St Louis Style Ribs

[BARDSLJR]

Hey, peeps.....we just finished a long week of two concurrent home improvement projects: new quartz countertops, (and Wolf cooktop) and on the side yard- about 15'x75' - turning an ugly dirt yard into a "New Orleans-style courtyard" (according to my wife), and have thus been torturing the neighbors with plumes of concrete and quartz dust, noise, workmen running in and out, parking our cars on the street in front of their houses, and generally being pains-in-the-butt for all the neighbors. So, to make up for it, I am cooking St.Louis Style ribs for everyone on Saturday and could use any recommendations or suggestions y'all have from your KK experience. I will be using my 32" Big Boy, which seems to get better and better each time I use it.

I am thinking cooking them about 250-275 using the 3-2-1 method, spritzing with cider vinegar, lightly saucing them before I wrap them (Aaron Franklin's method) and finishing them kind of moist. Probably using a combination of oak and apple wood for this one. SUGGESTIONS?

[tony b]

First off, very nice of you to treat your neighbors with this nice cook out.

I have to admit, upfront, that I'm not a big fan of 3-2-1 style ribs. I NEVER wrap my ribs. I typically do mine, indirect, with a dry rub, but I will occasionally sauce them with like 20 minutes left to just set the sauce without overcooking/burning it. I'm OK with an occasional spritz of apple juice/cider vinegar - helps promote a good smoke flavor and keeps the meat moist.

Your target temps are good. Ribs are ready when they pass the "bend test" - pick up a rack with tongs about 1/3 from one end and lightly bounce them. If there's some tearing of the meat away from the bones, then they are done. 

I like to use a combo of Hickory and a fruit wood - apple or peach work well with pork ribs. Oak is a bit strong for pork - IMHO. 

[BARDSLJR]

Well, in these times when we need to be cautious about social distancing, it is more a matter of delivery, door to door, than cookout.

I've used the 2/1/1 method on babybacks for maybe ten years to near-perfect results. It wasn't always perfect: way, way, back, when interest groups and chat rooms on special interest projects formed, I had joined one of the very early generation barbecue forums. I was told at the time that the "perfect" rib recipe was the 3/2/1 method - three hours in the open, 2 hours wrapped, 1 hour open to finish. I tried this at least three times using babybacks and they turned to toothpaste-level mush. Finally, I wrote back on the barbecue forum and asked what I was doing wrong- the answer came back: "Aw, man, that is the recipe for ST LOUIS RIBS. For babybacks, it is 2/1/1. " I switched and the ribs have been somewhere between very good and near perfect since. I will probably start them dry-marinating in rub the night before. I usually use Dizzy Pig's Dizzy Dust as my go-to.

[Basher]

Bards if you want good ribs, Aussie seems to nail them on a weekly basis...... for a long time.
Maybe he can provide you with some tips?
I feel your pain in upsetting neighbours with renovations and am sure your ribbed peace offering will smooth them over.


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[BARDSLJR]

Let me say my neighbors have been, and are great: my nextdoor neighbor Keith even risked a hernia helping me get the 32" Big Boy up a ramp and back onto the new patio...coming through in the clutch, as we say. I want to keep them all happy, too!

[jonj]

I smoke a lot of baby back ribs. Used to do them in combo with St. Louis style ribs, but now I just throw on a pork loin. Like Tony, I never wrap them. I generally marinate them overnight in Wicker's Marinade & Baste (a vinegar-based marinade made in Hornersville, Missouri) or a dry rub if ribs are a last minute decision. I sometimes use both if I think about it and want to throw the change-up. In the KK at 250° - 275° F with hickory or an apple-cherry wood mix. Usually 5 - 5 1/2 hours to competition tenderness. I start checking for doneness when 1/2" of bone peeks out from the meat. We aren't fans of clean-bone doneness; seems overcooked to us. 

I do think one has to ask the question of whether a "one size fits all" wrapping technique applies equally between offset stick smokers and kamados, and particularly Komodo Kamados. Those with both types of smokers may have other opinions, but I believe the inherent moistness of KK cookers negates the need for wrapping, especially ribs. At least, this is the way we like them. YMMV.

However, if you were to offer me one of those 3-2-1 St. Louis ribs just off the smoke, I would eat it with a smile on my face. 😋

[BARDSLJR]

That is a really good point about using the KK versus an offset. I traded off my Lang offset (dual 36") to return to the Kamado style. I think the airflow and turbulence is completely different between the two. Hmmmmmm.

[tony b]

13 hours ago, BARDSLJR said:

I usually use Dizzy Pig's Dizzy Dust as my go-to.

