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crutchnoob (or The adventures with smokenoob and Baby Back Wibs)

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    crutchnoob (or The adventures with smokenoob and Baby Back Wibs)

    Ya’all know I’m still relatively new to this smokin’ stuff and ya mighta a seen some of my Wib posts from the past. My Baby Backs have been very satisfying but there was still this hankerin’ for the next improvement. My typical BBR cook is with Meathead’s rub and smoked on the pellet pooper for about 6 hours. They are some mighty fine wibs! But readin’ ya’alls posts made me think I was cookin’ em to long so last week I took em off at 3.5 hours thinkin’ I was over cookin’ em......well, leme put it this way, they bombed.....even wife was brave enough to look me in the eye and say “I want fall off the bone ribs (she doesn’t know they are called wibs....).
    So, next day we did a reheat/crutch wrapped in HD Renolds with some butter and brown sugar thrown in. They were much improved and I was allowed to vacate the couch and come back to the bedroom!

    So, after searching the interweb I had a plan. Today I prepped these beautyful Baby Backs with Meatheads brine n rub, put em in the pellet pooper at high smoke (225) for 2.75 hrs, then I put em meat side down on some butter n brown sugar in a HD Renolds wrap and tossed some more butter n brown sugar on top, closed it up and into the over for 1.5 hours at 350 deg. Then I opened em up, put em bone side down on a baking sheet, put some Ray’s on top and broiled em for about 5-10 minutes. Took em out, sliced em up, poured some of the crutch juice on em and served them to my sweetheart.........wait.......she’s chewing........BBQ sauce on her lips.....She says “These are A++++
    So I guess, it’s the couch or the crutch
    Attached Files

    #2
    We need a "Show us your wib face" pic!

    Comment


    • smokenoob
      smokenoob commented
      Editing a comment
      lol! I like that idea!

    #3
    On spares I used to do 3-2-1, but I thought that was overcooked, so I started doing 2-2-1. I have read BBR'S should do 2-2-1, but I think 1-2-1 is fine. So 4 hours with 2 of those being wrapped is similar to your experience. 6 hours with no wrap would not surprise me.

    Comment


    • smokenoob
      smokenoob commented
      Editing a comment
      Is 1-2-1 smoke-crutch-?, I’m not sure what the third number means. I had about 4 hours total on my BBR’s and liked them

    • Dewesq55
      Dewesq55 commented
      Editing a comment
      smokenoob - The 3rd number is interested and back on the smoker to firm up the bark.

    • smokenoob
      smokenoob commented
      Editing a comment
      got it!

    #4
    My family likes them crutched, but I've not done it that way in years. Maybe next time I will, to tenderize them some for the missus.

    Comment


    • smokenoob
      smokenoob commented
      Editing a comment
      Yes Jim, I think your bride needs some softer food for a while, good man!

    #5
    I’ve been wrapping in a similar fashion but for only about 30-45mins. Any more than that they get way too mushy for my taste. Actually I only started wrapping because I needed them to get done faster more than I wanted to try to improve them but since I’ve been doing that it really has taken them to the next level especially for my wife. I don’t tell her when I wrap but every time I do it’s rave reviews and if I don’t wrap it’s "yeah they’re good but not as good as the last time". So they usually get wrapped once I get the bark I like.

    Comment


    • smokenoob
      smokenoob commented
      Editing a comment
      Hmmmm, this is starting to sound like a wives pole, so then I’m with FireMan it must be rigged!

    #6
    I tried wrapping once. It was not a successful venture.
    Right now we're just dialing in getting them spot on in the PBC.

    I feel like I will always be in persuit of that perfect rack.....

    Looking forward to your crutch adventures

    Comment


    • smokenoob
      smokenoob commented
      Editing a comment
      OK, I’ll be back when I find a phone booth with a smoker!

    #7
    I'm on and off crutching ribs.
    I find fresh packed ribs I don't necessarily need to crutch while cryovac packaged ribs need the crutch.
    Agree with Andrrr to long of a crutch and they get too fall off the bone for me, I like a bit of a fight from the meat.

    Comment


    • smokenoob
      smokenoob commented
      Editing a comment
      Ok, sounds like the parameter to play with next is crutch time......I like the sound of that....”It’s Crutch Time”!

    #8
    Do what you gotta do and like what you like. I personally don’t crutch as I like the texture I get with no crutch but if it works for you, don’t change! The beauty of this is learning what you like and then dialing it in from there.

    That’s what I’m doing. I’ve learned two things about ribs: 1) I don’t like the baby back ribs I can find around here, too meaty and lean, so all SLC for me; and 2) I’m leaning towards preferring saucing my ribs vs dry which surprised me as I’m generally not a bbq sauce guy, but I’ve started adding some sauce to some of my ribs and I’m liking them more.
    Last edited by shify; June 22, 2020, 09:15 PM.

    Comment


    • Andrrr
      Andrrr commented
      Editing a comment
      Ditto on the saucing. I’ve been saucing in 10 minute intervals for the last 20-30 mins of a cook to get it to tack up. I still don’t know that I like it better per se but it’s nice to switch it up now and then.

