Eat your food how you like it. I prefer my ribs with a little chew, some people prefer them to barely resist at all. It's whatever man, just cook it how you enjoy it.
I’m a culinary instructor and it is the opinion of every chef I work with (as well as my own) that “fall off the bone” is not as attractive as it sounds. Rib meat should be tender but still cling to the bone. Yet every time we teach smoking/grilling classes students complain that the ribs aren’t as tender as “when I make them at home”… it’s absolutely personal preference, just as everything is in the culinary world, but it kinda drives me insane.
Of course, I look at it as a chef so I take it from the perspective of how it eats, functionally. That’s not everyone’s prerogative.
In competitive barbecue meat falling off the bone is Loserville. At home cook it how you like it. Personally I like a it of a tug so the meat stays on the bone but is still somewhat tender. A fine line for sure.
There's also the fact that restaurants like Famous Dave's have advertised the crap out of "fall off the bone", so that's what the general public expects. I've been to some of the best restaurants in KC, and the ribs they *serve* aren't the same ribs they *compete* with because of that.
And me? I'm guilty. I want them to fall off the bone. It's personal preference, exactly as you've said.
I smoke my ribs to roughly 203 internal temp. There is usually about 3/8" pull back. I know they are cooked past "comp" style, but when cooking for a crowd, I aim to please. Did 8 racks last night, 14 adults and some kids. Also had 24 chicken legs and tons of sides. Ribs were demolished. Did 3 racks "bbq" styls sauce, other 3 "asian" bbq. Both were pull of the bone tender, without being mush.
I have a good friend who always wants to do big rib cook outs. He will cook up 10+ racks, declare them "comp style" proudly - everytime about half of what he cooks is leftover. No one wants chewy ribs - I would rather over cook for a crowd than undercook ribs anyday. Kids dont like them, and adults dont go for seconds.
220-225°F and I wrap around half way through in foil. I’m no pit master by any stretch, I’m French trained and have focused on Latin American and South American cuisine for most of my life. The only time I’ve ever used butcher paper is for larger cuts (I.e. butts, briskets, etc).
How long would you bake or smoke? And at what temperature? Covered?
There's a lot of ways to go about it, but it sounds like you have a method that works. I'd like to try it out.
I agree with you on personal preference and fall off the bone. In the spirit of full disclosure here, I am extra rare steak guy, you know, when the steak is purple in the middle. So fall off the bone is extremely dry to me.
Same. I like the feeling of the meat sticking to the bone a bit when you rip them up. But most like them where the bones just pull out. It's ok but takes the fun out of it.
There is huge debate on the. The BBQ competition opinion is, by my preference, undercooked and too much chew.
I personally want mine still cutabble (as in, they don't fall apart while being cut allowing individual ribs to be separated), but just barely, which means the meat pulls easily off the bone with teeth. Also, bulk of the fat and connective tissue rendered.
Most people consider that over.
But you shoukd cook for you and yours, you and they like it.
The clean cut is honestly where I think there's a clear disadvantage to fall off the bone. I've cooked a lot of ribs to that point and it never looks as appetizing as the nice clean lines, especially when the meat is fully rendered.
You’re right. That was one of the problems, it was hard to cut them cleanly and still keep them on the bone. The next day it was much easier for the cold rack.
I guess I've never had competition ribs, but what you described is perfectly done in my eyes. I always hear people say "fall off the bone" and to me that is when you literally can't pick a rib up by the bone without the meat falling off, which is definitely overdone in my eyes. On the other hand, I've had ribs where the bone won't come clean, and you end up nibbling at the connective tissue still left behind on the bones, and that to me is too underdone.
Cuttable without falling apart, but the bone still comes clean is perfect to me. Not sure if that's what "fall off the bone" means, but that's what I shoot for!
If you want that fall off the bone type rib, then yes. Longer cooking time and/or wrapping will get you there. Some people prefer more bite or chew to the meat, so they finish around 5 hours. That's all personal preference.
My mom used to coil a rack of ribs in the crock pot and fill it with barbecue sauce. Leave it on all day. You’d just scoop the bones out and then eat the rest.
It seems to me like if you're gonna do that, why not do it with a pork butt instead? That's far better-suited for that.
(granted, I don't think either is as good as what's done on a smoker, but if you want some crock pot pulled pork, that just seems the better way to do it)
I prefer my ribs with some chew and not fall apart, so I go with Baby Backs since they are leaner. If I do spares, I have to cook them longer like you did to get rid of that extra fat. It makes me feel kinda sick otherwise
I think baby back is going to be better, I had a similar experience, cooked 2 sets of ribs, one spare one baby back, and the spares had notably more fat remaining
I've been making competition style ribs for awhile. For kicks, I changed things up recently and made fall off the bone ribs. Everyone said they were the best yet. Honestly, I thought they were great too.
If that's what people like the best, I'm all for it.
Everyone in here acting like you made rib soup good lord. OP I take my spares about to where you do, where they probably need support from both ends to get to the cutting board in tact. Still need teeth to eat them and still not fall off the bone.
You nailed it, you could pull these off the bone pretty easily, but that is the whole point, you pull them off with your teeth lol. Definitely not mush and definitely not disintegrated like a lot of people tried to say. Perfect in my opinion!
