22" Weber with a Smoke & Sear. The package said "Bone In Pork Loin Baby Back Ribs"… my wife picked them up at the store. They were on the grill for around 5 hours, and I thought they came out a little dry.
I had the bottom and top vents set to around 1/8th open. I used the "set 4 live coals at one end of the Smoke & Sear" method, along with some hickory chunks. The temp gauge on the lid sits on top of the coals, the vent on the indirect side. The temp gauge was reading around 400°, the lid by the vent was reading around 225 with a laser thermometer.
We used a dry rub, and she did that the night before. I also spritzed with an apple cider vinegar/Wild Turkey mix every hour, and wrapped in tinfoil for the last hour.
Where did I go wrong?
by kytulu
27 Comments
Hot damn, 5 hours at 400F gonna be jerky.
You can try the 3, 2, 1 method since it’s easy to follow starting out.
but 400 degrees is gonna dry anything out.
You need a thermometer on the grill grates rather than just guessing, the lid temp isn’t an accurate measurement of the inside temp.
Bend test is best for judging ribs, although a quick probe temp can tell you roughly where you’re at.
Temperature and feel. If you master your temps you’ve mastered cooking in general
Google “bend test ribs”
They are undercooked believe it or not
Too much heat for too long.
The only time you’d want to hit ribs with anything near 400° is maaaaybe if you sauced your ribs and you want the sauce to be a little more tacky. And we’re talking a just couple minutes at the very end of a cook. Otherwise you probably wanna stay between 250-275ish the whole way. Baby backs cook fast compared to spare ribs. A rack shouldn’t take more than 4hrs typically.
If you have time, you can to dry brine–refrigerate them overnight on a rack with a good sprinkling of kosher salt. That will help with moisture retention.
225 and 400 I dunno bruh something ain’t right there
Did you put water in that tray on the slow and sear? I also never put that much charcoal in the slow and sear to start. I have the older Weber kettle and use a slow and sear. I had to add the thermometer to the lid since there wasn’t one, I placed it 90 degrees away from where it currently sits on your lid. This was so it does not sit on top of the coals while you have the vent over the food allowing the smoke to convect on the food prior to escaping. Another thing I have is a drip pan under the food to catch the drippings (think pan of baked beans to catch drippings underneath) which helps to push incoming air to the coals.
Try the smoke snake method for setting up your smoker. That basket in the Weber runs hotter. I use that with spatchcock chicken.
Dont wrap, baby backs usually done in 3-4 hours at 275. Bend test to check
Don’t even bother with checking temp on ribs. You can tell by looking at them or the bend test. Those also look like baby backs, which suck for smoking. Use at Louis style.
400’F for 5 hours? Lol that’s where you went wrong. Try 225’f for 5 hours. Lol
Oh shit that’s a great invention.
That’s the foil u gotta leave it uncovered in spray it with apple vinegar
the vent is on the other side of the grill so I imagine surface temp will always be lower. If any temp is listed at 400, then even if it wasn’t accurately 400, it was way too high even if the thermometer had 50 degrees of inaccuracy. So essentially you were grilling the ribs for 5 hours, hence drying them out. With the smoke and sear you also ideally want to pour water into that middle section, it helps with both keeping consistent temp and moisture.
Water pan ftw
1. 5 hours seems a little long to me. Typically ribs can cook in about 3-4 so that may be problemo numero uno.
2. Did you have a water bath in the smoker. I forget this sometimes too. But even in the south it can get pretty dry in the winter so you wanna make sure to increase the humidity in the smoker. Spritzing is a good help, but that liquid is going to evaporate off within a few minutes. Put a bath of water or water and apple cider vinegar and make sure its still at least ¼-½ in. deep every hour and in a place where it is getting some of the heat.
Keep some water in that reservoir. Water pan has always given me great results. I haven’t tried it with skin yet
Didn’t “smoke” them unfortunately. Smoking is done low and slow. You basically cooked them and overcooked them at that.
I smoke at 225–250 for 5hrs. I use the dome thermometer but ways twist it away from the coals. They turn out perfect every time.
3 hours max
People seem to want to complicate the simplest things. Snake method. Wrap at the color you want and use the bend test to check if done. No need to do more.
Little?
5 hours at 250F would be nice for a no wrap method
But 400F?!?
Bro 5 hours shoulda done 225 lol
Do a snake method next time. You won’t even need to bother monitoring the grill temp. Just keep an eye on internal meat temp. Then crunch wrap the ribs to maintain moisture around 160°F until they get to 200°.
You were too hot. How too hot, unknown since neither method is very accurate for grate temp on the indirect side. But if it was 400 at the dome it was too hot. That air circulates.
I just did some St. Louis style ribs today. 5.5 hours at 225 and used the bend test. Rested them for about 45 minutes, in foil, and they were pretty bomb. Used Kosmos Killer Honey Bee on both slabs and coated one of them with Kosmos Pineapple Heat Bbq Glaze.