danioro Posted October 5, 2009 Report Share Posted October 5, 2009 OK OK Here's what I did.... 1) Fresh baby backs, brined for 1 hr in 1 gal H2O, 1 cup kosher salt, 1/2 cup sugar and aromatics 2) Dusted with dry rub and let sit 30 mins 3) Indirect heat at 250F for 5 hrs or so, (6 slabs on a rib rack, 3 lumps of hickory at beginniing, not repeated) 4) Mopped once halfway through with diluted cider vinegar plus rub 5) Took em out, dilute vinegar bath and more dry rub 6) Back on at 250F for 45 mins or so Ribs were good, tender, flavorful but I think overcooked. Not as juicy as I would like and crust was very dark. Not burnt but..... I am thinking maybe 225F and cut cooking time by 60-90 mins. Any sense trying to monitor the meat temp? Probly not cause they are too thin and too close to bone? Most on this forum say basting and/ro liquid in drip pan is unnecessary? Any thoughts? Thanks y'all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syzygies Posted October 5, 2009 Report Share Posted October 5, 2009 Baby backs are in my experience trickier than spareribs. They're twice the price, aimed at a market that can't be bothered with spareribs. With the exact trouble you went through, you could have cooked spareribs. They can be cooked similarly, with baby backs needing less time and less rendering. On the other hand with "grade inflation" what used to be sold as St Louis spareribs is often sold now as babybacks. A pig rib is a pig rib, I like 2 1/2 to 3 lbs trimmed, best. I personally brine many meats, but never ribs. On the other hand, the salt is unpredictable by eye, going for a dry rub instead. So I measure 0.8% sea salt by weight (one would use more for boneless meats, but this accounts for the bones) and apply before applying a further salt-free rub of chiles and/or black pepper. At 250 F I'd agree you went for a long time. On the other hand, ribs look done when they're done. Peek earlier? A classic method for ceramic cookers and spareribs has been 3:2:1 where the middle 2 hours is in foil, perhaps sauced. With indifferent meat this is probably a great idea, but with the most flavorful pork we find this comes out mushy and hides the pork itself. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruzmisl Posted October 5, 2009 Report Share Posted October 5, 2009 I'd suggest a few things. First cut the salt in half on the brine, other than that its fine. Then I'd be sure to use your heat deflector wrapped in foil placed on the charcoal basket. This will give you indirect heat which is what you want. Third, be careful using rubs with lots of sugar. They can give a really dark crust. Fourth, baby backs should be done in about 4 hours, maybe five tops. I've only had then take five when I stack the slabs. Using a rib rack where they remain separated they always take less. I've never tried the vinegar dip technique so I can't comment. I always use baby backs since most of my guests prefer them. I never use a water pan and its not necessary with the K. Also when the meat pulls back about 3/8" from the bone the ribs are done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mguerra Posted October 5, 2009 Report Share Posted October 5, 2009 common denominator I have noticed 4 hours at 250 to be the most common recommendation for cooking baby backs. There was a rib show on the Travel Channel yesterday, and most of the cooks were 250 for 4 hours, all over the country. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danioro Posted October 6, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2009 Thanks for all the tips y'all I think that my rib technique simply needs fine tuning and excellent suggestions from all. I think most importantly, I overcooked the babies! In retrospect, 6 hrs was too much, and I should check more frequently at 4 hrs and above. I was loathe to open the lid too much because I didn't want to dry em out, and I ended up drying them out! They were tasty though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homebrew Posted October 6, 2009 Report Share Posted October 6, 2009 If you haven't bought Chris Lilly's Big Bob Gibson's BBQ Book yet I highly recommend you do. Its well worth the $16.50 Amazon is asking for it. I've made his four-stage bbq ribs a couple times now and each time they were excellent. Four hours at 250 with just enough activity to get me off the lounge chair a few times to tend to the ribs and get another round of homebrews. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mguerra Posted October 7, 2009 Report Share Posted October 7, 2009 here you go Here's the link to the Chris Lilly Today Show, Big Bob Gibson's ribs, we were discussing earlier this summer: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/30686511/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mguerra Posted October 7, 2009 Report Share Posted October 7, 2009 All this rib talk fired me up so I just made some. Baby backs. My rub was brown sugar, paprika, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, cloves, cayenne pepper and a little Kosher salt. I do a straight four hour cook, no foil, no liquid, just an indirect cook. Yowser they good!!! The KK cooks 'em up so moist you don't need any foil or liquid. Sides are olive oil-garlic sauteed spinach with toasted pine nuts and craisins; and garlic mashers. Yummy. And the final topper is the 1999 Malescot St. Exupery, Margaux. A little heaven on Earth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danioro Posted October 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2009 looks so yummy doc! I definitely overcooked mine thanks for the advice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
