Sorry for the long post but …
My wife and I traveled the 4 hours drive to visit her mother for Labor Day weekend, and my wife volunteered me to make ribs for a Sunday cookout for her family (mom, several brothers and a sister plus spouses). No problem. I looked for St. Louis cut ribs but could only find baby backs. Picked up a couple of racks that were pretty good size and was ready to go.
The plan was to start cooking at Noon, smoke them on the Weber grill for a few hours, then move them to the oven to finish so I could grill brats. The goal was dinner around 5PM (figuring on about 4 hours plus a little extra for the baby back ribs). After 3 hours on the Weber at 225°F (first time I popped the lid) the ribs were doing fine but were not ready. Moved them to the oven set at 225°F and prepped the grill for the brats.
At 4 hours, I checked the ribs. Several spots checked with an instant read thermometer showed 140°F and a bend test confirmed they were not ready. At 5 hours, I checked the ribs. Several spots checked with an instant read thermometer showed 150°F and a bend test confirmed they were not ready. At 5 1/2 hours, I checked the ribs. Several spots checked with an instant read thermometer showed 160°F and a bend test confirmed they were not ready. People were getting hungry so I started the brats.
At 6 hours, I checked the ribs. Several spots checked with an instant read thermometer showed 170°F and a bend test confirmed they were not ready. The brats were ready so we began dinner with a promise of ribs to come shortly.
At 6 1/2 hours, I checked the ribs. Several spots checked with an instant read thermometer still showed at 170°F and a bend test confirmed they were not ready. I upped the oven temperature to 240°F and announced we would have ribs for dessert.
At 7 hours, I checked the ribs. Several spots checked with an instant read thermometer still showed 170°F and a bend test confirmed they were not ready. At 7 ½ hours, I checked the ribs. Several spots checked with an instant read thermometer still showed 170°F and a bend test confirmed they were not ready. One of my brothers-in-law volunteered to try one, so I cut off an end rib and gave it to him. He said he knew what I was looking for (meat to come clean off the bone but not falling off) and while he confirmed these ribs were not there yet, they were better than anything he had ever served. So I said "What the heck" (or words to that effect) and finished the ribs (painted with a little BBQ sauce, put under the broiler until the sauce bubbled and cut them up for serving).
The taste was what I was shooting for but they just weren’t done. Were they going through a "stall" like one sees with a brisket? My past experience had always been that baby back ribs take 3-4 hours and St. Louis cut 5-6. 7 ½ hours and still not done? What’s up with that? Was it the ribs themselves? Was it me?
Any thoughts?
My wife and I traveled the 4 hours drive to visit her mother for Labor Day weekend, and my wife volunteered me to make ribs for a Sunday cookout for her family (mom, several brothers and a sister plus spouses). No problem. I looked for St. Louis cut ribs but could only find baby backs. Picked up a couple of racks that were pretty good size and was ready to go.
The plan was to start cooking at Noon, smoke them on the Weber grill for a few hours, then move them to the oven to finish so I could grill brats. The goal was dinner around 5PM (figuring on about 4 hours plus a little extra for the baby back ribs). After 3 hours on the Weber at 225°F (first time I popped the lid) the ribs were doing fine but were not ready. Moved them to the oven set at 225°F and prepped the grill for the brats.
At 4 hours, I checked the ribs. Several spots checked with an instant read thermometer showed 140°F and a bend test confirmed they were not ready. At 5 hours, I checked the ribs. Several spots checked with an instant read thermometer showed 150°F and a bend test confirmed they were not ready. At 5 1/2 hours, I checked the ribs. Several spots checked with an instant read thermometer showed 160°F and a bend test confirmed they were not ready. People were getting hungry so I started the brats.
At 6 hours, I checked the ribs. Several spots checked with an instant read thermometer showed 170°F and a bend test confirmed they were not ready. The brats were ready so we began dinner with a promise of ribs to come shortly.
At 6 1/2 hours, I checked the ribs. Several spots checked with an instant read thermometer still showed at 170°F and a bend test confirmed they were not ready. I upped the oven temperature to 240°F and announced we would have ribs for dessert.
At 7 hours, I checked the ribs. Several spots checked with an instant read thermometer still showed 170°F and a bend test confirmed they were not ready. At 7 ½ hours, I checked the ribs. Several spots checked with an instant read thermometer still showed 170°F and a bend test confirmed they were not ready. One of my brothers-in-law volunteered to try one, so I cut off an end rib and gave it to him. He said he knew what I was looking for (meat to come clean off the bone but not falling off) and while he confirmed these ribs were not there yet, they were better than anything he had ever served. So I said "What the heck" (or words to that effect) and finished the ribs (painted with a little BBQ sauce, put under the broiler until the sauce bubbled and cut them up for serving).
The taste was what I was shooting for but they just weren’t done. Were they going through a "stall" like one sees with a brisket? My past experience had always been that baby back ribs take 3-4 hours and St. Louis cut 5-6. 7 ½ hours and still not done? What’s up with that? Was it the ribs themselves? Was it me?
Any thoughts?
Comment