Author Topic: Burned ribs  (Read 1090 times)

swede8a

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Burned ribs
« on: May 16, 2021, 10:13:57 AM »
I  have model 2D and have smoked several racks of ribs. Yesterday I smoked six racks and the ribs on the lower shelf were burned/heavily charred on the bottom. Shelf was placed about mid way in the box. Any idea as to what happened here? Have never had this happen before. Unit set at 235 degrees and 7 hours as the ribs were more loin back than baby back. Ended up shutting down at 6 and a half hours. Thanks for comments.

Lonzinomaker

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Re: Burned ribs
« Reply #1 on: May 16, 2021, 11:09:53 AM »
I had an analog do that, turned out the thermostat was not turning off.  I also had a pid for my wort boiler that "lost" its programming and wouldn't stop heating at the set point after a power surge.
So I would hazard a guess that your pid didn't turn off when temperature was reached.  I would verify the paramaters and or the program didn't get changed. 
Dave
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Spokane, WA

old sarge

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Re: Burned ribs
« Reply #2 on: May 16, 2021, 12:04:54 PM »
Just a guess but the the ribs on the lower rack were absorbing the bulk of the heat and the probe was therefore not able to regulate.  Another possibility was fire in the woodbox causing the char on the lower rack. Your 2D have the probe at the top?  Next time stagger the ribs and allow the heated air to freely circulate.  Or try using rib racks and stand the ribs up. Lastly, ensure your box probe is clean and free of stuff.  When you have time, run your smoker with a brick of something similar to simulate a load and watch the light to see if your unit is cycling on and off. 
David from Arizona
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swede8a

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Re: Burned ribs
« Reply #3 on: May 16, 2021, 01:05:17 PM »
I think that my temp stayed consistent. I am thinking that there was a fire in the wood box. Extent of burn indicates that - badly charred. What causes fire in wood box? Never had that issue before. Too much wood? - I had three pieces of apple wood - approximately 5.5 oz.. Can wood be too dry?
Am going to check which level my lower shelf was on and make sure it is up as high as allowed. I was using rib rack on top and it was loaded tightly. Perhaps I should put rack low and single shelf with balance of ribs on top. Thanks for support and any other tips. Hopefully this experience is an outlier.

lcdearman

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Re: Burned ribs
« Reply #4 on: May 16, 2021, 06:46:35 PM »
I had this happen the only time I put ribs down on the lower rack in my #2A. I had 2 turkey breasts and 2 racks of ribs in it. The turkey breasts were up top, with ribs on the middle and lower racks. The bottom side of the ribs on the lower rack were charred black. All of the wood in the box was charcoal at the end of the cook, so no fires. I looked back over my notes and I have done 2 turkey breasts before with one on the lowest rack with no issues. Maybe the bone side of the ribs burn/char because there really isn’t any meat or fat there to protect the bone? Maybe the turkey breast was ok because it was centered and the ribs were placed to the left and right of the smoke box/heating element?
Clay from Taylor, TX
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