Seems the internet is swamped with posts and YouTube videos that if you are doing 3-2-1 ribs, you’re doing it wrong. I use the method on some ribs. My wife likes moister ribs, doesn’t care about bark. I prefer the dryer with bark. So I do them half and half. Just wonder what method others are using.
If they taste good and you like them, you are doing them right!
To much click bait stuff on the internet.
Try 4-1-1 instead. You both might be happy.
Are you talking about short ribs or spare ribs?
Almost always baby backs. Although my neighbor just gave me some spareribs from a truck rollover accident.
3 2 1 is what I made last week . Throw a little brown sugar in your rub . Falling off the bone is what I like , the pros like em chewing off the bone but I really don’t care for that myself . Tried them both ways.
Short ribs are leaner than spare ribs and therefore should be cooked less to avoid drying out.
Not a sugar fan smoking or salt fan ever. I use Dano’s low sodium. Add garlic pepper, cayenne, and rub with a little ground sea salt. Tried honey and brown sugar early on but prefer the savory. I save the brown sugar for the wood fired, cast iron fruit crisp.
I don’t wrap my ribs at all. They lose most of valuable smoke flavor so I stopped doing it altogether. The texture is much better when they are wrapped but the flavor and bark is so much better unwrapped. The 3-2-1 method doesn’t replace the smoke flavor at all in my opinion.
You do need to find a good fatty rib to do it this way though. It seems the cheapest ribs are the leanest and not ideal for smoking.
A paper wrapped rest might be a good middle ground.
Carole likes the ribs to be falling off the bone. Me? I like to gnaw them off the bone, but I’ll do them in the smoker then put in a foil covered pan with a shot of beef broth in the oven at 275 for 30 minutes and she seems happy with that.
I agree with Biggill on the lean ribs. I like some fat to help keep the moisture in the meat. Still, I like to chew the meat off the bone. I do them as a slab and cut them when they are ready to serve. Sauce on the side.
I broke down and bought the $25 roll of paper. Last time did half paper, half foil. Identical ribs, the foil wrapped retained a lot more moisture. I always do at least 2 racks. So, I do one for me one for her. I prefer the paper, her the foil. I can do that.
Meat can only take on so much smoke so once you figure out what that threshold is wrapping wont affect smoke flavor at all, but certainly will retain moisture and push the cook along. Regarding 321 or whatever, Ive never done that. I cook to proper doneness however long that takes. I generally leave them unwrapped until the bark has set up and may decide to wrap at that point or not wrap at all. I dont wrap every time, but when I do they turn out more moist.
Not a fan of the 3-2-1 method. Always too mushy for my liking. I don’t wrap my ribs anymore. Just dry rub and smoke at 250-275 until they’re tender. Use a toothpick between the bone. If there’s any resistance pulling the toothpick out, give it another 15min. Repeat until no resistance and they’re perfect. Everyone can cook how they want to, but if I want fall apart pork I just chunk up a pork shoulder, smoke the pieces until the bark sets, and then braise in a foil pan or Dutch oven at 300. You have way more meat for the same price and it would take less time than the 3-2-1.
Many variations. 3/2/1 is a good starting point for someone starting. It’s all adjusting to timing for what you want. Competition style has their preferences which are not the preferences of my family. Wife likes them more like pulled pork and I prefer a bit softer than comp style.
I also like a good bark but no aftertaste of the smoke. I stay away from hickory, mesquite, oak and use a blend of apple/cherry wood. I do my own method of 1-1-1- 1/2 for mine and my wife’s goes 1-2-2. That 275 degrees- 190degrees, wrapped, warming tray.
Another variation that I alter time for is seasoning. When I do a batch of Cajun-mango, they need to be wrapped much longer for the mangos to break down and absorb into the meat. If a do a dill weed or garlic batch, they season up much faster
I found paper wrapped a happy medium between foil wrapped and not wrapped. Other thing I tried was 180 rest in the smoker for an hour {paper wrapped}. Rather than wrapped in towels in a cooler. Isn’t it 140 degrees or about an hour and a half that meat maxes out on taking and more smoke?
I’ve pretty much settled in on pecan and/or apple for my smoking. I used cherry chips in a cheap Cabela’s electric smoker years ago and was put off by how strong it was. Most likely user error so I should probably try it again. I think I might want to eat ribs at Randy’s place. Cajun-mango and dill-garlic sounds like a nice change of pace.
x3 on Applewood for almost all of my smoking, sometimes will mix in a stronger wood for beef.
x3 on Applewood for almost all of my smoking, sometimes will mix in a stronger wood for beef.
Good plan, mesquite is too strong for anything but beef IMO, but apple and pecan are my go tos.
I think people need to try a few different styles of smoke-cooking to decide which fits best for them. They need to try different woods too. There is no one and done smoking method as people’s tastes vary so much. I had some pulled pork that had been in a smoker, under smoke, for 7 hours and the stuff was just barely edible. Way too much smoke. The bark that everyone yaks about was two inches into the meat and tougher than saddle leather.
When I do my venison sausage and jerky it gets maybe two hours of warm smoke, enough to color the meat or casing, and then it has been finished in an oven to the desired finish temp. I have a gas smoker now that will be brought up to a finishing temp after a couple hours of cooler smoke. Any smoker that has been properly seasoned will continue to impart a smoke quality AFTER the smoking has stopped but heating continues.
Bottom line is there’s really no right or wrong way as long as you like it. Just try different things once in a while. Learn what works and more importantly, why it worked so you can build off of what you learned. Most people that do good bbq might follow well known guidelines in general but they add their own twist based off of their own personal taste and sometimes the equipment you use.
The people I follow that do bbq don’t ever tell you how long to cook something they tell you what queues to look for in order to move onto the next step.
Jimmy…if there was bark 2″ into the meat it was burnt. Either too long or too hot or both. Meat can only pick up smoke flavor until the bark sets and is tacky or dry to the touch. After that it’s just wasting wood and drying out the meat IMO. Wrap it until tender and rest it a bit before serving. Other than taking it out at the tenderness you like best, the next most important tip is that the smoke needs to be a thin and wispy blue gray color. If it’s chugging out white or gray smoke it’s going to taste like an ashtray and needs more air flow. More air will increase the temp, so you need to be careful to not let it get to that point. If you do get over 300-325, consider taking the meat out and letting the smoker settle in at a lower temp before getting back to it. I doubt this happens with a pellet smoker, but I wouldn’t know.
Jimmy…if there was bark 2″ into the meat it was burnt. Either too long or too hot or both. Meat can only pick up smoke flavor until the bark sets and is tacky or dry to the touch. After that it’s just wasting wood and drying out the meat IMO. Wrap it until tender and rest it a bit before serving. Other than taking it out at the tenderness you like best, the next most important tip is that the smoke needs to be a thin and wispy blue gray color. If it’s chugging out white or gray smoke it’s going to taste like an ashtray and needs more air flow. More air will increase the temp, so you need to be careful to not let it get to that point. If you do get over 300-325, consider taking the meat out and letting the smoker settle in at a lower temp before getting back to it. I doubt this happens with a pellet smoker, but I wouldn’t know.
I didn’t cook it…. I was a guest. And in my opinion it was ruined beyond salvation.
Sounds like finely chopping it and soaking it in BBQ sauce for a week wouldn’t salvage that one.
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