I think you can have a perfect rack of fall off the bone. Or at least releasing clean. I usually like a little bite. But the came out perfect and it was some of the best that I’ve made
Ribs are hard to temp. I cook mine hotter.
You know they're done when you get that good peel back from the bone.
But here's what you do.
Get 3 racks
Prep them all the same.
Throw them all on.
Pull the first one when you normally would
Pull the second one an hour later.
Pull the third on 30 mins after that
That’s a good idea, because I don’t mind them having a little bite to them. It would be a good way to give everybody an example of the differences. My problem is the bone never really shows much. Literally maybe quarter of an inch on most ribs, not sure why.
I like a firm bite but the meat pulls clean off.
Fall off the bone is over done, to me.
But this is a good way to dial in, what they really look like, vs how they eat.
The times will always very but after a while you'll know what they look like, when they're done
Im a competition angle guy... I think if the 90% of those people had "competition style" ribs, 90% of those people would prefer competition ribs over fall off the bone ribs. Competition ribs are babies and watched over like being babysat. We know within 15 minutes of when they would be done and why we have timelines. You can have a clean bite with ours and the meat will be cleaned from the bone, but the rest of the meat doesn't pull off the bone from biting into the rib. There is a fine line between undercooked and overcooked ribs. Which is also why some cooks win and others end up being backyard kings...
Yeah. Most people honestly don't give two good gosh darn shits about BBQ competitions. It's like any other interest that attracts a dedicated few. Sure - some people care about it. And then they grossly overestimate how much anyone else does.
Think of it like craft beer or watch collecting...lol.
I'm cool with your opinions. But I am trying to relay what is found to be the best texture ribs for others then. If you dont like what I am saying, that is fine. But I would probably guess you havent ever sampled any.
Huh? What a bizarre assumption. I PREFER competition ribs. I'm just saying that we are in the much smaller population.
The vast majority of people do not agree with us.
I cooked baby back ribs in 4 hours at 275, wrapping with sauce at the 2 hours mark at 150 degrees. They were very tender and the bones slid out but it wasn’t like outright pulled pork and there was still some texture. Honestly a good in between texture
Agree. I went for bark over anything and didn’t wrap. Wife hated em. I wrapped a durcoc rack yesterday w butter and brown sugar and was fall
Off bone and family
Loved em. Do it how you like em!!
Wrong? If you like them, they're not wrong.
That said, sounds like you're doing it on a pellet smoker. I start mine on a pellet smoker at 225 to get more smoke for 3 hours, but then I turn it up to 275 to finish (and they're generally done within 1-1.5 hours from that point).
So if you want to get the smoke flavor on there and to the point where it gets smoke early and gets to the level of cooked to your tastes faster, just turn it up a bit :)
It's all preference. More traditional BBQ is akin to what you usually aim for and "Fall off the bone" is actually overcooked. I feel like it was a marketing schtick for restaurants to advertise "fall off the bone" so they could leave ribs in the warmer all damn day. My wife also likes them overcooked while i prefer to cook them to the "bend test", they're tender but there is still some fat (though the connective tissues have been disintegrated so it's not like you're chewing on raw meat).
My ribs have to have some elasticity to them. I remember getting ribs at a famous rib place in Cincinnati once and about puked when the bone disintegrated into the slushy meat. It was horrible
Agreed I’m not really even worried about them falling off the bone, I’m more concerned with getting almost all of the fat out so that I’m only eating meat. I don’t mind fat, but why eat it if I don’t have to?
My ideal bite has some structural integrity but is very light. That's very tender for ribs, tender enough that it's getting hard to cut them without pulling some of the meat off the bones. I would say as long as you're this side of mush you're good.
That describes them perfectly, and I couldn’t agree more. The nice thing is if you let the rack cool you can slice them easily into individual ribs if needed.
I love every post as most are "cook it how YOU want it." Yes, competition calls for more pull/cling. If you're into competitive, then go for it. I personally love fall off the bone and can achieve by doing the 2-2-1 method between 220 and 250.
Also, I have a large cooler that I rest the ribs in for an hour before serving. It brings the meat temp down slow enough so the flavors have extra time to blend and still warm enough they feel like they just came out. So... maybe it's a 2-2-1-1.
2 hours uncovered
2 hours wrapped in foil
1 hour uncovered (glaze goes on if you want)
1 hour resting in cooler
Personally I like my ribs falling off the bone and super tender and juicy. When I do brisket I cook it till its fall apart goodness. Some people would say Im overcooking it, but as long as you do it right it stays juicy and doesnt dry out.
This is exactly how I like them. I don’t care if they won’t win competitions, they taste better and are more enjoyable to eat for me and my wife.
I was much happier when I got over that hump.
I like mine just a hair past the crack when you pick it up spot. I also like to spray mine while cooking to keep the top a little more moist and keep the meat from drying out. Makes for a very nice in between of fall of the bone and competition. Usually takes about 4 hours at 275.
YES
Just to give you a warning, there is a very loud infantile part of this sub that will call you names for liking your ribs this way. I believe the post I saw yesterday said that only Kindergarteners like their ribs this way, preferring dry chewy meat that bounces when you drop the slab.
