How can I tell if my ribs are done?

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that enjoys cooking.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

cg1200

Assistant Cook
Joined
Jul 19, 2008
Messages
11
Just found this forum and am looking for some help. I've been cooking baby back ribs on a weber gas grill for the last few months. I get the temp up to about 200 degrees. I light the left most burner only and cook ribs on right side of grill away from heat (indirect). I use hickory wood chips in the smoker box and let cook for about 4 hours. The meat seems to shrink back from the bone but I've been finding the meat kinda tough. Are they over cooked or undercooked? I thought over-cooked ribs yielded meat that literally fell off the bone. I seem to have the opposite problem. Could they possibly need to cook longer? these are not huge baby back ribs. They don't taste bad it's just after 4 hours I would expect the meat to be very tender. What do you thinK? should i go longer or shorter?
 
Much shorter and internal temp of 165-170 they should be done. Try wraping them in plastic wrap and foil with the seasonings on them cook for a hour and a half then unwrap and finnish on the grill. When you unwrap them the bone will be pulled back and you should be able to poke your finger through the meat with no trouble and they will be tender and fall of the bone. Baby back ribs are not very big and should not take much cooking or high heat.
 
I made 2 racks of baby back ribs smoked on my Weber Genesis B (which was never designed for smoking). This is the method I used. I made a tray of heavy duty aluminum foil folded in 4 layers, about 1 foot long. Then I just turned on the front burner (of the 3), on high and put the smoker tray on the flavor bars under the grate right over the lit burner. I put some lightly wetted chips (not sure that the wetting is even necessary) in the tray and the ribs on the back half of the grate. To keep the temp down to about 220-230 I put a 10" landscaping spike under the corner of the lid to keep it open about 1/2 inch. I just watched the thermometer, played with the burner to keep the temp right, and added chips as needed for about 4 hours. All I can say is WOW!!!

I used a fairly generic rub of chili powder, chile molido, brown sugar, oregano, paprika, black and white pepper, and kosher salt Only for about the last 20 minutes did I finish them with my own sauce.

I smoked mine for 4 hours, and they were done perfectly, so it can be done on a regular gas grill. One method I've heard of to check for doneness is to bend the rack, and if the meat "breaks", they are ready. I've just been experimenting and finally seem to have found the right process. So keep pluggin' and you should find the right combo for your setup.
 
It sounds like they could possibly be overcooked. Do they appear to be dried out? Did you leave them in one big slab?
 
Just found this forum and am looking for some help. I've been cooking baby back ribs on a weber gas grill for the last few months. I get the temp up to about 200 degrees. I light the left most burner only and cook ribs on right side of grill away from heat (indirect). I use hickory wood chips in the smoker box and let cook for about 4 hours. The meat seems to shrink back from the bone but I've been finding the meat kinda tough. Are they over cooked or undercooked? I thought over-cooked ribs yielded meat that literally fell off the bone. I seem to have the opposite problem. Could they possibly need to cook longer? these are not huge baby back ribs. They don't taste bad it's just after 4 hours I would expect the meat to be very tender. What do you thinK? should i go longer or shorter?

A few months is way too long to be cooking your ribs for :ermm:
Oh wait, just read the rest of your post :LOL:

Welcome to the goup. My guess is the ribs are done because you said the meat is pulling back, but they may be dried out. After a couple hours of smoking, try wrapping them in a foil pouch with some cooking liquid; apple juice, pop, beer... then put them back on for another 1-1/2-2 hours. Unwrap, put them back on the grill and start saucing them for another 30 minutes. I've done them this way and they pick up enough smoke taste in the first two hours and are very moist. I use a four burner Ducane BTW.
That said, I think four hours is too long for baby backs without wrapping them during some porion of their cooking. I "smoked" country style ribs last night without wrapping and they were done after four hours. For all the time involved with smoking, the jury is still out (for me) if they aren't just as good using faster methods.
 
200* is too cool, and 4 hours is too long at that temperature to BBQ loin back ribs. The ribs are over cooked, and dehydrated...dry and chewy. Kick your temperature up to 240-250* and cut your cooking time in half...
 
200* is too cool, and 4 hours is too long at that temperature to BBQ loin back ribs. The ribs are over cooked, and dehydrated...dry and chewy. Kick your temperature up to 240-250* and cut your cooking time in half...

