Can you salt brine Last Meal Ribs beyond 2 hours

[DSSBGE]

I tried the LMR recipe for the first time on Baby Backs. Followed the recipe to the letter however I may need to bump up the temp on the BGE to 235 - 250 as the ribs took longer than the recipe called for.

Question about the initial salt brine. Is there a problem if I brine longer than 2 hours or does it not make any difference when prepping the ribs. Also, does wrapping the ribs on Saran Wrap make any difference at that step?

The first pic is at the 3 hr mark.The second pic are the finished product after saucing with Blues Hog Championship Blend.

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[jfmorris]

Good looking cook, and YES, you can dry brine for way more than 2 hours!

I made 6 slabs of last meal ribs on Sunday. I washed and prepped the ribs, and dry brined them with kosher salt on Saturday evening. Longer is better actually, as the salt has more time to penetrate through the meat.

Wrapping is fine, and I do that. This time I piled all 6 slabs (3 baby back, 3 saint Louis) on a wax paper lined pan, and covered the pan with foil, and stuck in the fridge overnight. They were probably dry brined for 18 hours before going on the smoker. I applied MMD as I put them on the smoker. I glazed in the last 30 minutes with Blues Hog Original.

[DWCowles]

I normally let them brine over night and have wrapped in Saran wrap (I can't tell no difference wrap or unwrap myself).

Those ribs looks great!

[Nate]

+1

[Steve B]

I dry brine most all of my meats, ribs included, for 24-36hrs when possible. So it wouldn’t be a problem.
And those ribs look fantastic 👍👍👍

[DSSBGE]

Thanks Everyone. BTW this was my first post on the forum as I just joined today.
One more question, can you raise the grate temp to 250 and get similar results? At 225 on the BGE it took about an hour longer to pass the bend test at that setting.

[jfmorris]

I smoke most stuff with my Smoke thermometer high and low alarms at 275 and 225 respectively, and the grate temp tends to hover between 225 and 250. I don't see much difference on ribs or butts between 225 and 250.

[DWCowles]

Yes you can and welcome to the Pit.

[Oakgrovebacon]

Welcome to the Pit from Southern Illinois!

[Troutman]

Welcome to the Pit. Yes on raising temps, and yes (as everyone has said) to salt brining overnight +

[RonB]

Welcome to The Pit. As long as you don't use too much salt, you can go way longer. Once the applied salt is absorbed, it can't get saltier. What more time does is allow the salt to penetrate further into the meat. I question if a long brine is necessary for pork ribs because they are thin, and the salt doesn't have far to go, but it won't hurt.

[N227GB]

I dry brine baby backs overnight. I think this helps out on the loin meat of the narrow thicker end especially.

I don't think wrapping or covering the meat does anything to the brine process of ribs. There's a lot of info floating around the net that one must always cover raw meat in the fridge. The concern is with the juices or marinade coming into contact with other food from leaks or spills. If someone is careful, and in a non-commercial environment, I don't see what the issue is. Myself and many other people here dry brine steaks and chicken on cooling racks set in pans to improve the airflow.

I use 20 inch stainless commercial steam table pans in prepping for my cooks. They're the perfect size for baby backs.

[Spinaker]

I always go overnight.

[MeatMonster]

Too late to add anything useful!! Other than welcome!

[FireMan]

Pretty amazing how you just snuck in here. Good lookin cook! Welcome aboard, continue eatin good & havin fun!

[Black99vette]

Ribs look great and welcome.

[Mr. Bones]

Howdy from Kansas Territory, Welcome to Th Pit!
Great job on yer rib cook!
Glad yer here with us!