Smoked Baby Back Ribs...To Wrap or Not To Wrap, that is the question...

originally posted by: Sheye
I never said boil ...

You corrected the other posted who said 'boiling meat was blasphemy' and said 'that's called braising'. It's not.

I said low and slow with water and flavouring in the pan ( more steamed ).. and only for partial cooking...

That isn't braising either.

Braising requires that you sear the meat first and then place in liquid were it's partially submerged to cpmplete the cooking process.

But then again I’m not some great chef or a food snob for that matter.😜

That makes one of us.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus
If you read the first post carefully .. i corrected it ... geez .

Anything else you’d like to pick on me for to show your superiority? 🤨

Now go back to cooking children with your fine culinary skills 😏.

I do 3-2-1 on the smoker, 3hrs open, sprayed every 30min, then covered for last 2:40min. sauced and uncovered last 20min with a slightly higher heat. I hang all my ribs from hooks, so I don't need to flip them.

I am not a fan of cider vinegar, and just use apple juice, or water for spray. You can OD with the vinegar, so it's too acidic.

On the ribs, I do a dry rub that is insane with mostly brown sugar, some coarse sea salt to even out sweetness, and coffee until you can taste it fairly well. I use truffle oil to stick it to the ribs. It's is really strong, and just takes a few dabs for great flavor.

Your smoker design plays a big part on if you even need to wrap meat. If you have a large water pan in it , the meat will stay moist without wrapping.

I have plate that a water pot sits on, so it doesn't just boil out and steam the meat from being so close to the coals.

You can just fill up cake pans with water and set them next to meat too.

originally posted by: Sheye
If you read the first post carefully .. i corrected it ... geez .

If you corrected it then what's the problem?

Now go back to cooking children with your fine culinary skills 😏.

Maybe I'll boil them...

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

Maybe I'll boil them...

You mean simmer ... but whatever the case I’m sure you’ll enjoy your little sacrificial lambs.

a reply to: Sheye


No, I meant boil. I hear they scream a little just like lobster.

originally posted by: xenthuin
a reply to: Liquesence

I prefer to not follow the 3-2-1 method and just smoke them unwrapped. This improves the bark and gives the ribs more of a firm bite which I prefer over just a mush that you could chew up without teeth.

Smoking them unwrapped still produces ribs that are plenty moist in my opinion.

So then, what's your method, including time and temperature?

Foil wrap, aka , "texas crunch", is not for pork. You can find success withit on brisket or beef ribs. Maybe chuck roast. The technique is to keep meat from drying.

For baby backs i smoke for 3 to 4 hrs at about 225 to 250. I typically just salt and pepper the rack, remove the silver skin, and spritz with apple cider vinegar/chile powder/brown sugar


Only smoke pork with apple and/or hickory

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

Cool, I'm guessing closed grill/smoker the entire time?

And what about a water pan in addition to periodic spritz?

originally posted by: Liquesence

originally posted by: StallionDuck
Wrap! They lock more moisture in.

I'm definitely leaning toward wrapping my meat, since it seems the most fool-proof method.

That's what I hear....

Just remember:

Wrapping your mean may lock in 99.9% of moisture but it's not full proof. There is still that chance...

a reply to: Liquesence

Well, I’ve done a lot of different things, so it’s hard to say what my method is... but I’ll give you some of the commonalities.

1- dry rub only, no sauce before or during smoking, no spraying, no mopping... just rub and smoke
2- mesquite, salt, and pepper is my favorite rub... seems to me that the more ingredients in the rub the less I tend to like it.
3- I usually smoke with hickory, but have also done mesquite and a 50/50 blend of hickory and mesquite
4- 235 degrees for around 4 hours to get to 165-170 degrees, no water pan, add wood to generate continuous smoke until at least 140 degrees
5- singulate & serve with sauce... I prefer a mix of Carolina and KC styles

a reply to: Liquesence

I use (currently) an Egg. I close the top, reduce the upper vents to about a hair, and the lower to about 2 inches. It'll settle right into the 225 range.

I never use water in my smoker. I like the bark. It may be all personal preference...but when i have to eat someones stuff that was smoked with water in the smoker, it makes me not want to eat.

I will put some vinegar in an old coffee cup in the corner of the rack. Not always...and only with pork.

a reply to: xenthuin

Thank you. That's a method to think about, and @235 for 4 hours seems reasonable.

Interesting that you neither spritz, mop, nor use a water pan.

I'm leaning toward not wrapping, but smoked for ~4 hours like you and BFFT suggest. I will definitely spritz, though.

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan



Ah, the egg (never used one). Nice to hear about the vents you use. I tend to open the top vent to just a hair, 1/4 at most, and adjust the bottom depending on temp and how the fire is doing.

That's also interesting about the water. I usually use a tin can with water when cooking chicken, and that is similar with what I had planned with the ribs. Why do you use vinegar versus water, acidity? And why do you not like to eat what is smoked using water, because less bark, too tender, or what?

a reply to: Liquesence

smoked meat with water comes out kinda mushy, lacking the texture i prefer.

I like using the vinegar in a cup as a shortcut to having to spray it. Like on a shoulder/butt where its on the smoker awhile. You get just a touch of that vinegar taste on the outside of the rub.

a reply to: Spacespider

Jelly babies?.

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

Thanks.

I smoked them yesterday. Once I began, I just had to adapt the method, but they turned out pretty awesome. Tender but with a good chew, good bark, using a small can of water on the top rack. Ended up using a variety of wood: chunks of cherry, and then an apple/hickory 1:1.

I smoked them about 240 for 4.5 hours or so. For the first 2.5-3 they were unwrapped, spritzed frequently after the first hour, flipped twice. After feeling them, I decided to wrap. Not too tightly, but a good wrap, and went another hour. At that point was getting to the point of dinner, so I unwrapped, spritzed and went another hour-ish with the temp knocked down to like 225 or so, adding a BBQ glaze the last half hour.

Pretty good.

Bump for the holidaze.

LOL the only way I learned how to cook ribs is to boil and then broil or grill them.

I don’t care if it’s a sin because these sins turn out juicy on the inside and crunchy on the outside and therefore delicious and worth going to hell over. Also they cook pretty fast and it’s fairly easy and simple that way and I’m lazy and probably the devil herself. I’m glad to hear these smoked ribs turned out good though. After hours and hours and hours of all that work I should hope they are amazing. I will have to try it at least once to taste that difference.

a reply to: geezlouise

the only way I learned how to cook ribs is to boil and then broil or grill them.

they cook pretty fast and it’s fairly easy and simple that way and I’m lazy and probably the devil herself.

Boiled ribs are blasphemy, so yes, you are.