So I tried St. Louis style pork ribs yesterday on the Big Green Egg following the 3-2-1 method that seems quite popular. I fired up the egg and threw the ribs on at about 230 degrees F. I smoked them in Apple wood for three hours and then took them out and moved them to foil. I sprayed liberally the ribs in apple cider vinegar before closing them up in the foil. I then let them sit in the foil on the BGE for two hours. At the conclusion of the 2 hours, I removed the ribs, mopped some bbq sauce on them and diluted with apple cider vinegar and through them on the grill for the last hour.

My ribs came out really dry, not at all juicy, and really quite a disappointment. What did I do wrong? What methods of rib cooking have you all tried on the BGE that have worked for you? I'm open to any criticism you have for me. Trying to learn here, but this is now the fourth time I've smoked on my BGE with disappointing results. I follow instruction to a T.

If it helps, I'm cooking on an x-large BGE. I had the plate setter in there as well as a water pan. Thanks.

I have much better luck cooking to temperature rather than going by a strict clock. A wifi temp probe will increase your success rate dramatically.

I smoke my ribs uncovered at 225 for 4 hours and then wrap them for 1 more hour. I tend to take an apple juice and brown sugar syrup I make and put that in the foil with the ribs. They come out slightly sweet and very moist.

I've never been a fan of the 3-2-1 method as most of the time ribs don't need that long to cook. Even big spares usually are only 5-5.5 hours for me, St Louis cut are even less.

I think your problem is "I follow instruction to a T". BBQ is an art, not a science and every cut of meat will be different.

I usually smoke at 250 until the bark looks good and set and has a nice dark red hue to it (approx 3 hours or so most times), then wrap in foil and roll until they are finished. Spritz with apple cider vinegar every 30-60 min during the first part of the cook and spray some in the foil packet too when wrapping them up.

To see when you need to pull them: You can pull them out of the pit and hold them in the middle to see how much the rack bends (should drop quite a bit on the ends) or also open the foil and poke a toothpick between bones to see if they are done (should slide in and back out with no resistance).


Edit: this is your second bbq fail thread in as many months. Get Aaron franklin's bbq book off amazon for $20 and use that as a good base for how to smoke. Then adjust your preference once you get the basics down.

The first time I cooked ribs I used the 3-2-1 method as well. Mine came out so over cooked it was difficult getting them off the grill. They were fall off the bone tender which some people like I guess, but they had to be scooped off the grate with a spatula. Actually tasted pretty good, just not what I was going for. It was more the consistency of pulled pork. Now I do 2 hours smoked and about an 2 hours wrapped. I don't normally put them back on after wrapping.

Nothing wrong with following instructions. Now you just need to adjust for you next cook until you figure out how to cook them to your desired smokiness and doneness(I know its not a real word). Obviously 6 hours was too long on your last cook. I'd take two hours out of the cooking time however you see fit. Then go from there, add or take away on the next cook based on these results. Spritzing or basting is fine. I personally don't do it, but I only say that to say I don't think that was the problem. Without spritzing mine come out moist so I don't think its a case of you didn't spritz or baste enough. I put some butter on mine when I wrap to give it some moisture. Something to play around with too.

Someone mentioned using a thermometer. Ribs are the only thing I don't use a thermometer on. There's just not much meat there to put your probe into. Ribs are one of the more consistently sized cuts that are bbq'd so to me there isn't as much difference as say a brisket or pork butt. Not knocking anyone that does it, if it works for them.

I'm no bbq expert, but I've done quite a few cooks. When I first started I made too many changes from cook to cook so it was hard to know which change really helped or didn't. My advice would be to focus on adjusting one thing each time you cook. Time, temp of meat, temp of cooking chamber, what type of seasoning, wrapping, not wrapping, etc.

All of us were where you are now at some point.

RightWingConspirator said:

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So I tried St. Louis style pork ribs yesterday on the Big Green Egg following the 3-2-1 method that seems quite popular. I fired up the egg and through the ribs on at about 230 degrees F. I smoked them in Apple wood for three hours and then took them out and moved them to foil. I sprayed liberally the ribs in apple cider vinegar before closing them up in the foil. I then let them sit in the foil on the BGE for two hours. At the conclusion of the 2 hours, I removed the ribs, mopped some bbq sauce on them and diluted with apple cider vinegar and through them on the grill for the last hour.

My ribs came out really dry, not at all juicy, and really quite a disappointment. What did I do wrong? What methods of rib cooking have you all tried on the BGE that have worked for you? I'm open to any criticism you have for me. Trying to learn here, but this is now the fourth time I've smoked on my BGE with disappointing results. I follow instruction to a T.