Exactly - dehydrated, dry and chewy. 2 hours seems so short but it certainly seems like the meat is overcooked. The ribs are relatively small so I don't cut them in half. Would that help?

Also i find it difficult to get a meat thermometer into the ribs to get an accurate reading.
 
It sounds like they could possibly be overcooked. Do they appear to be dried out? Did you leave them in one big slab?

My confusion is I keep reading that if ribs are overcooked the turn to mush and the meat comes off the bone too easily. Mine are slightly chewy and a bit tough.

Each rack is about the length of your elbow to the tips of your fingers. I didn't cut them in half. I baste them every 30 minutes with a mixture of Worcestershire and olive oil.
 
I'd wrap them in foil with your marinade or bbq sauce for the first hour or so then smoke/grill them for flavor. You can never go wrong with this method.
 
Exactly - dehydrated, dry and chewy. 2 hours seems so short but it certainly seems like the meat is overcooked. The ribs are relatively small so I don't cut them in half. Would that help?

Also i find it difficult to get a meat thermometer into the ribs to get an accurate reading.

No... Cutting them in half would really serve no purpose here. Only if they want fit your cooking surface would it be of any benefit. Don't confuse loin back ribs with spare ribs where longer cooking times of 4 1/2 to 5 hours are needed at times...While the loin backs can be succussfully cooked (BBQed) for that period of time...IMO they are better cooked hotter and faster with less time on the grill to over cook, dry out, dehydrate, etc. They can even be grilled to perfection ...See the link below.


http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f38/charcoal-grilled-ribs-48100.html
 
I made 2 racks of baby back ribs smoked on my Weber Genesis B (which was never designed for smoking). This is the method I used. I made a tray of heavy duty aluminum foil folded in 4 layers, about 1 foot long. Then I just turned on the front burner (of the 3), on high and put the smoker tray on the flavor bars under the grate right over the lit burner. I put some lightly wetted chips (not sure that the wetting is even necessary) in the tray and the ribs on the back half of the grate. To keep the temp down to about 220-230 I put a 10" landscaping spike under the corner of the lid to keep it open about 1/2 inch. I just watched the thermometer, played with the burner to keep the temp right, and added chips as needed for about 4 hours. All I can say is WOW!!!

I used a fairly generic rub of chili powder, chile molido, brown sugar, oregano, paprika, black and white pepper, and kosher salt Only for about the last 20 minutes did I finish them with my own sauce.

I smoked mine for 4 hours, and they were done perfectly, so it can be done on a regular gas grill. One method I've heard of to check for doneness is to bend the rack, and if the meat "breaks", they are ready. I've just been experimenting and finally seem to have found the right process. So keep pluggin' and you should find the right combo for your setup.

I followed almost the same formula here but mine were on the tough side. Not shoe leather but definitely not fall off the bone tender either. Did you wrap your ribs in foil for any length of time? the consensus of the other posters seems to be 4 hours is too long for baby back ribs, yet yours came out great.

I'll try wrapping in foil for the first 60-90, then smoke for another hour and see how they look. I'll also up my temp to 250*. Sound about right?
 
Fall off the bone tender comes from ribs with more fat on them. Baby backs are tender anyway and you don't want them fall off the bone anyway. Now short ribs I do like when they are that tender! When you smoke ribs (or anything for that matter) you have to go by "feel" or even temperature versus an exact recipe. The reason I asked if you left the ribs in a whole rack is because cutting them would dry them out even more, possibly.
 
I'll try wrapping in foil for the first 60-90, then smoke for another hour and see how they look. I'll also up my temp to 250*. Sound about right?

No, sounds completely wrong. Do not wrap the ribs in foil at the beginning of the cook. If you do that you will not get any of the smoke flavor on to the ribs. Cook them with indirect heat for 3 hours at 225-250(225 is better). Then pour some honey on them and some "sugar in the raw" and wrap them in foil. Put them back on the grill/smoker for about 1.5 hours. Then take them out of the foil and LIGHTLY sauce them and put them back on the low heat for about 30 minutes.

If you grab the rack of ribs with tongs about 4 ribs in and the other end bends 45 degrees or more the ribs are done. Be careful trying that as the rack might break in half and you will be standing there looking down at the floor crying. Ask me how I know.
 
