Temp probe in baby back rib smoke.

[lgboro]

Cooked a rack of baby backs in my #1 last night and they came out great.  Cooked 5 1/2 hours at 215.  Do you guys use a temp probe in your rib cooks as I did and its hard to do a physical test tooth pick test for doneness without losing too much heat so I waited until they were done?  I have cooked by temp for years but I know ribs are difficult to get accurate readings due to fat pockets, bones and thickness.  This my second try at baby backs and they were great, much better that my first try which were probably not cooked long enough to tender.

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[swthorpe]

It is tough to use a temp probe on ribs, so most of us don't do it.   The best bet for ribs is time and feel.  The 51/2 hours time is pretty much right on the money, but you might try using a toothpick to test the meat...if it inserts and comes out easy, then the ribs are ready for table!

[mike1910]

I agree, temp probes are tough to use. The more you do them the easier it becomes to tell how close they are.But toothpick or bend test is a good way to check. The big thing is don’t open the smoker until the point when you know they must be close. Seems for most folks that’s around the 5-5.5 hour mark give or take. Congrats on the successful cook.

[barelfly]

Great advice above. I don’t use one either, for ribs at least.

I like to write down all of my cooks in a book to reference for future use. I’ve got to the point on some things, I just know what to set the temp at and know on approx time. Ribs are one, although I have started to cook at a hotter temp so I’m relearning a little there.

But the 5 hour mark is about what I had with my cook a few weeks back with 250* then wrapped for about 1-1.5 hours in a cooler. The meat came off perfect and left a clean bone, which is how I like them.

Keep smokin! And enjoy and keep posting your cooks as well!! That’s what makes this forum so fun!

[NDKoze]

Like everyone else here has said, most of us do use internal temps for "most" of our cooks, but ribs are an exception for the reasons that you and others here have stated.

Pretty common times for ribs are 5-6 hours for baby backs and 6-7 hours for Spare Ribs and St Louis Cut Ribs.

So, it sounds like you were right there with your smoke.