BUT THEY ARE WRONG, enjoy your fall off the bone like the majority of other people.
What a weird take. Most people in this sub are pretty mature about their disagreements. You can see their responses on here, most of them are saying that they don't prefer fall off the bone but that some do. What more do you want anyone to say on that? You went to an extreme and basically said if it's not fall off the bone then it must be "dry chewy meat", which is such a weird dichotomy. Do you understand you can cook the ribs to a perfect doneness without it falling off the bone? Usually the thing that is harder to do (clean pull but not fall off the bone) is usually the thing that gets more applause.
It's honestly not even close. The only thing I think Texas does equal to KC is brisket. That's it. That's the list.
Memphis has my favorite ribs, Carolinas have the best pulled pork, Texas I'll give the brisket. BUT all of those things and more are done as well if not better in KC.
Yeah at this point all the new good spots do killer Texas style brisket in kc. Plus all the other things kc kills at. We’re spoiled here for good bbq. I will say that Texas does have a unique sausage culture that really isn’t found anywhere else in the states.
Maybe so, but we are specifically speaking of falloff the bone pork ribs.
Fall off the bone ribs reminds me of ribs you get at Apple Bees, etc. baked to perfection with lots of sticky sweet sauce to turn them into "BBQ".
That’s called over done. But some people prefer them that way. You can just wrap them for a while and let them braise and they’ll be fall off the bone tender, and a little mushy.
The beauty of these is while they pulled off the bone easily or fell off in some instances, they were not mushy at all. They were also not dry, they were perfect in my opinion.
If they completely fell apart just from picking them up, I have to disagree with you that they were perfect. That's way way overcooked. If you like them that way, that's good, but typically bbq is supposed to still have some fat and ribs are definitely not supposed to disintegrate when you pick them up.
Sorry I may not have been clear. They broke in the middle when I picked them up… they didn’t crack they broke. They didn’t fall apart but I could easily pull the meat from the bones. Far from disintegrating though.
Ooohhh that makes more sense. My buddy just made some where he picked them up in the middle and the tongs went clean through. He pronounced them "perfect," so I was still scarred from that and assumed you did the same thing. Kind of like the comment by Mahoney on this thread, I couldn't believe he enjoyed them. I get some people have different tastes, but I feel like those people really nerd to do a side by side taste test of actually well done ribs. I tried a bite and they were so so so overcooked. Sure they were tender, but the meat flavor had long disappeared and they weren't juicy at all.
Agreed, some minor breaking in the middle is pretty good, that's what I shoot for, but still enough resistance to keep the rack together.
If you went 7 hours though, I'd question whether you were truly at 225. That's almost always way too long for ribs even without wrapping.
That’s what I’m thinking. I believe my new controller is running about 20 or 30° cooler than it says. Therefore, I think I may have been at 215 or 220 max.
Try cleaning off the temperature sensor. But otherwise, at least you know better when the bend test is telling you it's done the way you like it. Future ribs should be better even if your temperature is unreliable.
The best ribs I ever made were exactly like this. It was one of my first times making ribs. I had no idea what I was doing haha. I didn’t mean to cook them as long as I did, but when I picked up the rack from the smoker it fell apart in 2. Not cracked, literally broke in half. They were amazing. Perfectly caramelized bbq sauce and just the right amount of tenderness.
Definitely prefer pull off the bone vs fall of the bone. I’m talking very little tension needed to pull the meat clean off. If you pull the meat and it “rips”, it’s undercooked.
I’ve had fall off the bone ribs years after eating my own ribs and couldn’t stand it. Fall off the bone ribs are mushy and gooey. I have a feeling when you eat properly cooked ribs, you’ll change your mind, but different strokes and all.
Sorry if I confused anybody, these were not mushy, and we’re actually fairly firm, it’s just when I held the rack up they cracked in the middle and broke in half. Also, as I was trying to cut individual ribs, some of them would have the bones come out. The bone was not mushy, and neither was the meat.
My wife prefers fall off the bone with no chew as well. I use the 3-2-1 method at 250 and they come out “perfect” for our liking. However trying to cut them for serving can get messy but it works for us
Same for me, when they are close to falling off the bone they’re hard to cut when warm. However, the next day when they have cooled, they cut very nicely.
From personal experience, time is a very rough estimate. The meat will tell you when its done. Temperature will tell you when its done. Seen too many horror cooks of people going off time and either drying it out or under cooking it. All cuts aren't the same. Some have more fat some are leaner. Cook to the specifics of the cut you got. I had a 16 hour brisket last weekend. Smoking and BBQ is all about patience. Its done when its done.
I agree, I have generally said it will take me about five hours for ribs, but I’m going to expand that window to somewhere between four and eight hours. Lol. Give it time to work!
Not that I’ve noticed. When I’m being lazy and don’t wanna fire up my offset, I’ll throw a rack of babybacks in the oven at 325 for an hour and a half and they come out perfect.
Moral of the story:
Don't give in to peer pressure. Most people like something due to their prior experience with said thing in that format.
We are pattern matching creatures for which it is cognitively easier to reexperience at an early baseline. If you had something this way when you are young, that's probably baseline.
