Pork Ribs and Cooking Time

[Bones]

I have cooke Pork Spare Ribs a half dozen ties and have read where it is said that it takes at least 5 to 6 hours before the ribs are done. I check them after about 3.5 hours and my wife says the ribs are done They have nice bark on them and look and seem to be done They are juicy but not running out the sides of your mouth juicy. I am cooking at 225 degrees. The ribs look like if I cook them longer they will dry out. Do I just trust that the ribs are not completely done? Do the ribs change and at some point after 3.5 hours become juicer. I am confused. I am in pursuit of the perfect pork spare rib and need all the help I can get.

Bones

[lantern]

You have to trust that they will come out alright. They do look like they will dry out on ya, but they won't.....usually.:)

Just let them go till they bend and start to break in the middle when picked up. If you trim them to St louis style you'll start to see the meat pull back around a 1/4 to 1/2 inch from the tips of the bones. The ultra simple twisting of a bone to see if it's tender enough is always a good test. Or if a toothpick passes between the bones with very little resistance they are done.

Also, in my opinion spares are happy being cooked a bit higher than the usual 225 butt temps. 235-275 is where I like to put them. That'll get them done a bit quicker as well. At 225 it isn't unheard of for spares to take 7 or even 8 hours to be ready.

[txsmkmstr]

I'll jump in with some thoughts... but with my recent luck on ribs you might consider the source :o

3.5 hours @ 225 probably won't give you a "perfect" rib. It'll look great at that point but the proof will be in the eating. Chances are very good that it'll be somewhat tough and you won't be able to clean the bone without pulling a buzzard imitation.

On the other hand... you can over cook them (foiled) and they'll still be juicy but the bone falls off the meat before you get it to your mouth - not the "perfect" rib either.

The basic consensus for spares is 3-2-1 for a total of 6 hours... pits will vary, temps will vary, ribs will vary - the proof is in the eating.

Side note: Cooked a rack of baby backs for 5 hours... still tough :dis: - cooked a rack of spares for 6 hours... bones fell out. :!: I think I'll stick to meatloaf. :roflmaoha0:

[sly2kusa]

I'm actually going to do another 3 racks of Pork Spares (cut St. Louis style) either Thursday or Friday this week. I plan to run the pit a bit hotter than I did previously (had the pit between 230 and 250 for the 3-1-1 method, but they were still not as done as they could have been).

Am going to go to 275/300 for 3-1-1. Woost and TexasBBQRub, and finish with Berry Medely PepperJelly. That's the main reason I'm doing this again so soon is because I didn't have the TPJ last week.

Best of luck with yours, and I'll post some pics of mine in here as well.

[gordo]

I have cooke Pork Spare Ribs a half dozen ties and have read where it is said that it takes at least 5 to 6 hours before the ribs are done. They are juicy but not running out the sides of your mouth juicy. Do I just trust that the ribs are not completely done? Do the ribs change and at some point after 3.5 hours become juicer. I am confused. I am in pursuit of the perfect pork spare rib and need all the help I can get.

Bones

Bones...I like to cook mine 5-6 hrs just like you heard....

You ask if the ribs change at/around 3.5hrs they look juicer...my guess is if your cooking at 225, at that point you might be melting the fat from the rib...
like to cook mine at a higher temp....

as to, if they are tender....check to see how much the meat has pulled back from the bone, Id say 1/2 inch puts you in the neighborhood of being done..

if you pick the rack up in the middle and the meat wants to break apart from the bone, or if pick up rack in middle and the end bones fall out...your right where you need to be..(heard that in a song):D..

Good Luck with the ribs...just practice, and play around cooking them and find out what works best for you..Lots of different views on how its done, and there are no wrong answers, Except Boiling them before cooking..:dis:

[smokerdude65]

Bones, the last ribs I did was 4 hours, then wrapped for 1 hour. Cooked at about 250. It was the best I have ever done. I will use this method from now on. It is VERY important that during the cook time you do not keep opening the lid the check. I don't open the lid for at least the first 3 hours, and then it's just a 5 second quick check and shut it back. Here's s pic from my last batch. Looks like sauce on them but there's not. Natural juices. It also depends on the quality of the meat cut. You don't want anorexic ribs. Find some with alot of meat or they will dry out on you.

Good luck:thumbs:

[Bull]

Bones, the last ribs I did was 4 hours, then wrapped for 1 hour. Cooked at about 250. It was the best I have ever done. I will use this method from now on. It is VERY important that during the cook time you do not keep opening the lid the check. I don't open the lid for at least the first 3 hours, and then it's just a 5 second quick check and shut it back. Here's s pic from my last batch. Looks like sauce on them but there's not. Natural juices. It also depends on the quality of the meat cut. You don't want anorexic ribs. Find some with alot of meat or they will dry out on you.

