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Giffs
Member
Post Number: 57
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Monday, May 30, 2005 - 6:28 am:
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Hello All:
I tried the 3-2-1 method yesterday and I have a question about the timing. I had my K7 locked in at 230 and did the 3 hours with no problem. Then I foiled the racks with a little apple juice and put them on for 1.5 hours. When I went to take them out for the last naked cook the ribs were obviously done. In fact they were probably a little too done. I skipped the last part of the cook and they were very tasty but my question is why were they done so far ahead of schedule? The meat had pulled away from the bones to the point that they were falling apart. Again my temp was stable and the process was followed very carefully and they did not need the last hour. Any ideas?
Giff |
Alibubba
Member
Post Number: 54
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Monday, May 30, 2005 - 7:14 am:
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I've had much success using the 3-1-1 method. I've found the ribs almost done as well after an hour in foil, but I like the finish the last hour gives them. I also use a bit lower temp - 210 - 215. |
Cntykids
Member
Post Number: 75
Registered: 10-2004
| | Posted on Monday, May 30, 2005 - 7:31 am:
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Giff - that last hour firms the ribs back up when you put the sauce on. If you used baby backs you went to long, but with the full ribs it should work. 220-225 seems to work for me.
John |
Babykatelyn
Member
Post Number: 189
Registered: 9-2003
| | Posted on Monday, May 30, 2005 - 9:02 am:
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Spares or Babys? We usually finish BBs an hour earlier than the average St. Louis rib rack. We've also stepped away from the foiling. |
Jamesd
Member
Post Number: 118
Registered: 4-2004
| | Posted on Monday, May 30, 2005 - 11:28 am:
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I have tried foiling my ribs using more or less a 2-1.5-1.5 for baby backs at a temp of about 225-235 cooked to an internal temp of about 180. I have found that the K cooked ribs do not need to be foiled. The K's excellent cooking qualities do not dry out the ribs so I have found the foil to be an unnecessary step in the cooking process. The K really does let you set it and forget it. |
Bob
Associate Member
Post Number: 14
Registered: 10-2001
| | Posted on Monday, May 30, 2005 - 11:46 am:
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Jamesd, that is my experience also. That is, in a K ribs do not need foiling. Note that I have never tried foiling ribs in a K so maybe there is something to it. I find whole untrimmed slabs of medium graded ribs to come out ot my K on the verge of being too wet without foil. If I cook them too slow they do not have quite enough "tooth" for me. |
Syzygies
Member
Post Number: 231
Registered: 9-2004
| | Posted on Monday, May 30, 2005 - 2:20 pm:
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I've tried spareribs both ways a number of times.
Most pork really needs some help. There's no better way to work in some additional flavors than during the foil phase, as many people here do.
I prefer to hold out for pork that tastes incredible plain, then give it the simplest of salt, pepper, chile rubs. For such pork, I feel that foiling ruins the texture and muddies the flavor.
These are two different dishes. The foiled ribs are closer to a very elegant braise, the never-foiled ribs can have too much tooth for some people. Debating this as if this is one dish rather than two can get confusing, people compare with the single ideal dish in their head and don't taste what's in front of them for what it is.
I'm with Bob, I like the tooth. I'm experimenting with higher temperatures after the smoke has penetrated, I'm beginning to find that "low & slow" the entire distance doesn't have enough character. I like roasted meats, one needs to inflect a bit in that direction. |
Harry
Member
Post Number: 1255
Registered: 7-2001
| | Posted on Monday, May 30, 2005 - 2:46 pm:
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Dave,
When I took a course from Dr BBQ, he foiled and used that occasion to add in some apple juice. The foil was removed after a period to let the ribs 'crust up'.
Samantha, my test [taste ?] pilot, ixnayed foiling and I have subsequently stopped that practice
Harry |
Colacooker
Member
Post Number: 140
Registered: 6-2003
| | Posted on Monday, May 30, 2005 - 5:21 pm:
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I can go either way with the foiling argument. Today I cooked a few racks of spares with a spicy, non-sweet dry rub for 3 hours followed by an hour in foil using some honey and maple syrup. After removing them from the foil I put them back on the smoker for the final hour of cooking with a new coating of the spicy dry rub. I reduced the juices from the foil into a glaze and applied a single coating when the ribs had 30 minutes to go. They came out spicy with a hint of maple sweetness and tender with enough firmness to pull off the bone with a little tug. I have found that the final, un-foiled hour is critical to good texture. Don't cut the hour short!
Tony
(Message edited by ColaCooker on May 30, 2005) |
Clausenk
Member
Post Number: 952
Registered: 1-2004
| | Posted on Monday, May 30, 2005 - 5:57 pm:
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I prefer without foil also. Maple and apple wood is a killer combination. |
Lago
Member
Post Number: 242
Registered: 12-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 31, 2005 - 7:42 am:
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Do any of you "spritz" with apple juice or another liquid periodically throughout the cook? How about mopping? I never have but from what I see on TV it looks like a bunch of the competition cooks use that method. |
Bob
Associate Member
Post Number: 15
Registered: 10-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 31, 2005 - 8:08 am:
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Lago, I will often use a good grade of pure apple juice as a spray while doing ribs. All I can tell it really does is add a taste of sweetness to the finished product.