 

Slather on the yellow mustard, hit with the Dizzy Dust, wrap in plastic film overnight - MONEY!

[AJR]

17 hours ago, tony b said:

I typically do mine, indirect, with a dry rub, but I will occasionally sauce them with like 20 minutes left to just set the sauce without overcooking/burning it. I'm OK with an occasional spritz of apple juice/cider vinegar - helps promote a good smoke flavor and keeps the meat moist.

Your target temps are good. Ribs are ready when they pass the "bend test" - pick up a rack with tongs about 1/3 from one end and lightly bounce them. If there's some tearing of the meat away from the bones, then they are done. 

Thanks for the tips, Tony.

[BARDSLJR]

Yup, the mustard (lightly) slather goes on tonight with the Dizzy Pig Dizzy Dust. I love these guys....the ADD anal-retentive, purity-obssessed  rub developers. I have been with them since they made the jump from the amateur bbq circuit to opening as a business. LOVE their stuff. If you don't know them, well worth exploring. Great on-line service, too.

[tony b]

I'm an OG fan! Used some Dizzy Dust w/3-eyz on a boneless pork rib (aka Country Style) tonight!

Edited June 5, 2020 by tony b

[BARDSLJR]

Looks delicious!

 

[BARDSLJR]

A few photos from yesterday's cook...first time doing St Louis style ribs.....

Pre-cook....slathered and dusted with Dizzy Pig Southern BBQ-style rub; halfway through cook (the smoker is maybe a little crowded with 9 racks) and then two pictures of the finished product. The rack Daneta and I kept for ourselves was smaller, thinner, and maybe on the outside and more exposed to direct heat: it was a bit dry and crispy in places. My neighbors all report that theirs was juicy, fall-off-the-bone and delicious. We kept another thicker one for ourselves that we will reheat tomorrow night, so more reports then.  I would say the taste was pretty good: nice spice, nice smoke. Lastly, two photos of the finished product. I cooked this batch at 275-300 for three hours ( I was not trying for 300...I find I still fight temperature creep with my 32"KK and obviously still have much to learn about using the KK effectively), spritzing with a 50/50 cider vinegar/water mixture 3-4 times. Then as I wrapped them, spritzed again and a light slather of diluted (with water to thin it out) barbecue sauce. The sauce largely disappeared in the second phase of the cook, which lasted 2 1/2 hours. Next time I will probably try for 2 hours for the second phase and do something to keep the temps between 250-275. The wood used was 2/3rds apple, 1/3rd pecan. smoke flavor was good.

 

[tony b]

Tasty looking ribs, man!

If you do many more of these large cooks, you might wanna consider a rib rack? 

[Tyrus]

If you have that amount of ribs on the grill and close the door the moisture inside your KK won't fall to the point and dry the meat. Look at your chicken, always moist coming off the grill, the same applies to your ribs especially on the KK. If you wanted to pop the lid to check for where your at and see moisture content, you may spritz....other than that if your riding a low and slow wrapping is a step unneeded. Keeping the temp at 225-40 will give you the ribs that bite off the bone vs fall off the bone. The lower the temp the longer the cook which coincides with the ability to adjust for tenderness and control of your cook.........giving you the result you want. Ribs for me do better at a lower temp over a longer period for best results, we all do things differently......it never hurts to wrap, it aids the process along. All depends what you see when you open the door.

[BARDSLJR]

We held back two racks after giving the rest to to the neighbors. Ours was rather dry and crispy...I have another one in the fridge for later use, so we will see how the second one goes. The neighbors all had good reports on theirs. More later...

[BARDSLJR]

Tyrus, I completely agree about the temperature range. In the past, with my babybacks, I've tried to stay in the 225-50 range, and I was trying for 250-75, but had some unwanted temperature creep and as you know, the KK is SO well insulated that it is hard to get temperatures to fall once they reach a level. As for wrapping or not, I think that is a matter of personal preference: I've always wrapped my babybacks using the 2-1-1 method, and they came out nearly perfect every time.  I was following the method Aaron Franklin demonstrated in his Master Class on barbecue- and Franklin is, as you know, no schlub when it comes to barbecue of any sort.

On a different note, I spatchcocked a whole roasting chicken last night and fired up the KK to use it as a grill, using about 50/50 charcoal and hickory wood, applying my own recipe barbecue sauce liberally in the last 15 minutes, flipping it about every 5 minutes. I hadn't grilled over natural wood in a long time- it was magnificent.

[tony b]

You know the "rule" here - no pictures, it didn't happen! 

[BARDSLJR]

I know, I am sorry....the chicken was beautiful. But I had tongs in one hand and a glass of an insouciant chardonnay in the other....no hand to take pictures.....