Last edited:
No, sounds completely wrong. Do not wrap the ribs in foil at the beginning of the cook. If you do that you will not get any of the smoke flavor on to the ribs. Cook them with indirect heat for 3 hours at 225-250(225 is better). Then pour some honey on them and some "sugar in the raw" and wrap them in foil. Put them back on the grill/smoker for about 1.5 hours. Then take them out of the foil and LIGHTLY sauce them and put them back on the low heat for about 30 minutes.

I wish I had thought of that :rolleyes:
:LOL:
 
I followed almost the same formula here but mine were on the tough side. Not shoe leather but definitely not fall off the bone tender either. Did you wrap your ribs in foil for any length of time? the consensus of the other posters seems to be 4 hours is too long for baby back ribs, yet yours came out great.

I'll try wrapping in foil for the first 60-90, then smoke for another hour and see how they look. I'll also up my temp to 250*. Sound about right?

I did not wrap them in anything except the dry rub. The racks I was referring to were meatier than most baby backs that I've seen, so maybe that is why they were good on a longer cooking time. They were not tough, nor were they dry. They didn't fall off the bone, but they were none the less tender, juicy and succulent. Everyone who ate them raved about them. Definitely the best I've ever made. :chef:

I'll be doing a few racks again in in a couple of weeks, and I plan to use the same method. The key is just watching what's going on and making sure that the heat stays fairly constant. Too low and it just dries them out, too hot and they'll burn before they are done.

I used about the same method for a whole chicken the other day. I cut out the backbone and splayed it out, then rubbed it with olive oil and dry jerk seasoning. Same cooking method except that I only left the burner on high for about 20 minutes to get the chips smoking good, then turned it down to medium (indirect) (about 340-350) for a total time of about 1:15. The meat was smoky and spicy and again done perfectly.
 
No, sounds completely wrong. Do not wrap the ribs in foil at the beginning of the cook. If you do that you will not get any of the smoke flavor on to the ribs. Cook them with indirect heat for 3 hours at 225-250(225 is better). Then pour some honey on them and some "sugar in the raw" and wrap them in foil. Put them back on the grill/smoker for about 1.5 hours. Then take them out of the foil and LIGHTLY sauce them and put them back on the low heat for about 30 minutes.

If you grab the rack of ribs with tongs about 4 ribs in and the other end bends 45 degrees or more the ribs are done. Be careful trying that as the rack might break in half and you will be standing there looking down at the floor crying. Ask me how I know.

Interesting. Some say cook for less time on higher heat while others suggest going even longer but wrapping in foil. Seems like there is quite a few different ways to cook great ribs. Experimenting is required. Shame it takes 4 hours to find out if you've screwed up!

So on my next attempt (this weekend) I will attempt the following:
1) Set temp to 225 (25* higher than I've been using)
2) Smoke for 1.5 hours
3) At 1.5 hour mark, wrap ribs in foil with a marinade/mop etc.
4) Cook for another 1-1.5 hours
5) Remove from foil and sauce for another 30 minutes.
6) Pray

Total cooking time of 3 hours. Given that these ribs are on the smallish side, I think 4 hours is too long and drying them out. Hopefully wrapping in foil for a portion of time will keep them from getting overdone.

Wish me luck. Thanks for all the suggestions. This has really been helpful.
 
Like you said, there are lots of ways to cook great ribs. You won't go wrong cooking them like you said, or some of the other ways either :)
 
I think I said this in another thread, there are so many ways to cook ribs that I am sure I will be spending most of my summer trying em all out!
Ol Blue had a good one recently where she cooked em on the grill first with BBQ sauce on a higher heat, then wrapped in foil and cooked low n slow to finish em up.
And I like SikPilots method with honey and sugar in the raw... sounds good!
 
I have cooked ribs diffrent ways the best way is slow cooking and indirect heat. I have pre boiled the ribs to soften them up and seasoned them and put them on the pit and slow cooked them and final glazed them at the end .. they came out tender and mouth watering. I dry rubbed them and put them in my smoker I call the "tin Man" It is made of steel stands 5ft 5 three ft wide round. the grill is aprox 3ft from the mesquite/oak coals I cook /smoke the ribs for 4.5-5 hrs.... very good ribs. I even cook them on my Old Smoky BBQ pit( small batch two labs or less) indirect heat with dry rub 3.5 hrs over kingsford or royal oak charcoal. The only time I use foil is when I can't check on them ..... rule of thumb less heat better the rib. Want to know my Hot wing tips.....
 
Back
Top Bottom