Good luck:thumbs:

Smokerdude those are some nice lookn spares, but remember 1 tip "If ur lookn it's not cookn" When my ribs go on i don't open till i need to pull em off.

[smokerdude65]

The 3 hour mark is the only time I check before a wrap them. Just to make sure they are behaving.

[sly2kusa]

Not to get too far off topic here, but how many of you don't bother with wrapping your ribs? I'm going to try 3 racks on Friday, and one of them I plan not too wrap (just to see).

I'm going for comp quality on these, and just want to experiment a bit to see what's what.

[smokerdude65]

I have done it both ways. Just seems to me that by wrapping, they break from the bones a little sooner and stay a little more moist:shrug:

[Will32Rod]

You maybe wrapping them for to long Dude. When I wrap, I dose them up with Applejuice, so they are going to steam some. I usally never keep them wrapped for over an hour(St. Louis style), and BB's about 45 min. Then I glaze the last 30 min or so.

[Kevin_Texas]

So after you wrap them for a couple of hours do you unwarp them the last hour to set the bark?

[Bull]

Cook for 3, wrap for 2, cook for 1. Or you can cook straight through no wrap for 5 or 6 hours. Trial and error see what works best for you and your pit. :D

I once took of from work starting on a Wednesday and went through the weekend just to cook briskets, I did a little something different with each one to find out what worked best for me and my pit. Just something for you to think about:shrug: Especialy if you plan on cooking in Comps.

[smokerdude65]

Will, I think you misread. I only wrap for 1 hour after 4 hours unwrapped....

[Will32Rod]

Will, I think you misread. I only wrap for 1 hour after 4 hours unwrapped....


Yuup..Sorry... I misunderheard.:shrug:
Hell to get old.:stars:

[bigwheel]

At low temps (225 for example) and brisk air flow you have a real good dehydrater at work. Bump your temps to 260 and cook em meat side down until you can reach in with your heat proof dishwashing gloves and tear the meat between two adjacent bones in the middle of the rack fairly easy. Should take 4 or 5 hours to reach that point but smaller ribs get there quicker etc. Do not flip them. Do not spill the juice which will collect on the concave depression which is naturally formed on the bone side..lung side..or whutever you want to call it. It be ok to give em a spin to even out the heat but no spilly the juice and no flippy. Quick wrap them in foil and stick them in an insulated container for at leat 1 hour. At that point you can put them back on fire nekked and glaze em with Texas Peppa Jelly. Try the Pineapple Hab version..yum yum. Or..you can just eat em. I like to dust em off with a little mo of the original rub after they are cut. That get some flavor on all four sides. Forget whut all them other dummies had to say.

bigwheel


I have cooke Pork Spare Ribs a half dozen ties and have read where it is said that it takes at least 5 to 6 hours before the ribs are done. I check them after about 3.5 hours and my wife says the ribs are done They have nice bark on them and look and seem to be done They are juicy but not running out the sides of your mouth juicy. I am cooking at 225 degrees. The ribs look like if I cook them longer they will dry out. Do I just trust that the ribs are not completely done? Do the ribs change and at some point after 3.5 hours become juicer. I am confused. I am in pursuit of the perfect pork spare rib and need all the help I can get.

Bones

[jptexas]

gordo great info to the man

[Bull]

At low temps (225 for example) and brisk air flow you have a real good dehydrater at work. Bump your temps to 260 and cook em meat side down until you can reach in with your heat proof dishwashing gloves and tear the meat between two adjacent bones in the middle of the rack fairly easy. Should take 4 or 5 hours to reach that point but smaller ribs get there quicker etc. Do not flip them. Do not spill the juice which will collect on the concave depression which is naturally formed on the bone side..lung side..or whutever you want to call it. It be ok to give em a spin to even out the heat but no spilly the juice and no flippy. Quick wrap them in foil and stick them in an insulated container for at leat 1 hour. At that point you can put them back on fire nekked and glaze em with Texas Peppa Jelly. Try the Pineapple Hab version..yum yum. Or..you can just eat em. I like to dust em off with a little mo of the original rub after they are cut. That get some flavor on all four sides. Forget whut all them other dummies had to say.

bigwheel

Man Bigwheel you just gave away the secret we al yearn to
learn:dis: But that's okay in time they all seem to pick the true secrets we all never tell:D:thumbs:

[txpgapro]

The best ribs I've ever eaten are from Tx Bill and Redneck cooker. They never foil their ribs as far as I can remember. They also cook at a lower temp than most, I believe around 200*. When Bill can bend them, then he cuts and serves. And he rarely opens his pit doors once the meat is on.