    • smokenoob
      smokenoob commented
      Editing a comment
      That’s how I sauce my Weber chicken, may have to work that variable on my rims as you suggest, thx!

    • BFlynn
      BFlynn commented
      Editing a comment
      The baby back ribs I'm seeing here seem to range from 2.5 - 4 lbs per rack. I bought the heavier racks 1 time. They seem to have a lot of extra loin meat. Which I get -- why not sell that for an extra $1/lb.

      I try to get the baby backs that are 2.5 lbs and less.

      Wife likes sauced ribs. I like them dry rub only. So I get to do them both ways.

    #9
    My current favorite method is no crutch, but wrap tightly in foil and hold in a 170 degree oven for 1-2 hours when done. It results in the ribs bring more tender, but not mushy.

    Comment


    • smokenoob
      smokenoob commented
      Editing a comment
      Isn’t that a crutch? Or is crutch the moisture in foil part? You guys are giving me so many variables.....think I am up to 3 factorial....thats a lotta ribs! (it’s gonna be a great summer!)

    • Red Man
      Red Man commented
      Editing a comment
      smokenoob I wouldn’t call it crutching, more like holding.

    #10
    I don't wrap them. I've cooked enough racks on my pellet cooker to know that they're usually done in four to five hours. At around four hours I start looking for the pull back from the bone then probe with a toothpick between a couple middle ribs and finally a bend test to say when they are done. When the probe and bend say they are done, that's when I call them done. My family likes them when they have just the right amount of tug but not falling off the bone. Done right is what the fam likes and nothing more.

    I've made a sauce for years that the fam likes on the ribs. One time I decided to make it extra fancy and strain the chunks of onion and green pepper out before serving. My wife and daughter both got up during the meal to spoon chunks from the strainer back into their sauce and I was told not to mess with a good thing. I haven't stopped experimenting but I sometimes make two versions of something in case my test sample is a flop with the fam.

    Comment


    • smokenoob
      smokenoob commented
      Editing a comment
      Done right is what the fam likes and nothing more.
      Now there’s a plaque for the pit! great story about straining, no need for straining the family relationship!

    #11
    Good BBQ is what you like and not what someone else likes, be it is wrapped, unwrapped, sauced or dry. I believe you have your formula.

    Comment


    • smokenoob
      smokenoob commented
      Editing a comment
      and, I wrote it down and filed it in the smoker file. That helps kick start my old synapse sometimes.....

    #12
    Originally posted by LA Pork Butt View Post
    Good BBQ is what you like and not what someone else likes, be it is wrapped, unwrapped, sauced or dry. I believe you have your formula.
    well said.

    I seem to like bbq the closer it is to my face.

    Comment


      #13
      I’m another one who used to wrap, but I haven’t in years. It’s too much hassle. I will say why I wrapped: It’s because I wrapped on my first successful cook, and it worked, and I didn’t want to deviate from a winning formula. Once it worked without wrapping, I ditched that step.

      Here’s how I describe cooking unwrapped ribs: 4 1/2 hours of ignoring them, and 90 minutes (give or take) of rapt concentration. I do them at 250*. When they’re done, you can just tell; they go from dry looking to all sizzly and crackly, and the meat is pulled back from the bones. At that point I brush on the sauce, let it set for 15-30 minutes, and then pull them.

      Now, at that point, I might wrap them, if I’m going to grill some burgers or chickens or hot dogs, using the same tool (not wanting to waste the charcoal). But that’s a saving step, not a cooking step.

      All that being said: The food doesn’t know what you did to it. All it knows is if it tastes good, or it doesn’t taste good. If it tastes good, then what you did worked. That butter and brown sugar step sounds fantastic.
      Last edited by Mosca; June 23, 2020, 10:22 AM.

      Comment


      • smokenoob
        smokenoob commented
        Editing a comment
        not sure I follow the 90 min of rapt concentration.....play on words?
        Last edited by smokenoob; June 23, 2020, 10:43 AM.

      • Mosca
        Mosca commented
        Editing a comment
        Hehe, a little bit. What I mean is that I don’t pay any attention to them, other than making sure the fire doesn’t crater, or run away, for 4 1/2 hours. Then I check them, because depending on the meat or any other factors they could be done soon. (Sometimes I spritz them, but it doesn’t ever make a difference.) Because if they’re done in 5 hours, I want to sauce them at 4 1/2. For the last 90 minutes or so, I check them every 15 minutes.

      • smokenoob
        smokenoob commented
        Editing a comment
        goi it, thx!

      #14
      I do something similar to Mosca. I leave them alone for about 3 hours, then take a peek. If they are looking good, I leave them alone for another hour or so, then peek again.

      Sometimes I wrap, sometimes I don't. Depends how lazy I am that day. I start poking them around the 4-5 hour range, then get a feel for how much longer to let them go.

      Comment


        #15
        It’s great that ya kerrected the little lady on the pernunciashun of WIBS, mighty fine of ya.
        BTW, I never wap my wibs. Do em on my pbc or my 22”.

        Comment


        • smokenoob
          smokenoob commented
          Editing a comment
          yeah, with thosepeepers, you don’t strike me as a rapper.....

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