Last Meal Ribs Failure

[Rich93]

I followed Meathead's instructions as closely as I could for meaty back ribs on my gas grill. I kept the grill temp between 225 and 250, measuring with a ThermoWorks probe, probably averaging about 230. The cook took 5 hours and I used a Thermopen as best I could, but never reached 200 internal temperature for the ribs. The ribs turned out dry and mostly fell off the bone. I screwed up somehow. My wife said I overcooked them like I always do.

I used to buy ribs from the late Ribs n Bibs in Chicago. They did them on an aquarium smoker over hickory logs in about 30-40 minutes, depending on how hot the fire was, according to the owner. I never asked Lems, but I expect they also did them quickly on their aquarium smoker. The ribs from both were always tender, juicy and delicious.

I've often gotten ribs from a highly rated local place that uses a modern smoker and cooks them at about 225. Their ribs were never as good as those from the aquarium guys, and sometimes quite dry. This experience makes me something of a "low and slow" skeptic.

Is my experience common? It would be nice to do them hot and fast, imitating the aquarium as best I can. Any comments or suggestions?

[Jfrosty27]

Well that’s a bummer for sure.
I cook my back ribs at 235 in my pellet smoker which is rock solid as far as temperature management. I find that trying to use internal meat temps to gauge doneness on ribs of any kind impossible. I rely strictly on probing for tenderness. With back rib especially it can be under 4 hours or even a little over 5 hours depending on the size of the racks.

[RonB]

How are you deciding when the ribs are done? That will help us help you.

My method is to start trying the bend test after I see some significant pull back of the meat on the bones. That works for me - most of the time.

[Steve R.]

The words "meaty" and "dry" make me think there was a lot of lean loin meat left on the tops of these. I started trimming off that extra meaty stuff that serves only to boost the weight and cost of those racks, and I get better results now.

[BFlynn]

My thought too.
I've found the smaller baby backs have less loin meat. I normally buy spares and cut them down to StLs. But if I buy baby backs, I want the smaller racks

[Jerod Broussard]

Back ribs or Spare/SLC ribs??

I use toothpick test for back ribs and bend test for Spares/SLC's.

Back ribs with lots of loin meat can offer up plenty dryness.

[klflowers]

I agree with these guys. I run anywhere between 225 to 275 and I don't really time them, I just allow 5-6 hours. I depend on the bend test and a toothpick. If they bend (for st louis and thinner baby backs) and almost or slightly crack and the toothpick inserts between bones like butter I figure they are done. Most of the time they are great, but I have had some racks come out dry. I figure it is just the ribs. The method doesn't change.

[HawkerXP]

As said above, it's how you determine doneness that counts. I probe between the bones with my Thermoworks DOT or a toothpick. Feeling for probe tender not looking for a temperature. Not enough meat on ribs to get a good reading.

[Murdy]

If you haven't seen this, it might help: https://amazingribs.com/tested-recip...ibs-ready-yet/

Hard to get an accurate reading on ribs with a thermometer.

There's always a chance that it could have been the ribs themselves, too.

My Mom used to take me to Ribs n Bibs back in the early 1970s.

[jehlydonuts]

FWIW, I typically smoke for 3 hrs at ~250F and then wrap in foil. Once in the foil, I pick up the rack after 30 minutes, and then every 15, looking for the right bend. There's always a little carryover cooking, so I err on the side of taking them off too early. Perhaps my palate is not as developed as others, but I have never found myself wishing I had left them on longer.

[Hulagn1971]

The bend test has always worked for me. I start picking them up around 3.5 hours and go from there. That is for St. Louis cut. Baby backs take longer for me so I start testing them around the 4 hour mark.

[LA Pork Butt]

I’ve never cooked ribs on a gas grill, and can’ t recall ever having dry over cooked ribs on my BGE. I usually cook St Louis ribs. Could the gas cooker be the issue. Gas grill cookers chime in.

[BFlynn]

Gas cooker isn't the issue. I used to do them on my gasser when I was starting
Came out fine.
That was before I got an amazing PBC.

[GolfGeezer]

I have cooked those extra meaty back ribs, sometimes labelled "baby back ribs with extra loin meat" or something like that. These are not true BB ribs, but almost like a pork chop in texture and flavor - just no real fat content. And they can and do come out "dry" just like an overcooked pork chop would. Cooking them to the 190*-200* range is likely the issue, versus the bend test. With these, cooking them to a lower temp and wrapping in foil after 2 hours (running at 225*-235*), then checking after another 1.5 hours for pull back from the bone, then glazing works OK. You are basically cooking them like your home kitchen oven would using the gasser, except that doing the glaze step over direct heat on the gasser is much better than using the broiler.

[Bob K]

BBs are usually just leaner than spares or SLC, so it's not hard to dry them out. When they're extra-meaty, I trim that extra thickness off so they are all even thickness, no big pork chop hunks (rub & throw the trim pieces on next to the ribs and you get a snack in an hour).

I agree that these can go hotter. Depends on your cooker, but for mine, 225 means they take just long enough to dry out. A gas grill seems drier than most charcoal/wood cookers, they design them to move more air, so you need to cook faster and probably wrap 2-3 hrs in. Something like a kamado, WSM, or even a kettle is going to retain more humidity, those seem like they can go longer with less dry-out.

On my offset, which has good airflow but is helped by water vapor from wood combustion - I run at 275 for 4-ish hours until they "bend don't break," then take off, wrap in foil, and rest for 1+ hrs. No more dry ribs. Mostly thanks to reading ~300 threads like this

[Jfrosty27]

Good point on the gas grill being designed to move more air. I didn’t think of that.

[Bad Hat BBQ]

I would use a tin pan with water IF you are using a gas grill

[Rich93]

Thanks for all the comments. As far as testing doneness, I tried to use the bend test but because I had to cut the slab in half to fit on the indirect side of the grill, I didn't have faith in that method. I did try, though, and they never cracked. So I used the Thermopen in between the bones and also on the meaty end of the rack.

It's true that the aquarium ribs I am praising were SLC spare ribs, which are fattier and juicier. They're my preference, but I was in a store that didn't have them and I bought the back ribs on impulse. I did put two water pans in the grill, one underneath the ribs and one on the direct side, like in the video that accompanies the Last Meal Ribs article. From now on, it's SLC for me.

I used two pellet tubes with hickory pellets. I probably should have taken them out after an hour as Meathead recommended, but I left them in for the whole cook. I don't know if that contributed to the dryness.

I saw a video where Famous Dave did ribs on his aquarium smoker at his cabin in Wisconsin. He didn't say how long he cooked them for, but one piece of advice was interesting. He recommended not taking off the membrane on the underside of the ribs, he said the membrane holds the juice in and that it pretty much burns off in the smoker. I don't know if Lems and Ribs n Bibs peeled it off before cooking their ribs.

Well, this weekend, weather permitting, I'm going to try cooking SLC's fast over high heat and see what happens. I'll report in this thread how they turn out. Ribs n Bibs has been gone since 2014, Lems is still going strong, but carjacking in the city has gotten pretty common. I'm a suburbanite with a fancy car, so I want to learn to make good ribs myself.

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[BFlynn]

Best way to test for doneness is to slice a rib off and give it a try