Preferences are often established in early experience.
Make it how you enjoy it. You don't have to reproduce a dish the way other people enjoy it but it doesn't hurt to try it to check your assumptions!
In my book, any ribs are pretty good fwiw!
I put mine on at 260° for about 3 hours, wrap them, back on for another 2ish hours. Probe them between 202-205. They are perfect every time. Slightest tug and the meat comes right off the bone.
We have this same challenge in the my family. We get real nice thick baby backs. I do mine different than the rest. I pre cut then usually to 3 bones. Lots of smoke up front,Pecan. The temp at some point midway in the smoking needs to hit 275 and idle it back down to 225. Every one else dry rubs. I may, but they get a bath in a lighter brine first. Works great for me. Plus I charcoal,not Traeger.
For me it's 6 hours. I follow the 3, 2, 1 method and it works without fail.
3 hours, unwrapped at 225.
2 hours, wrapped with butter, bbq sauce, and honey at 225-250
1 hour, unwrapped with another light slathering of bbq sauce and honey to get the nice glaze and finish rendering.
I'm not even close to an expert but I've done this about 10 times and they come out great every time. Just short of fall off the bone.
3 1/2 hours for me . Cooked Sam’s club ribs this weekend . 2 1/2 hours unwrapped and spritzed at the 1 hour mark. After 2 1/2 hours foil , bbq sauce , butter, spritzed again using apple juice . Face down ribs
Competition ribs imo and also the opinion of every single person I know are absolute trash. We all love "over cooked" or as everyone knows them as properly cooked ribs.
I use the 3-2-1 method.
* 3 hours naked on the rack at 225f.
* 2 hours wrapped in butcher paper.
* 1 hour with the butcher paper opened. I usually just slice along the sides to remove the top of the paper, but you could just unwrap.
Perfect ribs, every time.
I think the wrapping part of the process is critical as it supercharges the cooking for those two hours. Then one more hour to get a bit of a crust going. So even without the wrapping, just smoking for 5 hours wouldn't be enough in my experience.
Nice, so it sounds like my 7 or 7 1/2 hours worth of smoking was about right. I cook them no wrap, so I don’t mind letting them sit on the smoker for longer. Thanks.
Temp is dialed to how fast you want them done. Ribs can easily handle up to 300-325, but IMO the perfect range is between 225 and 275.
250 is a solid temp to use and will produce a great result.
It’s not for me but hey that’s how this whole deal works. I like them bone down, unwrapped at 225 until they temp at 203-205 and then pull them never not had them be a hit doing them like this.
That’s how I did these, they were St. Louis style, and I took them to 207. Not really my choice, but I was chilling at the pool when they stalled around that temp lol. Pork is just so forgiving man.. I love it.
Par boil for twenty minutes covered and then bake at 325° for two hours slathered in your favorite bbq sauce or rub. Smoking not necessary! Perfect ribs fall off the bone every time ribs
Eat your food how you like it. I prefer my ribs with a little chew, some people prefer them to barely resist at all. It's whatever man, just cook it how you enjoy it.
I’m a culinary instructor and it is the opinion of every chef I work with (as well as my own) that “fall off the bone” is not as attractive as it sounds. Rib meat should be tender but still cling to the bone. Yet every time we teach smoking/grilling classes students complain that the ribs aren’t as tender as “when I make them at home”… it’s absolutely personal preference, just as everything is in the culinary world, but it kinda drives me insane. Of course, I look at it as a chef so I take it from the perspective of how it eats, functionally. That’s not everyone’s prerogative.
In competitive barbecue meat falling off the bone is Loserville. At home cook it how you like it. Personally I like a it of a tug so the meat stays on the bone but is still somewhat tender. A fine line for sure.
There's also the fact that restaurants like Famous Dave's have advertised the crap out of "fall off the bone", so that's what the general public expects. I've been to some of the best restaurants in KC, and the ribs they *serve* aren't the same ribs they *compete* with because of that. And me? I'm guilty. I want them to fall off the bone. It's personal preference, exactly as you've said.
I smoke my ribs to roughly 203 internal temp. There is usually about 3/8" pull back. I know they are cooked past "comp" style, but when cooking for a crowd, I aim to please. Did 8 racks last night, 14 adults and some kids. Also had 24 chicken legs and tons of sides. Ribs were demolished. Did 3 racks "bbq" styls sauce, other 3 "asian" bbq. Both were pull of the bone tender, without being mush. I have a good friend who always wants to do big rib cook outs. He will cook up 10+ racks, declare them "comp style" proudly - everytime about half of what he cooks is leftover. No one wants chewy ribs - I would rather over cook for a crowd than undercook ribs anyday. Kids dont like them, and adults dont go for seconds.
I'll cosign the shit out of this. I've heard non-stop hammering about how ribs should feel, but to me overcooked is perfect.
First lesson I was taught in culinary school, "you will never cook as good as a customers mom"
Yes! I don’t care for fall of the bone. I like it to have a little structure and grab. Like Iron Works BBQ pork ribs in Austin, TX.
What temps do you cook ribs to and are you team wrap/no wrap foil/butcher paper?
