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High Altitude Smoke Babyback Ribs,

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    High Altitude Smoke Babyback Ribs,

    Hello Pitmasters,

    I need some help on my attempts to make "amazing" smoked ribs at high altitude (6700 to be exact). Once upon a time at sea level, I was able to use the low and slow method to make ribs where the meat tears clean off the bones and they were tasty. After moving to the mountain, amazing ribs have eluded me.

    I even invested in a relatively expensive grill - 4 burner Weber Summit Grill - to try to up my game and still failing.

    This is what I did:

    - 1 right-most burner ON for indirect heat
    - aluminum container of water on top of the ON burner
    - 1.5 rack of ribs on the burner position 3 and 4 next to the smoker box on the left
    - close lid (of course)
    - good mount of smoke for the first 30 minutes
    - easily held grill temperature stable at 210-215 the from 12-5PM (225 adjusted for 6700 feet is 210ish)
    - checked at 3PM and the top meat just looks its been out in the sun too long, meaning dry and jerky looking
    - I brushed the top meat with some water and apple vinegar mix to give it more moisture
    - did that for about 3-4X every 30 minutes
    - at 5PM checked the meat with digital therm and it only read around 100ish
    - panic, since hungry kids will need to eat by 6PM, I just cranked the grill up to 300 and just grill the damn thing until digital therm reads about 180-190.
    - It was edible, the bark on the thin and medium ribs where a bit hard (like jerky).
    - The thicker ribs on the slab were pretty juicy because of fat, but the meat did not tear clean off the bones.
    - So... sad.

    Everywhere I read about high altitude smoking said similar things -- minus 2 degrees for every 1,000 feet, and increase time by about 20-25%. Baby backribs called for 3-4 hours at 225, I figure 4-5 hours at 210 should be good -- not.

    Even if I didn't have a 6PM constraint, I feel like it will just turn in jerky if I cook it longer at 215.

    Anyone successfully made amazing ribs at high altitude? Please help!

    Thanks.



    #2
    Welcome tahoeguy01

    Comment


      #3
      Welcome from Colorado! I smoke all sorts of things at altitude. Don’t pay much attention to what they say about it. Use the same temps. Trying to cook at a lower temp than 225 to 250 just gives the meat more time to dry out. I smoke ribs at 230ish and they turn out great.

      Since you you are using a gas grill you may want to wrap your ribs after they have a well established bark to keep them moist. I don’t have any issues with that because I use a kamado so there is very little air flow. Even though it’s dry out here. Don’t over think it. There really isn’t much of any difference from sea level to 6700 when it comes to grilling and smoking. I moved here from CT, lived right on the beach at sea level. Now stairs and walking up hill is another story all together.

      Comment


        #4
        Welcome from Indiana

        Comment


          #5
          My guess is you got some really heavy (= thick) baby backs, they are tough buggers to cook properly. Thick ones have more dry loin meat on top, and to cook the interior to juicy deliciousness that top meat dries out. Cooking thin ones as long as thick ones could be what led to the jerky ones and juicy but tough ones. Baby backs need to be small, true "baby" backs, 2-2.5 lbs/rack (in my opinion/experience) to get done in 3-4 hrs. Personally I've never had any get done in 3 hrs, once maybe 4 hrs. Usually I'm 5 or 6, sometimes 7 for thicker ones. Anyway, my suspicion is more varying rib thickness than your elevation.

          Comment


          • EdF
            EdF commented
            Editing a comment
            The advice was for OSB. ;-)

          • OSB
            OSB commented
            Editing a comment
            My preference is SLC's but my family prefers baby backs so I do both as well. I just don't care for the extra meaty loin backs it seems like they are marketing nowadays most likely for the reasons Huskee listed above. I sure wish we could get some extra meaty beef back ribs not the shiners that are always on display.

          • Huskee
            Huskee commented
            Editing a comment
            Amen OSB, I love beef backs!

          #6
          Welcome to The Pit. Sorry, but I can't help.

          Comment


            #7
            I’m in Denver so I’m high but not up as far as you. I’ve smoke ribs on my Old 3-burner Weber Genesis. I didn’t even know there was a temp conversion for altitude. Even with an aluminum water pan on the flavorizer bars it burned hot (250-275) or the wind would blow out the flames. I used to freak out until reading posts on The Pit from PBC owners who regularly cook amazing ribs at that temp range (granted that’s a whole different cooking method from my gaser). I would wet brine them per Cooks Illustrated for an hour or so before starting. I didn’t wrap or mop and the ribs would come out fine in about 3-4 hours. I say "fine" because I’m no Pit Master with training and experience to differentiate, but my family loved them. I’ve also smoked them for the first hour and brought them into the oven to finish if the wind really kicked up. I recently got a dedicated smoker on sale (Smoke Vault 24) and now use Meathead's recipes and I’m getting much better results.
            Last edited by snowswamp; June 2, 2018, 09:19 AM.

            Comment


              #8
              Honestly, I would shoot for 275 F. Cooking at 210 F or 215 F takes way too long and I don't see the benefit. 275 F also gives me great bark and leaves the ribs moist and tender.

              If you are having trouble with tenderness, you can always wrap them in foil towards the end of the cook. However, I let them ride to finishing temp.

              I was just out in Montana at about 6000 Ft. We cooked three racks at about 275 F, average. They came out great!

              Comment


                #9
                I'm at 6300 ft. here in Colorado and really don't worry about the altitude unless I'm baking bread or boiling something (not ribs! ). Just make sure you get them to an IT of at least 190 deg F. so that fat and collagen will render properly. FWIW, I tend to prefer higher temps in the 275-280 range ... especially since I switched from my gasser to a PBC for smoking. Enjoy!

                Comment


                  #10
                  Thanks all for the prompt assistance. I'll try some of these tips this week and report back.

                  Comment


                    #11
                    Last year I stayed at my friends house in Incline Village and gave him a Weber 22” along with a slow and sear. I cooked ribs on it in the morning to about 90% then wrapped em in foil and finished cooking them on the back of his boat on one of those tiny crappy boat grills while we were on the lake. They were fantastic and I never even considered the altitude as I was cooking. I live pretty much at sea level.

                    Comment


                    • JakeT
                      JakeT commented
                      Editing a comment
                      Hey! I got married in Incline Village, my favorite part of the world!

                      I'm with you though, I've never considered the altitude for smoking and never had an issue. My family is from South Lake and they've never done anything different growing up there.

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