Trying Melissa Cookston’s method for ribs....

[BARDSLJR]

I committed to make babyback ribs for my wife’s book club’s lunch, so I was up at (arrrggghh) 6 AM to get the 32” KK up to temp and have the ribs done around 12 or so. In the past I have used the 2/1/1 method, cooking at 225* to 235*, usually using Dizzy Pig’s Dizzy Dust for a rub. I usually put the rub on the night before or at least a full hour before cooking, to let the meat “ dry marinate”.  This time I resolved to use Cookstons’ rub and sauce, and selectively borrow some of her method. Melissa, by the way, won Memphis in May with her ribs 2 years in a row,  and I have watched her on some of the bbq competition shows and the woman knows how to cook.

Cookston does her ribs at 225, but uses 2 hours free/2hours wrapped and then unwrapped “ until tender”, 30 minutes or so, basted with sauce. She uses grape juice for the spritzing and wrap, and cooks meat-side down for the wrap.

I had resolved to cook at 250* to make sure I could get the meat done and tender in around 4 hours, so now I just had to do that and keep it from drying out. So having the meat side down in the wrap made a lot of sense to me in terms of assuring a good moist, not dried out, rib. I did that, but I use apple juice ( grape doesn’t seem right.) it also makes sense to me that using a light mustard slather before the rub (see photo) would be a good idea, so I did that.

Melissa’s rub is ground much finer than Dizzy Pig and draws the moisture out much faster. You could go 30 minutes before cooking with this. The smell and flavor profiles are very different.

I was out of apple wood so I used plum and pecan. I stayed with the 2/1/1 method but applied a thin layer of Cookston’s bbq sauce about 20 minutes before finishing. I usually serve my ribs “ dry” with sauce on the side, but this time I thought I’d go wet. After I applied her sauce, which is quite dark, almost black, and I smelled it and it was very strongly of Worcestershire and something else.. star anise?- and I did not like that so I used my own sauce for a final coat and also served some on the side, warmed.

so in the photo below, you see the ribs slathered, then with rub, on the smoker at a halfway point, just before the wrap, then brushed with Cookston’s sauce on the grill, and finally finished with my sauce. 
 

I am pleased to report that the ribs had nice moisture, and were perfectly tender with good tooth and nice smoke. I like Dizzy Pig better than Cookston’s rub, and do not like her sauce at all, but that may be a notion of personal preference.

I have to remember to restock apple wood....

[BARDSLJR]

Sorry about those cemetery photos from Glasgow... I don’t know how they snuck in there....

[tony b]

I was going to make a joke about "BBQ-ing in the Bone Yard!" Seemed fitting for ribs! 🤣

[Syzygies]

17 hours ago, BARDSLJR said:

Sorry about those cemetery photos from Glasgow... I don’t know how they snuck in there....

Yup, I was wondering if not everyone survived the meal!

[jonj]

If you read the inscriptions on the stones, it seems they use(d) a multi-internment policy for families, which I found interesting and unfamiliar.

[tekobo]

2 hours ago, jonj said:

If you read the inscriptions on the stones, it seems they use(d) a multi-internment policy for families, which I found interesting and unfamiliar.

That doesn't happen in the US?  The Husband and I sometimes visit cemeteries on our travels and the concept of a  burial vault or a family plot seems quite common.  We stopped that weird habit a few years ago and concentrate on botanical gardens instead.  @BARDSLJR is there an interesting story behind your cemetery photos?

[jonj]

I’ve never wrapped baby backs, whether 3/2/1, 2/1/1, or 2/2. I guess I’d call my method the 4/0: about 4 hours, unwrapped, at 225-250 until done. I typically use a vinegar-based marinade overnight and get pretty consistent results with good bark and competition mouth feel so am happy with it (as I should be since I’ve been cooking these for about 40 years). I appreciate hearing about your results and probably should try one of these other methods sometime to try it. 

[jonj]

1 minute ago, tekobo said:

That doesn't happen in the US?