If it helps, I'm cooking on an x-large BGE. I had the place setter in there as well as a water pan. Thanks.

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I think the simple answer is that they were overcooked. Lots of variables come into that in terms of what could have gone wrong - the meat itself, dome temp vs grate temp, seasoning, temp variations you maybe didn't see, etc.....

Count me in the group that thinks spareribs don't need to cook 6 hrs. I cook unwrapped until the meat is pulling back a little from the ends of the ribs, then wrap for maybe 1.5 hrs max, then either cook a bit more or glaze and cook a bit more to set the glaze. Also, I don't add any extra moisture when I wrap outside of maybe butter....there will be plenty of moisture as it is and adding any additional liquid is just going to create more of a boil than a steam...

Ribs are super easy

Remove ribs from packaging
Spread Fiesta Rib Rub
Place on smoker, 250-275
Smoke 2-2.5 hours
Cover in brown sugar
Smoke 1 hr
Remove
Cut
Eat

Edit: I don't understand the whole "wrap" the bbq. You are smoking the meat why do you want to finish it by steaming it for an hour?

Quote:

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Get Aaron franklin's bbq book off amazon for $20 and use that as a good base for how to smoke. Then adjust your preference once you get the basics down.

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THIS

Some of you may have heard of Johnny Trigg...the rib master from the Ft Worth area. He's always on BBQ Pitmasters. When he wraps his ribs in foil he uses liberal amounts of squeeze margarine, brown sugar, Tiger Sauce and honey. Tiger Sauce can be found at HEB in the oriental foods section. It's a game changer for me. I tried this recently and it was OUTSTANDING.

Just something else to tweak and tinker with...

just did this exact thing this weekend on a 2.5-1.5-1 cook. Ribs were great. Also spritzed liberally during the first 2.5 and last hour of the cook with a mixture of pineapple juice, apple juice, white vinegar, and Parkay squeeze butter.

OP....this may be a dumb question, but did you have the placesetter in for the 3 and 2 steps? If not, this is the main reason your meat was way overcooked and dried out.

Note: I do not have a BGE, but my buddy does, and from working on his with him at times, smoking meat requires that you put the placesetter in there.

As others have said, I use the formula of 3/2/1 as a guide only and use temperature internal of the meat to indicate when I change over. I like my ribs to fall of the bone, so I can eat them with a fork. My buddy, on the other hand, likes his to have to be pulled off the bone with his teeth. Either style is easily achievable, IMHO. 3, 2, 1 works, but you can also get away with cooking ribs faster and get results just as good, once you know your way around em.

Measure your temp at the grate level. I have an egg knockoff from costco. The grate temp can be 10 to 15 degrees warmer than the probe on top. Lots of radiant heat you dont get on an offset.

I agree with dont cook by time. Just use time as a guide. Ribs are done when they flex when you pick them up with tongs.

Also, make sure you have the heat diffuser installed.

We seem to get these every week, the answer is almost always don't cook by time. I get it, people naturally want to equate smoking to cooking and baking where there are recipes with exact times and temperatures. The problem is with smoking you have neither exact recipes or temperature, and you don't have exact recipes because every cut of meat is different in weight and with fat-meat ratios. Placement of the meat on the grill and placement of the grill itself greatly effects the temperature, even in the BGE. So anytime you see any times or temperatures with regards to smoking they should be considered rough guidelines and nothing more.

One of the biggest things my wife gets most annoyed with me about is when she asks me what time the meat will be ready, my answer is always the same "don't know, it's ready when it's ready". I understand her gripe, she's in charge of making the sides and doesn't want things to get cold or doesn't want everyone waiting for the sides, I get it, I'm not trying to be an a-hole, but it is what it is, the best I can do is give her a 2-hr window. She gets frustrated, but the alternative is I can give her an exact time and the meat will be over cooked or under cooked, it would very rarely be perfect. It doesn't help that I'm usually drinking beer when she asks and can be a bit of a smart ass with my tone.

1990AG said:

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Quote:

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Get Aaron franklin's bbq book off amazon for $20 and use that as a good base for how to smoke. Then adjust your preference once you get the basics down.

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THIS

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Sadly, I already have the book. Franklin is making recommendations from the perspective of an offset smoker. I'm using a big green egg.

Weird thing is that yesterday the meat never really pulled from the bone. From what I understand it will not always do that. I used a ThermoWorks temperature gauge but I didn't trust the results as it was showing the meat temp at 160 after 6 hours of smoking. Gauging temp on ribs - most recommendations are not to bother, so I didn't trust the results primarily because they didn't make sense to me.

