Been playing around a bit and adjusting the times for ribs. Started off with 2-2-1 (since they're baby backs) on the drum as a reference point. As expected, they were falling off the bone. Tasted great but I like a little bit of tug. I like to at least be able to cut them into servings.
So on Saturday, I tried 2-1.5-1. I was also watching the appearance and trying to get used to the visual cues. At 2 hours there was a little pull back -- maybe 1/8" so I put them in the foil. After 1.5 hours, I opened the foil and grabbed the tongs for the "bend test". The meat came apart and I had 2 mini racks!! Holy crap, I didn't expect that. Put them back on for an hour and glazed them every 15 minutes with a glaze that I came up with which was the combination of LOTS of other glaze recipes.
Pulled them off and let them set for just a bit and proceeded to (try to) slice them up. As expected, they were a little difficult to slice without the meat falling off. Had a scary sharp knife with a really good point so I was able to do a decent job.
These ribs were rubbed with Rich's rub and with the addition of the glaze tasted phenomonal. My wife said they were the best yet. (I know -- no pics, didn't happen. We ate them too fast!!)
Now comes lots of questions. I'm pretty happy with the taste but need to work on the texture a little bit. So what would be the next modification you folks would recommend. Maybe 2-1-1? Baby backs in 4 hours seems kind of quick but the drum does seem to cook a bit faster than my offset. Also, I've read that some folks shorten the time in the first phase. When would you do that? If you are getting too much pull back before phase two? I've read that some folks shorten the third phase as well. What aspect of the texture would shortening the third phase affect?
Or should I abandon time all together and just go by the look and feel. If so, what is an appropriate interval to check them at? After the first two hours maybe every 30 minutes?
Thanks for your input.
Dave
So on Saturday, I tried 2-1.5-1. I was also watching the appearance and trying to get used to the visual cues. At 2 hours there was a little pull back -- maybe 1/8" so I put them in the foil. After 1.5 hours, I opened the foil and grabbed the tongs for the "bend test". The meat came apart and I had 2 mini racks!! Holy crap, I didn't expect that. Put them back on for an hour and glazed them every 15 minutes with a glaze that I came up with which was the combination of LOTS of other glaze recipes.
Pulled them off and let them set for just a bit and proceeded to (try to) slice them up. As expected, they were a little difficult to slice without the meat falling off. Had a scary sharp knife with a really good point so I was able to do a decent job.
These ribs were rubbed with Rich's rub and with the addition of the glaze tasted phenomonal. My wife said they were the best yet. (I know -- no pics, didn't happen. We ate them too fast!!)
Now comes lots of questions. I'm pretty happy with the taste but need to work on the texture a little bit. So what would be the next modification you folks would recommend. Maybe 2-1-1? Baby backs in 4 hours seems kind of quick but the drum does seem to cook a bit faster than my offset. Also, I've read that some folks shorten the time in the first phase. When would you do that? If you are getting too much pull back before phase two? I've read that some folks shorten the third phase as well. What aspect of the texture would shortening the third phase affect?
Or should I abandon time all together and just go by the look and feel. If so, what is an appropriate interval to check them at? After the first two hours maybe every 30 minutes?
Thanks for your input.
Dave
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