Too thick for bend test?

[PJBowmaster]

This is EXACTLY what happened to me today. First time with "Baby Backs". They were meaty for sure with a lot of loin meat. They sorta cracked at 5 hours. But they were dry....I'll go back to St Louis cut.

[FishTalesNC]

Thx for the tips. I do feel confident going by the look rather than thermometer. Re: rotating, I always wondered about this. Opening the lid for more than a quick peak led to a spike and another 20 min of tweaking the vents to settle it back down. Maybe it’ll behave differently with the SNS vs snake tho. I think with 3 full ones I’ll need to use my rack so swapping slots thru the cook makes sense.

[DogFaced PonySoldier]

Never used a thermometer on ribs. Bend test is useless on babybacks. Go from your experience... rotate them throughout the cook so they all cook evenly. In my experience 5h on babybacks is just right, on the edge of too much. I never hold, just wrap for 10 minutes and cut. They're pretty forgiving... enjoy it!

[FishTalesNC]

Hi, newbie here... been on the forums a few days. My entire smoking experience consists of BBs 5 times, a Boston butt, a brisket, a turkey, and a rib roast all on my 22” kettle using the snake method. I just got home with a 3 pack of Smithfield BBs from SAMS club weighing in at just over 10lbs. Apparently that is larger than desired. I plan to smoke them tomorrow on the maiden voyage of my Weber 26” with SNS for a party tomorrow night, need them there at 8pm. I’ve been reading here voraciously but it’s a bit overwhelming still. This thread seems to talk to a handful of things I need to do. I plan on prepping and dry rubbing them tomorrow morning around 9am and let them sit uncovered in fridge a few hours. No Memphis dust just some rub I threw together a couple of months ago from an online recipe that I want to use up, it does contain salt. I thought I’d throw them on around noon, maybe done around 6pm and hold them in the oven at 170F until my wife gets home from work at 8pm. Sounds like maybe I could push the start to 1pm? If done early does that hold sound correct? In the past I went about 5.5- 6 hours for a single rack trying to stay at 225-250F. I had read about the bend test but never had luck with the BBs, my last attempt I went off how far the meat pulled back off the ends of the bones - 1/4” or more I had read was the goal. I did that, and they were the best I’d made (boy is that relative!), but these are much meatier than what I was getting from the butcher at the Fresh Market... maybe I should try getting a thermometer in a thick spot away from bone? I usually hit it with sauce with 30-45 min to go, and again after taking them off. Any help or info is greatly appreciated, or if you can point me to another thread I’ve missed... I’m your sponge, thanks.

[DogFaced PonySoldier]

Ditto that.

[DogFaced PonySoldier]

I do mine at "225" on my Traeger, which usually translates to 220-250.

[gcdmd]

What temperature do you cook at? TIA.

[ecowper]

I cook those Costco ribs about 5 hours typically

[Rod]

ecowper I did another Costco rack this past weekend and did the probe test instead. I think I still slightly overcooked them (6hrs I think), but they were way better. I think I may prefer the ole 3-2-1 method. Losing a crunchy bark isn't as important to me as flavor and texture.

[ecowper]

The bend test does not work for back ribs. You need to cook back ribs to time, not bend/crack. And probe check the ribs for done. Especially the Costco back ribs in the cryovac packages ... those are are really meaty and just won’t bend/crack until they are way over cooked .... and that is why the ribs were mushy/sticky.

[aarontbell]

If they stick to your teeth they sound overcooked. My smoker/me make a ton of steam/moisture from water pan. It makes bark form much later in the cook. I have used a couple road pavers, giant bricks, as heat sinks in the water pan lately and it helps, Less surface area of water pan for evaporation.

[Mark E.]

I got over the hump of that some of the myths, stories, opinions, timing, techniques, what have you, that I have heard about any cook over the years may or may not apply.

I don't disregard them but use them as a means to avoid "gotchas".

That's why we post stuff. So much great info on this forum.

Use your cooking instincts and by golly temperature always prevails.

M.

[DogFaced PonySoldier]

I agree, I don't ever use the crack test on baby backs. It works with STL, but baby backs have never done so for me. I used to do them about 3h and they were cooked and everyone raved about them. Then I started going 4-5h and they are fall-apart tender and everyone raves even more. I can't fathom going 9+ hours. I don't even know what they would be like. I honestly wouldn't want them any softer than I am getting from them right now, trying to cut them apart, even with a reasonably sharp knife, half the time, trying to cut through the park, the meat just pulls away from the adjacent bone.

[HouseHomey]

It's seems as if you are trying to get a "pulled" texture from something that should go "probe tender" but that loin is a killer!!

[Huskee]

3lbers at 225 seem to take me about 5 or 6, maybe 7 if they're thicker than average; at 250-275 I can shave off an hour, give or take. Over 3lbs, say 3.5 or 3.75 (huge BBs) or 3.75-4lb StL have both taken me 7, 8, or even 9 hrs before, at 225 ish. I will not buy large loin backs any more, I prefer them to be actual "baby" backs, which to me is 2.5 to 2.75 lbs max and no larger.

The trouble as I see it with thick/large loin backs is all that loin meat on top prevents the 'crack' from showing when it otherwise would. So you tend to cook it longer, and in so doing that drier loin meat gets even drier. Then you're left with a dry not-as-pleasant rack of large ribs that took too long.