Mopping should not be necessary in a K due to the high moisture / low air movement environment inside a K. |
Lasergecko
Member
Post Number: 799
Registered: 3-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 31, 2005 - 1:28 pm:
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Q'ing on a Kamado is a bit different than how 99.9% of the people do it. Mopping is a "moisture loss compensation technique" that PotteryHeads don't have to use 'cause our Kookers are so good. |
Redyer
Member
Post Number: 89
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 31, 2005 - 5:27 pm:
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I was in the mopping and foiling camp when we first got our K. I then tried the 5 hours indirect that I read on an earlier thread (about a year ago), and now that is my favorite. Nothing wrong with either way, just personal taste. My wife is now a big convert to ribs when cooked this way. I still foil them in a warm oven about 30 min after the cook. The best way is to experiment, and find what works best for you. |
Johnnyboy
Member
Post Number: 141
Registered: 10-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 01, 2005 - 9:39 am:
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Okay, I'll bite! What does not having quite enough "tooth" mean? |
Rickh
Member
Post Number: 138
Registered: 11-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 01, 2005 - 10:07 am:
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Not enough texture or crust, like the difference between a good and bad baguette. There's falling off the bone, and then there's mushy.
You can get some of the crust back using the foil method in the final hour, but not all. |
Jeff
Member
Post Number: 387
Registered: 7-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 01, 2005 - 11:10 am:
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I've had the best luck using no foil. I usually cook ribs indirect for about 5 hours, using ether apple or cherry wood, with an occasional basting of apple juice. |
Cobbq
Associate Member
Post Number: 14
Registered: 6-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 07, 2005 - 8:17 am:
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I just cooked two racks of ribs last week and they came out perfect! I have a #5 and I've found that I had to vary the 3-2-1 method slightly. I usually do St. Louis style but tried Spareribs last week. I rubbed them with yellow prepared mustard, sprinkled and rubbed in a little Rasta Rub, then cooked them indirect for 2-hrs at 240-degrees. Approximately every half-hour, I sprayed them down with apple juice. I then wrapped them in foil (after giving another good spray of apple juice) and cooked for another hour. Finally, unwrapped, I sprayed them again with the juice and cooked 45-minutes more. They were falling apart, perfect degree of doneness, and tasty as can be... I've used this 2-1-.75 several times now and I've found that rather than being done after the foil cycle, they're just perfect after the final 45-mins on the grill. |
Linuxwrangler
Member
Post Number: 81
Registered: 10-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 03, 2006 - 5:56 pm:
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I tried foil the first time and the ribs were good but done much faster than I expected. Yesterday I did another couple racks of Costco spareribs with a dry rub and no foil.
I planned on leaving them for 5 hours but I got distracted and our friend was running late so they stayed on for 7 hours. The K held steady at 210 give or take 10 degrees the whole time (actually, it slowly rose from 200-220 as the rain dissipated).
The texture was near-perfect: tender and juicy but not mushy. They could have stood a bit stronger rub or the addition of some sauce at the table, though. Still, nobody complained as they chowed-down.
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Richg
Member
Post Number: 87
Registered: 12-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 04, 2006 - 7:15 am:
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LW-
7 hours is what my spares always take me at the same temps. If I have a deadline, I know I can take them off at 6 hrs and give them a little rest in foil to cheat a bit on tenderness. Of course, that sacrifices bark, but if I have a deadline, it usually means I have company, and most of them sauce the ribs anyway.
Good q'in!
R
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Barry
Member
Post Number: 31
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, January 05, 2006 - 2:12 am:
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Well you know we love ribs here. I go to Costco or Nob Hill when they are on sale and pick up a couple of racks. Get the knives out and whack them down to St.Louis style. (The flap meat gets cooked up to go into the beans). Roll the silver skin off, season them with whatever you like and that is that.
I light the K7 at least 2 hours before I want to start cooking. I use Kamado charcoal for this.
Set up for indirect cooking. Like I have said before I never get to technical about this. I just use an old gold miners pan wrapped in foil sitting on the lower rack. It works fine. No need for pizza stones or anything.
Get the K cruising along at 220 or so and drop them on. Maybe even lower. I have done some at 190 (when I could keep that temp) Forget about the marinade. That only makes a soggy rib.
If you want smoke add big chunks, not chips of whatever kind you like. (Wal-Mart has great deals on wood chunks for smoking)
Cover your coals with the wood at least 30 minutes before you put the ribs on. You want to burn off all the bark and the too many volatile oils that are present.
That is it. You should have a low temp and good smoke rising out of the top of K. Do not bother with any more wood. The nice red smoke ring develops in the first hour or so. Any more wood for smoke is overkill and could lead to a bitter taste. I never open the K up until we are ready for some serious Ribs! Barry |
Barry
Member
Post Number: 32
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, January 05, 2006 - 2:21 am:
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Let the ribs just cruise along for at least 5 hours. I usually leave mine in for 7 hours or more. It all depends on how low I can get the K to idle along. Sometimes 9 hours or so. Never hurry anything along on a Kamado (unless you are roaring away at 600 degrees or so with some really fine steaks)! Barry |
A Question About Ribs