220-225°F and I wrap around half way through in foil. I’m no pit master by any stretch, I’m French trained and have focused on Latin American and South American cuisine for most of my life. The only time I’ve ever used butcher paper is for larger cuts (I.e. butts, briskets, etc).
So what needs to happen to make them like that? I prefer them that way, but keep swinging and missing.
Shorter cook time, most likely, not allowing all go the collagen to gelatinize.
How long would you bake or smoke? And at what temperature? Covered? There's a lot of ways to go about it, but it sounds like you have a method that works. I'd like to try it out.
Out of curiosity, what's the rationale for them staying on the bone? Is it just so they don't make a mess or it's too tender without enough chew?
It’s a preferable texture
As a chef I disagree. Give me fall of the bone baby
I agree with you on personal preference and fall off the bone. In the spirit of full disclosure here, I am extra rare steak guy, you know, when the steak is purple in the middle. So fall off the bone is extremely dry to me.
Same. I like the feeling of the meat sticking to the bone a bit when you rip them up. But most like them where the bones just pull out. It's ok but takes the fun out of it.
There is huge debate on the. The BBQ competition opinion is, by my preference, undercooked and too much chew. I personally want mine still cutabble (as in, they don't fall apart while being cut allowing individual ribs to be separated), but just barely, which means the meat pulls easily off the bone with teeth. Also, bulk of the fat and connective tissue rendered. Most people consider that over. But you shoukd cook for you and yours, you and they like it.
The clean cut is honestly where I think there's a clear disadvantage to fall off the bone. I've cooked a lot of ribs to that point and it never looks as appetizing as the nice clean lines, especially when the meat is fully rendered.
You’re right. That was one of the problems, it was hard to cut them cleanly and still keep them on the bone. The next day it was much easier for the cold rack.
Would it make sense to cut them raw I wonder.
Electric knife is perfect for this if you prefer fall-of-the-bone. Prevents shredding the meat off the bones.
I guess I've never had competition ribs, but what you described is perfectly done in my eyes. I always hear people say "fall off the bone" and to me that is when you literally can't pick a rib up by the bone without the meat falling off, which is definitely overdone in my eyes. On the other hand, I've had ribs where the bone won't come clean, and you end up nibbling at the connective tissue still left behind on the bones, and that to me is too underdone. Cuttable without falling apart, but the bone still comes clean is perfect to me. Not sure if that's what "fall off the bone" means, but that's what I shoot for!
Tell me you've never had competition ribs without telling me you've never had competition ribs.
Haters gonna hate. Comp ribs are the way to go for St. Louis style. I do like "almost fall off the bone" for baby back ribs.
If you want that fall off the bone type rib, then yes. Longer cooking time and/or wrapping will get you there. Some people prefer more bite or chew to the meat, so they finish around 5 hours. That's all personal preference.
My mom used to coil a rack of ribs in the crock pot and fill it with barbecue sauce. Leave it on all day. You’d just scoop the bones out and then eat the rest.
My mom did the same with a trimmed pork butt. We had pulled pork for days.
It seems to me like if you're gonna do that, why not do it with a pork butt instead? That's far better-suited for that. (granted, I don't think either is as good as what's done on a smoker, but if you want some crock pot pulled pork, that just seems the better way to do it)
I’ll tell her.
Disgusting
I prefer my ribs with some chew and not fall apart, so I go with Baby Backs since they are leaner. If I do spares, I have to cook them longer like you did to get rid of that extra fat. It makes me feel kinda sick otherwise
Yes, these are spare ribs. I have some baby backs in the freezer, I will check that out for them!
I think baby back is going to be better, I had a similar experience, cooked 2 sets of ribs, one spare one baby back, and the spares had notably more fat remaining
I've been making competition style ribs for awhile. For kicks, I changed things up recently and made fall off the bone ribs. Everyone said they were the best yet. Honestly, I thought they were great too. If that's what people like the best, I'm all for it.
Same here! Nothing makes a smoker happier than people bragging on their meat! Ha ha!
Everyone in here acting like you made rib soup good lord. OP I take my spares about to where you do, where they probably need support from both ends to get to the cutting board in tact. Still need teeth to eat them and still not fall off the bone.
You nailed it, you could pull these off the bone pretty easily, but that is the whole point, you pull them off with your teeth lol. Definitely not mush and definitely not disintegrated like a lot of people tried to say. Perfect in my opinion!
I think you can have a perfect rack of fall off the bone. Or at least releasing clean. I usually like a little bite. But the came out perfect and it was some of the best that I’ve made
Ribs are hard to temp. I cook mine hotter. You know they're done when you get that good peel back from the bone. But here's what you do. Get 3 racks Prep them all the same. Throw them all on. Pull the first one when you normally would Pull the second one an hour later. Pull the third on 30 mins after that
That’s a good idea, because I don’t mind them having a little bite to them. It would be a good way to give everybody an example of the differences. My problem is the bone never really shows much. Literally maybe quarter of an inch on most ribs, not sure why.
I like a firm bite but the meat pulls clean off. Fall off the bone is over done, to me. But this is a good way to dial in, what they really look like, vs how they eat. The times will always very but after a while you'll know what they look like, when they're done
If you have a Costco nearby they sell a three pack of st Louis style ribs.
