Temp for Smoking St. Louis Ribs

[Jerod Broussard]

275 on the pellet. Had three racks that were done in 4.5hrs Friday morning. Previous cook at 275 took over 5.5hrs, that darn meat.

[DogFaced PonySoldier]

I did two racks of St. Louis today - well, I did spare ribs and cut them down to St. Louis style.

275ºF

2.5 hours uncovered.

1 hour and... maybe a few minutes, wrapped in foil.

Maybe about 45 minutes unwrapped.

So freaking good. Tender, pull off the bone, but not fall apart. They. Were. Awesome.

[Sweaty Paul]

I'm a 250-275 guy. Wrap or not depending on my mood with ribs. However, I'm a 250 guy for most things BBQ when left to my own devices.

[surfdog]

LONG before I knew what I was doing, and long before I discovered this site, or indeed any other similar site…I was told and/or read that 225° was the magic number. So that’s what I aimed for. And, honestly, I haven’t really seen a need or compelling reason to change. Sometimes the temp might creep up a bit…but I’ll just back it down. I’m not in a rush.

[jfmorris]

I smoke anywhere between 225 and 275, with the temp based on how much of a hurry I am in. And I've pushed the temp to 300 on occasion to be sure a butt or brisket was ready by dinner. However, for ribs I would go anywhere between 225 and 275, knowing there is probably an hour difference in cook time between those two temps.

[bbqLuv]

Who is correct in smoking St Louis Ribs: YouTube: "How to smoke St Louis Ribs on a pellet grill"
St Louis Cut Pork Ribs (youtube.com)
How to Smoke St. Louis Ribs | BBQ Basics (youtube.com)
Malcom Style Ribs (youtube.com)
3-2-1 Ribs - How To (youtube.com)


And the list goes on and on, BTW, If you "tend to", as in monitor the cook 3-2-1 works

I super-smoked BB Ribs, maybe the best ribs to date at 225*F for three hours, foil-wrapped, cooked at 275*F to an internal temperature of 205*F, then set the sauce.

To answer your question, cooking is about time and temperature, "Low and Slow" to "Hot and Fast."

[Smoker_Boy]

Wish I could find a definition of "set the sauce" and why it seems to be necessary.
Seems like one of those things "everybody does" but no one knows why.

[Finster]

I easily solved that riddle by not using sauce

[Smoker_Boy]

Wish I could find a definition of "set the sauce" and why it seems to be necessary.
Seems like one of those things "everybody does" but no one knows why.

No explanations??
Not one??

[DogFaced PonySoldier]

Wish I could find a definition of "set the sauce" and why it seems to be necessary.
Seems like one of those things "everybody does" but no one knows why.

Well, I can attempt....

Setting the sauce means you take it out of the wrap or whatever, sauce it lightly, then put it back in the heat for a period of time to get that sauce to 'tack up'. The sugars in the sauce will soften or melt, the sauce gets more sticky than runny and can change to a deeper, darker color. How MUCH you want it to tack up is all up to personal preference. Some people want it really thick and sticky like... I dunno, like you've sprayed a thick glue on there. Some people just want it to soften up, maybe get a little sticky. It's all a gray area and it's all just personal preference. Taking up is all about the stickiness, at least that's the way I understand it.

Since we don't really use sauce in my house on ribs, I don't do this a lot - but I have done it some. We stick mainly with dry rub ribs, but if I have a lot of people coming I might do some sauced, to allow people to pick what they want.

Maybe that helps?

[Smoker_Boy]

That helps a lot.
"Setting" and "tacky" do go together.

Thank you very much!

[Murdy]

My Bronco seems to like to settle in between 235 and 240. I don't argue with it and do just about everything right there.

[Huskee]

It will work! I think even CandySueQ smokes pork ribs up around there as well. I typically aim for 250 with 275 being my high end. They do cook up mighty fine in that range, and you shave off a good hour depending on their initial size.

[Finster]

250ish is my usual sweet spot.
I do find it interesting that several folks have mentioned that they feel like 225 dries the meat out more.
Seems counterintuitive to me 🤷♂️

[DogFaced PonySoldier]

Friend of mine tells me he never lets his smoker get over 180F. He says low and slow is the only way to go and that's absolutely low and slow.

Of course, I've never et his BBQ - you can't get any hunk of meat close to 200 if you never go above 180. Not sure I want to take 9 hours to get a rack of ribs tender.

[LA Pork Butt]

There was a BBQ joint in Texas near the Oklahoma border that used no seasoning and smoked briskets for 3 days. They must have used low temps.

[Santamarina]

Haven’t experienced a noticeable difference in finished product running anywhere between 225-275. Difference in time? Yes! But no discernible difference on what’s on the plate.

I also agree with mrteddyprincess that it really depends on your pit. Run it where it wants to live. My offset stickburner hums along around 250° so that’s what I cook at.

[CandySueQ]

Let's mention Moisture! Ribs like a humid environment when they are cooking. Meat Head got me started with ribs on a rack with water. I used this method on my Backwoods Fat Boy with good success. Ribs plumped up like hot dogs between the bones. The one danger is not fixing the rub into a bark. Now in KCBS competitions, the tender rib without bark at all will win 1st very often. Sauce ribs up good (and set sauce on the cooker) before cutting ribs for the turn-in box. Cooks do things like rubbing ribs with oil before seasoning, putting all kinds of stuff in the foil with ribs when wrapping.

I have a loaf pan that lives in the firebox of my Jambo that holds my water reservoir. I keep it filled for the entire cook.

[Smoker_Boy]

Glad to hear I'm not the only person who doesn't like bark.