I tried flexing the meat. It did bend some, but not sure how much it should bend. Also, I tried the tooth pick and it slid in with some resistance. What others indicators do you guys use and the two I mentioned already, please give me the extent ribs should bend etc. thanks, guys.

One other factor I didn't see; I always put in a disposable aluminum pan with water when doing ribs.
I think it helps hold the temp in the dome remain a little consistently lower.

I usually do 3-4 hours at around 225. I don't wrap, I have found that when I do, my bark gets less "barky".

Edit: I put the pan on top of the heat deflector/place setter, directly under the cooking grates.

The meat should start cracking. Or, pick up the rack with tongs length wise about halfway up the rack. The ribs should bend about at a 45 degree angle.

FWIW, I've done Franklin's method several times on a Large BGE, and they've turned out perfect each time.

3-2-1 has never worked for me, and they are always overcooked and falling apart. Usually 2-1-1 works a little better. Temp and eyeball are better than any timed cook.

What is strange to me is that I'm not quite sure if I undercooked them or over cooked them. From what I read, it seems over cooked meat "falls off the bone". My meat did not fall off the bone. Is it possible that 6 plus hours at 230 degrees left my ribs undercooked??

Two hours of smoke at 275, spread out a conservative amount of your favorite sauce on foil, spritz sauce with apple cider vinegar, lay ribs meat side down, repeat sauce/vinegar on bone side, wrap tightly, one more hour at 275. Remove and let rest 15 minutes. Enjoy!

It is possible if you were not cooking at 230. Cheap probes go out pretty often, and I check mine before every few cooks by putting them in boiling water. If they read 212 or close then I know they are reading correctly. My knock-off egg did ribs pretty well.

The probe I'm using is a Flameboss 300. Not sure if that is cheap, but it did run me - coincidentally - $300 plus dollars.

A BGE is a convection over. It cooks faster than an offset. 2-1-.5 works best. I always have a foil pan underneath filled with apple juice. I spritz every 15 mins for the first 2 hours. Wrap in hour 1. Unwrap for the .5 and set my glaze. I cook at 225 on the grate.

Ragoo said:

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Ribs are super easy

Remove ribs from packaging
Spread Fiesta Rib Rub
Place on smoker, 250-275
Smoke 2-2.5 hours
Cover in brown sugar
Smoke 1 hr
Remove
Cut
Eat

Edit: I don't understand the whole "wrap" the bbq. You are smoking the meat why do you want to finish it by steaming it for an hour?

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If they "steam", you're doing it wrong.

I ran cheap Walmart digital units for years and finally went with and I-grill. I still check the probes just to be safe.

So I cook comp on offset, but use a bge at home here is my two cents and parroting some of what has been posted.

1. For me the first 2-3 hours of cook is all about color, I wrap when they have a nice color and just pulling off bones. The color is my primary gauge it usually gets there between 2-3 hours. Lots of variables can affect this, outside temp, wind, rain etc.... I also spritz with Juice and rotate ribs very 30 mins to cut down on hot spots.

2. I always add butter, honey, brown sugar, sometimes tiger sauce then wrap in two wraps of foil. Usually go 1 1/2 hours, I do not want the meat to fall off on its own, it should be tender and definitely pulling away from bones.

3. I always cut an end off and taste and check texture before final cook. I will usually hit with a light pass of rub, and depending on tenderness cook a little longer or go straight to glaze. After I glaze I I'll put back on for up to an hour but usually 30 mins. Finally if I am really trying to impress I sprinkle a fine grind of my rub and slice the rack.

I always use place setter and a water pan filled with water, I make a foil ring under the pan so it does not boil off to fast. My temps are usually 275 at the start dropping to 250 for the rest of the time I do use a bbq guru to maintain temps, works like a charm.

Apple cider vinegar??

Check thermometer

B-1 83 said:

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Ragoo said:

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Ribs are super easy

Remove ribs from packaging
Spread Fiesta Rib Rub
Place on smoker, 250-275
Smoke 2-2.5 hours
Cover in brown sugar
Smoke 1 hr
Remove
Cut
Eat

Edit: I don't understand the whole "wrap" the bbq. You are smoking the meat why do you want to finish it by steaming it for an hour?

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If they "steam", you're doing it wrong.

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when you wrap the BBQ, how are you doing it? In foil? Sealed off?

Maybe try cooking a pork butt. They're super forgiving and almost impossible to screw up. Get a couple of those under your belt and then start working on other things.

When I smoke I don't pay any attention to time. It's all color, feel, and internal temp.