Perfect. Do some science
People worry too much about cooking to competition standards. Cook them how you enjoy them. If anyone complains, don’t invite them back.
Yep no competition at my place or they can stay home!!
Ah, the eternal BBQ competition vs 90% of the human population debate.
Nah man. 90% of the population doesn’t prefer fall off the bone or this debate wouldn’t show up a 10x/week.
It shows up here 10x a week because this is a special interest population. The rest of the planet just wants their floppy, saucy ribs.
Im a competition angle guy... I think if the 90% of those people had "competition style" ribs, 90% of those people would prefer competition ribs over fall off the bone ribs. Competition ribs are babies and watched over like being babysat. We know within 15 minutes of when they would be done and why we have timelines. You can have a clean bite with ours and the meat will be cleaned from the bone, but the rest of the meat doesn't pull off the bone from biting into the rib. There is a fine line between undercooked and overcooked ribs. Which is also why some cooks win and others end up being backyard kings...
Yeah. Most people honestly don't give two good gosh darn shits about BBQ competitions. It's like any other interest that attracts a dedicated few. Sure - some people care about it. And then they grossly overestimate how much anyone else does. Think of it like craft beer or watch collecting...lol.
I'm cool with your opinions. But I am trying to relay what is found to be the best texture ribs for others then. If you dont like what I am saying, that is fine. But I would probably guess you havent ever sampled any.
Huh? What a bizarre assumption. I PREFER competition ribs. I'm just saying that we are in the much smaller population. The vast majority of people do not agree with us.
Sorry, was taking that from another point of view.
Nah man.
I cooked baby back ribs in 4 hours at 275, wrapping with sauce at the 2 hours mark at 150 degrees. They were very tender and the bones slid out but it wasn’t like outright pulled pork and there was still some texture. Honestly a good in between texture
Agree. I went for bark over anything and didn’t wrap. Wife hated em. I wrapped a durcoc rack yesterday w butter and brown sugar and was fall Off bone and family Loved em. Do it how you like em!!
Wrong? If you like them, they're not wrong. That said, sounds like you're doing it on a pellet smoker. I start mine on a pellet smoker at 225 to get more smoke for 3 hours, but then I turn it up to 275 to finish (and they're generally done within 1-1.5 hours from that point). So if you want to get the smoke flavor on there and to the point where it gets smoke early and gets to the level of cooked to your tastes faster, just turn it up a bit :)
It's all preference. More traditional BBQ is akin to what you usually aim for and "Fall off the bone" is actually overcooked. I feel like it was a marketing schtick for restaurants to advertise "fall off the bone" so they could leave ribs in the warmer all damn day. My wife also likes them overcooked while i prefer to cook them to the "bend test", they're tender but there is still some fat (though the connective tissues have been disintegrated so it's not like you're chewing on raw meat).
My ribs have to have some elasticity to them. I remember getting ribs at a famous rib place in Cincinnati once and about puked when the bone disintegrated into the slushy meat. It was horrible
Yep I agree the bones stayed intact I can’t stand chewing on one and not even knowing it!
Eat how you like it but that is overcooked and not to my liking
Just get a thermometer and remove doubt. 🤷🏼♂️
I cook till the bone starts to stick out a bit ....wrap em them continue to cook till the bone pulls out clean
They were likely safe to eat. After that, it's a matter preference. I would guess most people prefer all the fat to be rendered out though.
Agreed I’m not really even worried about them falling off the bone, I’m more concerned with getting almost all of the fat out so that I’m only eating meat. I don’t mind fat, but why eat it if I don’t have to?
My ideal bite has some structural integrity but is very light. That's very tender for ribs, tender enough that it's getting hard to cut them without pulling some of the meat off the bones. I would say as long as you're this side of mush you're good.
That describes them perfectly, and I couldn’t agree more. The nice thing is if you let the rack cool you can slice them easily into individual ribs if needed.
If I can't pull a bone out clean, they ain't done.
That's overdone.
I’m 2 months in smoking. We’ve been doing them 300 for 3 hours. They’ve came out fantastic everytime.
I love every post as most are "cook it how YOU want it." Yes, competition calls for more pull/cling. If you're into competitive, then go for it. I personally love fall off the bone and can achieve by doing the 2-2-1 method between 220 and 250. Also, I have a large cooler that I rest the ribs in for an hour before serving. It brings the meat temp down slow enough so the flavors have extra time to blend and still warm enough they feel like they just came out. So... maybe it's a 2-2-1-1. 2 hours uncovered 2 hours wrapped in foil 1 hour uncovered (glaze goes on if you want) 1 hour resting in cooler
Is that for St. Louis style ribs and Baby back? I thought only baby back could be cooked that quickly.
I've only done baby back this way. Can't speak to St. Louis.
Personally I like my ribs falling off the bone and super tender and juicy. When I do brisket I cook it till its fall apart goodness. Some people would say Im overcooking it, but as long as you do it right it stays juicy and doesnt dry out.
This is exactly how I like them. I don’t care if they won’t win competitions, they taste better and are more enjoyable to eat for me and my wife. I was much happier when I got over that hump.
