First Baby Back Cook Good But Not Great--Pls Help, Help Me Rhonda

[fkrall]

Agree!

[fkrall]

Tough to admit that I have a Weber rib rack but didn't use it. Should have; will next time. I rotated the ribs approx. hourly to cook evenly; that was the reason for the frequent dome removal and biggest error. The fire would spike every time, moreso toward the end. I mopped to maintain moisture but still had some relatively dry ends. I'll try without next time. I know blasphemy and will try them next.

[fkrall]

Smoke 2-channel on main grate; SnS advised separately that the elevated grate ran 40º hotter.

[bardsleyque]

you use two fingers? (I'm jealous)!

[ScottyC13]

I’ve followed the advice above from jfmorris and they come out great. Put them on, wait 2-2.5 hours and flip/ switch positions. Wait 2 more hours, check, sauce and close back up for 30 minutes.

[HawkerXP]

What thermometer you using?

[Whiskeyman53]

There were no replies when I started, not saying much for my 2 finger typing so I have probably repeated some other replies, anyway the most important part is have the beer and enjoy the slow cook as a time to relax, breath in the smells of meat and coals and have good family time.

[BFlynn]

See! Lots of actually helpful answers popped up while I was typing my jibberish.

[Whiskeyman53]

I'm sure they were better than you thought, most people are their own worst critics when it involves their own cooking. a suggestion might be to use rib racks when smoking a large amount of ribs for a long cook. This would even out the spacing better and the heat distribution would not be towards the top rack. Each rib rack can hold 5 to 6 half racks which would allow the ribs to be evenly timed. I like using rib racks because it allows for a variety of style and seasonings for ribs to be enjoyed, you're not tied down to one style. Great choice using Meatheads recipe you can't lose there. To control the temp spikes allow the grill to lower the temp using the air intake slightly just before opening the lid, this will allow the rise in temp when closing the lid to not be as high then it will settle in to where you want it.The fun part of grilling and smoking is all about what can I do next time, the Pitmaster Club is great because you can get help and information before , during and after your cook and even for next time.

[BFlynn]

First - good job making some tasty ribs that your family enjoyed!!

Second, in general, if shooting is an option, it's the one I'm going to encourage.


How "all over the place" were the temps? 10 or 20 degree swings won't kill you.
How different were the temps on the bottom at top racks? I'm guessing the biggest difference, temp wise is between the bottom rack that's close to the charcoal, and the rack on top. Maybe just swap those 2 half way through the cook.

When you say they were "good, but not great", what part needs to be improved?

It looks like you got a good bark. Was the flavor and smoke profile there that you wanted?
Were they tender? Did the meat pull off the bone? Was the meat TOO soft?
Were they moist?

Can probably give better suggestions if we know what you're trying to improve.

If one rack finishes early, or my ribs finish before what else I'm cooking, they can go hold in the oven at the lowest setting for at least a couple/few hours. So I wouldn't worry about one rack finishing sooner.

When I used to do ribs on the gasser, 3 racks was my limit, and I rotated them once an hour. I've never mopped a rib.

I don't have a weber kettle /SnS yet. Lots more qualified people to give you help with those tools, but a couple suggestions.
1) Always have a beer! That's probably why the ribs weren't perfect.
2) skip the mopping and leave the lid on.
3) Use this as an excuse to buy a PBC.

[Henrik]

jfmorris is spot on.

[jfmorris]

The ribs look good, but I will start with the most obvious things:

1. DON'T mop your ribs. Put on the rub, and leave them alone please! The mop extends the cooking time, washes off rub, and reduces bark formation.

2. DON'T take the lid off frequenty. The longer you leave it alone, the closer the temperatures of the top and bottom grates stabilize and converge. On long low and slow cooks, over a period of hours, I find that the temp at the grate and the temp at the top of the dome start to converge and equalize.

3. DO rotate the ribs from the main grate to the upper grate at least once. I use the upper grate, and just rotate top to bottom half way through the cook, for whatever I am cooking up there. I usually try to split things 50/50 top to bottom because of that. The upper grate runs about 50 degrees hotter on average for a shorter cook like chicken wings or ribs.

I will say this - the only time I use the elevated grate for ribs is if doing "blasphemy style" ribs (search the forum or go to blasphemyribs.com). If cooking more than 2 slabs of ribs, I use a Weber rib rack (about $15 at Home Depot) to stand them on edge, and I can do 5 racks of baby backs easily on my 22" kettle. Usually I am doing 3, and leave an empty slot between them for air flow. All I do is halfway though the cook, flip them so that the bottom and top edges are swapped, since the top edge does cook faster, being higher in the dome. That is the ONLY time I open the kettle when cooking ribs, and then again about 30 minutes before the end of the cook to sauce the ribs, if using BBQ sauce.

Ribs should be one of the most RELAXING cooks, and are for me - probably my favorite thing to smoke, as I don't need to monitor temps too closely, and don't need to worry about refueling the SNS either. I can put them on at noon and let them for the most part do their thing until dinner time on a Saturday.

[HawkerXP]

Looks real good to me.

[fkrall]

Weber 22, family birthday party, smoked three racks and used SnS elevated grate, both for the first time. Followed Meathead's Famous Last Meal method. Family enjoyed; I thought good but not great. Started all racks together; rotated them every hour or so; racks finished separately between 4hrs10 mins and 5hrs07 mins. Was able to maintain 225-240 easily with KBB in practice run (no food), but these temps were all over the place, I'm thinking because dome was off frequently for 2-3 minutes to mop and rotate thereby energizing the fire. An exhausting cook; no beer and crossed ankles for me. Any suggestions for doing better next time? Should I have staggered the start? Shot one rack's worth of family members to avoid the elevated grate? Dumped fewer than a full chimney of KBB after the initial 12? Pic is about halfway through the cook. Thanks.