Those ribs are trouble

[RMSmoker]

I’ve had my model 1 for a while and have had good luck with pork shoulder, brisket, and even fish, but BBQ baby back ribs ALWAYS come out tough. I’ve tried taking them out early, leaving full five hours without peeking, adding a small pan of water, etc. it matters not. Always dry and tough. Now my wife has asked that I only use my Big Green Egg for ribs because they always come out good and she is sick of me ruining them.

Any ideas? I’ve seen others post their frustrations too. Maybe this model isn’t well suited for ribs? Has anyone cracked the code?

Thanks.

 

[Lonzinomaker]

i cook my ribs for 4 hours then wrap them in foil adding a mix of melted butter and honey and some brown sugar to baste/cover the ribs. Let them cook another hour. I do this with my #1. My camping partners say they're the best ribs ever.

 

[RMSmoker]

I haven’t tried that yet but will give it a shot. Thanks for the tip.

 

[Kkose]

Hello, I have a model 1 with an Auber controller. I've tried different cooking methods but never have any consistency. Either too dry, to tough, etc. There's got to be a favored best method for cooking St Louis spare ribs in the model 1. What is the one method that most model1 owners use that result in consistent results? I'm ready to throw in the towel. Thanks for any help.

 

[Hank R]

When i do ribs on my Model 1 I do a dry rib overnight then I use Apple wood 3 or 4 oz with water at 225 for 3 hrs. Then I wrap them in foil adding a mix of melted butter and honey. Let them cook another hour, sometimes even a bit longer.

 

[old sarge]

I have done ribs on my 3, on another competing electric, a weber kettle and an offset stick burner. If the ribs are leanboth fat and meat wise, dryness happens. So I look for the larger ribs be they baby back or others. What I started doing and continue to do so is to use a rub of salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder , and lastly brown sugar. (which seems to lock in moisture). Even use paprika on a rare occasion. 225 degrees and I check the bone for meat pull back (shrinkage) at the 4 hour mark. Sometimes earlier depending upon the fat and meat content of the ribs. I have had great success as well as great failures on all the smokers . I did the 3 2 1 method with mixed results. So I just stick with smoking naked. I smoke enough so the pup gets the dry ones and is happy and us bipeds get the rest which are tender and good.

 

[Kkose]

Gentlemen, thank you for your suggestions. I'm going to give it another try. I was primarily using the 3-2-1 method as I thought this was the preferred way to cook ribs but was always getting different results. Thanks again.

 

[old sarge]

Keep in mind that 3 2 1 is a total of 6 hours and may be too long, depending on what type/size ribs you are smoking. On each smoker I have use, it took a while to dial everything in. Still, I have had some poor results from time to time. Spritzing might help during the cook.