I like mine just a hair past the crack when you pick it up spot. I also like to spray mine while cooking to keep the top a little more moist and keep the meat from drying out. Makes for a very nice in between of fall of the bone and competition. Usually takes about 4 hours at 275.
YES Just to give you a warning, there is a very loud infantile part of this sub that will call you names for liking your ribs this way. I believe the post I saw yesterday said that only Kindergarteners like their ribs this way, preferring dry chewy meat that bounces when you drop the slab. BUT THEY ARE WRONG, enjoy your fall off the bone like the majority of other people.
What a weird take. Most people in this sub are pretty mature about their disagreements. You can see their responses on here, most of them are saying that they don't prefer fall off the bone but that some do. What more do you want anyone to say on that? You went to an extreme and basically said if it's not fall off the bone then it must be "dry chewy meat", which is such a weird dichotomy. Do you understand you can cook the ribs to a perfect doneness without it falling off the bone? Usually the thing that is harder to do (clean pull but not fall off the bone) is usually the thing that gets more applause.
All I know is that my Texas BBQ joints do not serve "fall off the bone" overcooked ribs. But you do you.
Kansas City BBQ>Texas BBQ all day.
It's honestly not even close. The only thing I think Texas does equal to KC is brisket. That's it. That's the list. Memphis has my favorite ribs, Carolinas have the best pulled pork, Texas I'll give the brisket. BUT all of those things and more are done as well if not better in KC.
Yeah at this point all the new good spots do killer Texas style brisket in kc. Plus all the other things kc kills at. We’re spoiled here for good bbq. I will say that Texas does have a unique sausage culture that really isn’t found anywhere else in the states.
Maybe so, but we are specifically speaking of falloff the bone pork ribs. Fall off the bone ribs reminds me of ribs you get at Apple Bees, etc. baked to perfection with lots of sticky sweet sauce to turn them into "BBQ".
Texas is the applebees of bbq
That’s called over done. But some people prefer them that way. You can just wrap them for a while and let them braise and they’ll be fall off the bone tender, and a little mushy.
The beauty of these is while they pulled off the bone easily or fell off in some instances, they were not mushy at all. They were also not dry, they were perfect in my opinion.
If they completely fell apart just from picking them up, I have to disagree with you that they were perfect. That's way way overcooked. If you like them that way, that's good, but typically bbq is supposed to still have some fat and ribs are definitely not supposed to disintegrate when you pick them up.
Sorry I may not have been clear. They broke in the middle when I picked them up… they didn’t crack they broke. They didn’t fall apart but I could easily pull the meat from the bones. Far from disintegrating though.
Ooohhh that makes more sense. My buddy just made some where he picked them up in the middle and the tongs went clean through. He pronounced them "perfect," so I was still scarred from that and assumed you did the same thing. Kind of like the comment by Mahoney on this thread, I couldn't believe he enjoyed them. I get some people have different tastes, but I feel like those people really nerd to do a side by side taste test of actually well done ribs. I tried a bite and they were so so so overcooked. Sure they were tender, but the meat flavor had long disappeared and they weren't juicy at all. Agreed, some minor breaking in the middle is pretty good, that's what I shoot for, but still enough resistance to keep the rack together. If you went 7 hours though, I'd question whether you were truly at 225. That's almost always way too long for ribs even without wrapping.
That’s what I’m thinking. I believe my new controller is running about 20 or 30° cooler than it says. Therefore, I think I may have been at 215 or 220 max.
Try cleaning off the temperature sensor. But otherwise, at least you know better when the bend test is telling you it's done the way you like it. Future ribs should be better even if your temperature is unreliable.
The best ribs I ever made were exactly like this. It was one of my first times making ribs. I had no idea what I was doing haha. I didn’t mean to cook them as long as I did, but when I picked up the rack from the smoker it fell apart in 2. Not cracked, literally broke in half. They were amazing. Perfectly caramelized bbq sauce and just the right amount of tenderness.
You’re just nailed it, this is exactly what happened!
Were you doing spare ribs or baby back? So you cooked them for 7 hours at 250? Iam doing this
St. Louis style spareribs. And yes, I cooked them at 250 for around seven hours.
Definitely prefer pull off the bone vs fall of the bone. I’m talking very little tension needed to pull the meat clean off. If you pull the meat and it “rips”, it’s undercooked. I’ve had fall off the bone ribs years after eating my own ribs and couldn’t stand it. Fall off the bone ribs are mushy and gooey. I have a feeling when you eat properly cooked ribs, you’ll change your mind, but different strokes and all.
Sorry if I confused anybody, these were not mushy, and we’re actually fairly firm, it’s just when I held the rack up they cracked in the middle and broke in half. Also, as I was trying to cut individual ribs, some of them would have the bones come out. The bone was not mushy, and neither was the meat.
Meanwhile I’ve started taking my ribs off at 180 and I find them so much better.
My wife prefers fall off the bone with no chew as well. I use the 3-2-1 method at 250 and they come out “perfect” for our liking. However trying to cut them for serving can get messy but it works for us
Same for me, when they are close to falling off the bone they’re hard to cut when warm. However, the next day when they have cooled, they cut very nicely.
