Back in 2011, George “Tuffy” Stone invented the 3-2-1 method at the 22nd Annual Jack Daniel’s World Championship Invitational Barbecue and it’s been used by many home smokers since then. One of the most popular ways to smoke ribs on the smoker is the 3-2-1 smoking method.
Many like to contend that this is the best way to smoke ribs because it often gives you fall-off-the-bone tender meat. However, many smoker professionals like to counteract that you don’t necessarily want the meat to fall off the bone, especially for competition ribs
I don't believe Tuffy "invented" the 3-2-1 method! About like my buddy, Ed Magnusson, invented the term "money muscle" for a particular part of the pork butt...
CandySueQ - Agree. Heard about 3-2-1 at least 20 years ago.
Also agree it’s not the best approach. Tried it back then and pretty quickly figured out I prefer a shorter cook time. Bleached white bones and "fall off the bone" meat seems overcooked to me.
To be fair, I think "fall off the bone" was sort of the popular approach late 90s-early 2000’s and tastes & preferences may have moved since then with the prominence and (I guess) "refinement" of bbq as a technique?
Ya I'mma 3-1-.5 guy. 2hrs wrapped means mushy meat in my experiences. But hey, you like what you like and that's all that ultimately matters at the end of the day.
Boiling ribs first was popular years ago. I believe the thought process was that your grill would dry them out on a full cook. Everything changes over time, grilling and smoking popularity has lead to many innovations. I have never wrapped ribs, enjoy how them come out at a full smoke at 265. Everybody's tastes are different, so whatever method you prefer is how to do it.
Large Big Green Egg, Weber Performer Deluxe, Weber Smokey Joe Silver, Fireboard Drive, 3 DigiQs, lots of Thermapens, and too much other stuff to mention.
When I first started doing ribs, I got nervous at about 2-3 hours in. 3-2-1 made me feel like I was doing something, like there was something in the process to mark the progress. I got used to doing ribs, and now I just let them go until they’re done.
There’s nothing wrong with 3-2-1 ribs, IMO. The instructions say to do them at 225°, and at that temp you really aren’t going to get mush at the end. And you can add a lot of different things when wrapping to make your cook distinctive. But I want my ribs to look and taste like they always do. I got money, time, and reputation invested, and I want the results I’m expecting.
Not a fan of the 3-2-1 method either. For us, ribs are a weeknight meal. I put them on at 1:00 (when I'm home from work for lunch) and they smoke at 225 until I get home from work about 5:15. I spritz them a couple of times before they are done about 6:00-6:30 and we eat.
I don't think I've ever wrapped ribs, actually. I think the only thing I've ever wrapped were a couple of briskets. A few weeks ago I did some ribs and probably pulled them a little early. Most importantly, the flavor was great (thanks MMD). As for the texture, it had a lot of bite and was definitely not fall off the bone; however, I kinda liked it. I won't deliberately try to duplicate it, but I had no complaints either.
I just did that too with a small rack of baby backs, not bad. When we do the thicker ribs i smoke until the thinner part is done. That's enough for us for one meal. Reheating the thicker portion for a following meal they are perfectly done.
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.
I most definitely know the 3-2-1 method existed well ahead of 2011, as I was using it in the early 2000's after reading about it on the Internet at the time. I didn't take food photos back in those days, so don't know exactly when, but it was definitely 2000 to 2004 time frame.
That said, I have mostly NOT used that method the past 10 years, and prefer to not wrap them. I only wrap if it looks like the ribs won't be done on time, to speed up the cook, in which case I wrap them in foil for about an hour, then unwrap again.
You don't wrap your ribs? Come on, foil is not that expensive, is it?
Besides, when ribs are wrapped in foil they can be finished in the oven.
BTU is BTU --Harry Soo 😜
This is my issue with 3-2-1 - cooking to time and bark. I don’t cook to time. I cook to doneness. Also, in my experience ribs don’t develop good bark uncovered until they are close to being done. So me no wrap ribs.
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