007bond-jb said:
I Don't have a problem rendering the fat without foil Larry. I do cook em at a higher temp like 275 to 300 range. They come out fall apart tender too. I wonder if this has to do with smoker design
I don't think it's the equipment in this case, JB. You get about the same results in a home oven. I don't want to take away from Larry's point that the fat renders off better in foil than in the open, mostly because he's right about that.
It comes down to a couple of things at the end of the day.
First, it's the raw materials; i.e., the ribs you bought. There's a lot of variability in them. Sometimes you get beef ribs that are very fatty and the fat is placed in a way that you can't scrape or cut it off in prep. You can usually spot these fellows by the big pillows of white, fatty tissue on the back of the untrimmed slab, and the greasy feel they leave on your hands during prep. The major clue is visual though. It's pretty obvious once the ribs are about 75% cooked.
Second, it's your general openness to foiling. Personally, I'm generally disinclined for stupid "purity" reasons -- this from an Afterburner guy!
So, if you're open, and you spot big fat deposits about three quarters of the way through the cook, it might not be a bad idea to foil with just a splash of fat cutter (beer, bourbon). I'd avoid wine though, because of it's stewed connotations. Afterwards, I'd definitely give some time unfoiled -- to try and chase some texture back into the meat. Ideally over direct charcoal.
Rich