Baby Backs vs St. Louis question

[Chaser_32]

Hey guys first time poster, been lurking since October or so. Thanks to meathead, the mods and everyone else here for all the help. I've learned a ton.

Quick backstory: Got a MES 30" smoker as a birthday gift. I've really enjoyed it so far. Will likely upgrade to something else in a few months.

I've done meatheads last meal ribs recipe probably 15 times now using spares or St. Louis cuts. Was a bit rough the first few times but my last few cooks have been some of the best ribs I've ever had. Grew up around KC, so I have a 'decent' idea of what good Q should taste like. :-)

Long story short, I wanted to try baby backs with the same recipe. I bought the 3 pack from Costco and gave it a go yesterday. They turned out OK but were a little dry. I never could get them to pass the bend test. I cooked them between 225-240 for about 7 hours (I have a thermopro oven thermometer). My typical cook time for my spares has been no more than 5 hours. In the end they were plenty tender, I definitely cooked them long enough.

I'm guessing my troubles are due to these ribs being too thick? If I'm correct, any help on what weight to look for when buying baby backs?

Thanks again for everything guys. I've really enjoyed this site.

[lschweig]

A hearty welcome from Illinois.

[Bruce54]

Those BBRs are, as you saw, thicker and meatier than spares. But! They are much more tender to start with. They are yummy done about 2 hours sooner than spares, and because they're thick, the bend test doesn't work so well. I think Meathead calls this out in the Last Meal Ribs recipe. Main thing I've noticed is that they benefit from a longer hold time for the dry brine. I go with 12 to 24 hours.

[SoCalTim]

Well, you definitely overcooked them, BB's are a faster cook than spares. 250 -275, figure about 4.5 hrs. If you do a 225 cook again, I'd add an hr. Don't get discouraged, this is a really great cook, try it again, make proper adjustments and please report in. Post pictures please. Tim

[Chaser_32]

Thanks for the replies. So how do I tell when BB's are done? I think I saw a thread talking about trying to find 'smaller' bb's but can't seem to find it.

[Chaser_32]

2 pics from last night.

[ecowper]

Chaser_32 Those look overdone to me, for sure. I pretty much cook nothing but Costco's baby back ribs. I use the bend test and that works well. For Costco back ribs, cooking at 250'ish, I generally figure to start checking for done at the four hour mark. Here's a couple shots of what mine looked like on my last cook.

[Chaser_32]

ecowper Thanks. I agree, compared to yours mine look over cooked. I checked at the 3, 4, and 5 hour mark and never could get them to pass the bend test. They almost seemed rubbery. I wonder with the meatier rack if I can try a an insta thermometer? I know the bone can make the reading unreliable but trying to find something I can rely on.

I took one rack off early (5.5ish mark cuz we were ready to eat) and let the other 2 cook for another hour. They were all dry. The last 2 racks were smaller and seemed to be more tender.

Note: I always baste and finish for a few minutes on the grill.

[DogFaced PonySoldier]

They DO seem rubbery when you try the bend test, on baby backs. But you are just cooking them too long... I put a long post at the bottom. Don't worry about the internal temp. If you're over 150-160, you're good from a safety standpoint. I never bother sticking any thermometer in my ribs.

[ecowper]

Chaser_32 It could have been that particular package of ribs, too. As Meathead says, every piece of meat is different and sometimes you just get a tough one. I've never not had a good bend test with Costco's back ribs. I checked the cryovac of ribs I've got in the fridge for next weekend .... It weighs 9.25 lbs. As far as I recall, this is pretty normal for the cryo's I buy at Costco. So, 2.75-3.0 lbs per rack is probably normal. The ones I've bought at Safeway were more like 2.5 lbs per rack. And I never really liked them as much as the Costco back ribs.

You could try an insta-read thermometer, just be careful of that bone. Honestly, though, I believe the bend test is the best one and I've never had it fail me. FWIW

[Nate]

Welcome from Indiana!

I would say that you definitely had them in there too long. Here is an article on the main AR site called "Are My Ribs Ready Yet". It has some great info in there and is a quick read. It includes a few different methods of determining if the ribs are ready.

Best of luck!

[DogFaced PonySoldier]

Yup, I agree, those are very overdone. 7 hours is way too long for baby backs. I do mine on my pellet smoker. It is hard to keep temps consistent, but honestly, after using it for 2-3 years now, I've found that doesn't matter all that much. The auger that feeds the pellets turns on and off at a set rate dependent upon what temp you set the dial. While I set it at 225, it will fluctuate and drop down to 210-215 or so, then up to around 265 and back and forth. Again, I've found that this matters little, if at all!

With baby backs, I salt, rub, rest (if I have time) and throw them on. Then I don't touch them. They are done and ready to eat at 3 hours. They may still be a slight bit tough at this point. Experimenting, I have now started doing them 4-5 hours. Actually, at 5 hours, for me, they are too soft. Falling apart, difficult to handle and difficult to cut, even with a VERY sharp knife, because they are falling off the bone TOO much! I think 4 hours is my sweet spot - I pull them off and wrap until ready to eat - anywhere from 10 minutes to 6 hours in a faux cambro - my last batch I took to work, and we didn't have time to get to them until then - and they were still amazing!

I've found if I'm in a hurry, I can set the temp higher, to 250 or even 275 (with corresponding temp fluxuations as above), and have them done and ready in 2.5-3 hours - and I couldn't tell the difference between that batch (2 racks) and a batch I cooked 4 or 5 hours.

7 hours is WAY too long for baby backs!

And they don't pass the bend test... even when 4 or 5 hours on, if you try to bend them and see if they crack, they don't look right. But when you pull them and take them in the kitchen and cut them, they are fantastic! The bend test doesn't work for baby backs, I don't really know why. Maybe the thickness of the meat, as described above.

But take my word for it! You can't go wrong. Rub, smoke 4 hours at 225-250ish, 5 hours at the MOST, and you will be in heaven!

Here's my proof!

[ecowper]

Maybe you guys are misunderstanding a bend test for back ribs. They will NOT bend AND crack like spareribs do. But they bend very nicely when done. If you pick up the ribs at one end with your tongs, grab about 3 bones worth, and let them bend. They should bend until the far end is at a 45-60 degree angle compared to the end you are holding with your tongs. You might also try a probe test, like you do with brisket and pork butts.

I hope this helps.

[DogFaced PonySoldier]

Absolutely! They will bend easily, but they don't crack. Good point. Although they do that when raw, too, to me, so I'm not sure how that helps? lol Do your baby backs stand out "straight" when they're uncooked?

[ecowper]

DogFaced PonySoldier they only bend a bit when raw. Nothing even close to how they bend when cooked.

[ecowper]

Following up to that ... as I think about it, the back ribs bend some when raw, then when they are in the middle of the cook, they actually bend less than when they were raw (because the meat is pretty tough when it's 145 or so) and then they bend a lot when done.

[PaulstheRibList]

One other note: keep some notes on your time and temps on your pit, and you will find it easier to dial it in as you go along.

All the other advice above covers all the points - good job fella's!

Keep the posts and pics coming!

[Chaser_32]

Thanks everyone for the help. Great stuff. I'll give Costco baby backs another shot and post the results. Thanks again.

[Willy]

Another useful guideline is to watch for the time when the meat pulls back from the bones--leaving the ends of the bones exposed by, say, a quarter to a half-inch. This has been a reliable sign in my experience.