is just as important as knowing how to do it.

[jfmorris]

Panhead John when you are hanging on the Bronco I guess you are already kinda doing what the Rendezvous does, but with only the end of the ribs exposed to the radiant heat. With the heat deflector removed, and maybe even the top open, you will be more "direct grilled" on the cooking grate, much like a Santa Maria type grill with that 16 inch gap from the coals to the cooking grate.

Real curious how this comes out.

[Panhead John]

Normally though when hanging ribs you’re doing low and slow, so not really similar to the Rendezvous method, they’re done over ALL hot coals. The difference here to me anyway, is cooking over all hot coals Rendezvous style….or, low and slow over partially lit and unlit coals for the duration of the cook.

[randy.56]

Nice counter tops