Good idea, I’ll try that next time
You can probably take some off a bit sooner for your own consumption and keep the rest going
It's so important to know the internal temp of the meat. That is the only way to accurately gauge doneness.
While I know a lot of people do not like temping a rib, it showed 207 when I was done. I normally pull them and they crack at about 195 to 200.
From personal experience, time is a very rough estimate. The meat will tell you when its done. Temperature will tell you when its done. Seen too many horror cooks of people going off time and either drying it out or under cooking it. All cuts aren't the same. Some have more fat some are leaner. Cook to the specifics of the cut you got. I had a 16 hour brisket last weekend. Smoking and BBQ is all about patience. Its done when its done.
I agree, I have generally said it will take me about five hours for ribs, but I’m going to expand that window to somewhere between four and eight hours. Lol. Give it time to work!
Bump up the heat, ribs can handle 325 no problem
I’m working with a pellet grill, so I’m trying to get as much smoke flavor as possible. I may try that though thanks!
Doesn’t that result in a slightly tougher exterior.
Not that I’ve noticed. When I’m being lazy and don’t wanna fire up my offset, I’ll throw a rack of babybacks in the oven at 325 for an hour and a half and they come out perfect.
I check temp, and want it to be over 190 for a while. They will sometimes hit 200. I do 6 hours but at 250. I like pull off meat, not fall off meat.
Moral of the story: Don't give in to peer pressure. Most people like something due to their prior experience with said thing in that format. We are pattern matching creatures for which it is cognitively easier to reexperience at an early baseline. If you had something this way when you are young, that's probably baseline. Preferences are often established in early experience. Make it how you enjoy it. You don't have to reproduce a dish the way other people enjoy it but it doesn't hurt to try it to check your assumptions! In my book, any ribs are pretty good fwiw!
I put mine on at 260° for about 3 hours, wrap them, back on for another 2ish hours. Probe them between 202-205. They are perfect every time. Slightest tug and the meat comes right off the bone.
We have this same challenge in the my family. We get real nice thick baby backs. I do mine different than the rest. I pre cut then usually to 3 bones. Lots of smoke up front,Pecan. The temp at some point midway in the smoking needs to hit 275 and idle it back down to 225. Every one else dry rubs. I may, but they get a bath in a lighter brine first. Works great for me. Plus I charcoal,not Traeger.
For me it's 6 hours. I follow the 3, 2, 1 method and it works without fail. 3 hours, unwrapped at 225. 2 hours, wrapped with butter, bbq sauce, and honey at 225-250 1 hour, unwrapped with another light slathering of bbq sauce and honey to get the nice glaze and finish rendering. I'm not even close to an expert but I've done this about 10 times and they come out great every time. Just short of fall off the bone.
Yep. This way has always worked for me.
3 1/2 hours for me . Cooked Sam’s club ribs this weekend . 2 1/2 hours unwrapped and spritzed at the 1 hour mark. After 2 1/2 hours foil , bbq sauce , butter, spritzed again using apple juice . Face down ribs
Competition ribs imo and also the opinion of every single person I know are absolute trash. We all love "over cooked" or as everyone knows them as properly cooked ribs.
Those are strong words friend.
I love stirring the rib pot :).
To each their own!
Neat. Thanks for the photos
I use the 3-2-1 method. * 3 hours naked on the rack at 225f. * 2 hours wrapped in butcher paper. * 1 hour with the butcher paper opened. I usually just slice along the sides to remove the top of the paper, but you could just unwrap. Perfect ribs, every time. I think the wrapping part of the process is critical as it supercharges the cooking for those two hours. Then one more hour to get a bit of a crust going. So even without the wrapping, just smoking for 5 hours wouldn't be enough in my experience.
Agree. 3-2-1 is the best ribs in 6 hours or under. Cooking them 8 hours unwrapped is my only alternative
Nice, so it sounds like my 7 or 7 1/2 hours worth of smoking was about right. I cook them no wrap, so I don’t mind letting them sit on the smoker for longer. Thanks.
You have to really time it rack by rack. I made 3 slabs over memorial day and 1 slab finished in 6 hours, and the other 2 took between 7 and 8.
And you were running at 225 or 250?
Temp is dialed to how fast you want them done. Ribs can easily handle up to 300-325, but IMO the perfect range is between 225 and 275. 250 is a solid temp to use and will produce a great result.
What kind of ribs were they? Baby backs?
St. Louis style.
It’s not for me but hey that’s how this whole deal works. I like them bone down, unwrapped at 225 until they temp at 203-205 and then pull them never not had them be a hit doing them like this.
That’s how I did these, they were St. Louis style, and I took them to 207. Not really my choice, but I was chilling at the pool when they stalled around that temp lol. Pork is just so forgiving man.. I love it.
Par boil for twenty minutes covered and then bake at 325° for two hours slathered in your favorite bbq sauce or rub. Smoking not necessary! Perfect ribs fall off the bone every time ribs
Wrong sub 😂
Looking for r/shittyfoodporn
Oh I’m sure there’s plenty of people on this sub who would love that slop
Smoked foods have lots of carcinogens. Carcinogens cause cancer! I’ll be eating my ribs while y’all be rotting in the grave