I’m certainly not an expert about the country as a whole, especially those parts in the East and Southeast which were the earliest colonized. In the rural midwest where I grew up, families generally had an expanse of plots to intern the members side by side. Some families have/had their own cemeteries / vaults but also more spread out.

[tekobo]

43 minutes ago, jonj said:

I’m certainly not an expert about the country as a whole, especially those parts in the East and Southeast which were the earliest colonized. In the rural midwest where I grew up, families generally had an expanse of plots to intern the members side by side. Some families have/had their own cemeteries / vaults but also more spread out.

Makes sense.  You have a lot more space out there. 

[BARDSLJR]

I wish I could tell you why I took those particular photos in the grand cemetery in Glasgow: it was quite some time ago- maybe 2014. I've always loved visiting historic cemeteries and this one had some interesting personalities and inscriptions. My old running route in Salt Lake City included a cool-down walk through the historic Salt Lake Cemetery there- I used to try to take a different route nearly every day to see what was to be seen. Fascinating.....

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[BARDSLJR]

JohnJ, if you can get your ribs done to your satisfaction and not dried out using 4/0 , more power to you. I don't know the average humidity there in Kansas, but here in Denver, at altitude, and previously in Salt Lake (at almost the same altitude ), it's pretty dry. 2/1/1 has been working well for me, and playing with minor variations of temperature between 225 and 275 or so.

[jonj]

Good point.

[tony b]

@jonj - as the old sayin' goes - If it ain't broke, don't try to fix it! 

Back when I got started on this journey on the old POSK Forum (in the beginning it was pretty awesome like here - won't go any further about how it ended!), folks raved about ribs done with the 3/2/1 method. I tried it a few times, but it never wow'ed me like it did other folks. I almost never wrap ribs anymore, only briskets in pink butcher paper. 

[BARDSLJR]

I think it’s important to differentiate between babyback and spare ribs or St Louis style ribs. The latter are a lot fatter and meatier than baby backs, which are quite lean and therefore more prone to drying out. I can see cooking spare ribs without wrapping. Babybacks, I think, profit from it. But yes, whatever works for you. There are many Austin area brisket specialists who cook at 225*....and then there’s John Mueller, who cooks at 300* and does great. Go figure.

[jonj]

I've been thinking about the humidity - altitude issue off and on today. For a long time (30+ years) I smoked using a Weber Smokey Mountain cooker, which has a water pan as part of the system. Adding moisture. I also believe there is a difference between cooking on a Komodo Kamado with inherent moisture retention and a stick burner (at least a non-Lang unit), which in my experience typically dries out the meat somewhat more. I'm familiar with their effect from my brother-in-law's BBQ catering business, who wraps a lot of his recipes to avoid dryness. When I got my KK, I initially tried baby backs with a water pan, but quick found it wasn't needed, at least for my taste.

Altitude may indeed do the same. It certainly affects my sinuses whenever I'm in Denver!

I pretty much exclusively cook baby backs. Long ago I would mix in some St. Louis-style ribs, but now I'm more a one-trick pony as far as pork ribs go.

On the other hand, I think briskets definitely need wrapping. Like Tony, I use pink butcher paper.

I appreciate the discussion, @BARDSLJR. I'm intrigued by your results and it would be interesting to try something different. And which doesn't involve me buying a new device, at least this time...

[BARDSLJR]

I wrap my brisket with pink butcher paper, also. I may have to try a batch of babybacks without wrapping for comparison. As for buying another device, if you've got a KK, where would you go from there? It certainly is the Ne Plus Ultra in my book.

[tony b]

14 hours ago, BARDSLJR said:

As for buying another device, if you've got a KK, where would you go from there?

It's usually called the 2nd (or 3rd) KK in the family! LOL

I have to say that I'm pretty much a St Louis rib guy (bang for the buck). I occasionally do baby backs (when they're on sale.) I rarely wet sauce ribs, but I will do it for baby backs. 

[jonj]

1 minute ago, tony b said:

It's usually called the 2nd (or 3rd) KK in the family!

That's what we call it.

[BARDSLJR]

OMG, I never thought of getting ANOTHER one.....that would be marital suicide, here.