Baby Back failures

[trarmour]

I have tried multiple times to cook babybacks with no success. I've gone with just a rub, rub with sauce (no foil). Same deal as above with foil and peach paper. Each time the outside comes out tough. It's dried out tough with our sauce.

Hears the thing. I have the 780 and in my opinion it does not produce enough smoke so I use a smoke tube.

I have tried staying the ribs with cider which I think made it tougher.

Any thoughts? I appreciate it.

I am totally disappointed with Traeger grills! I would never spend $1,600 again for this piece of iron! However I have made BBR's with success. I put olive oil on them. Then spice them. I preheat the Traeger to 225 degrees with apple pellets. I then put the ribs right on the grate and cook them for 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours on super smoke. Then I turn off super smoke and raise the temp to 350 degrees for about 1/2 hour. I then coat one side with Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce leave them on for 5 minutes. Turn the ribs over and coat the second side with BBQ sauce for another 5 minutes. Then take them off and cover them with aluminum foil for 5 minutes and you are ready to serve them. Hope that helps!

 

[johnnyB]

I have tried multiple times to cook babybacks with no success. I've gone with just a rub, rub with sauce (no foil). Same deal as above with foil and peach paper. Each time the outside comes out tough. It's dried out tough with our sauce.

Hears the thing. I have the 780 and in my opinion it does not produce enough smoke so I use a smoke tube.

I have tried staying the ribs with cider which I think made it tougher.

Any thoughts? I appreciate it.

Did these yesterday. Smoke 4 hours at 180. Racks were about 3.1 lbs each.

After 4 hours - wrapped in foil with white cranberry juice for 90 min at 275. Used a smoke tube and they came out great.

 

[Keystone]

I have tried multiple times to cook babybacks with no success. I've gone with just a rub, rub with sauce (no foil). Same deal as above with foil and peach paper. Each time the outside comes out tough. It's dried out tough with our sauce.

Hears the thing. I have the 780 and in my opinion it does not produce enough smoke so I use a smoke tube.

I have tried staying the ribs with cider which I think made it tougher.

Any thoughts? I appreciate it.

I hate to tell you this but: Traegers are heated by wood pellets. Pellets are a source of ongoing revenue to Traeger. Now that this is out of the way, I'm also happy to tell you that excellent ribs can be smoked on a Traeger including the over priced babybacks. What you need is a smoke tube to provide sufficient smoke in addition to the smoke produced by the Traeger in the process of maintain heat.

Smoke tubes can be found on Amazon for about $15. A smoke tube will give you 3-4 hours of smoke depend on where you place it in the Traeger. I recommend getting two. I smoked two briskets this past weekend, running both tubes at the same time and about 3 1/2 hour in I replenished the smoke tubes with pellets for a total smoke time of ~ 7 hours. Nice 1/4" deep smoke rings on both.

Another option is using the smoke setting for the first 2 1/2 - 3 1/3 hours then cranking up the heat to your desired temperature to conclude the cooking. One can you both the smoke setting and the tube but careful about getting too much smoke. Ribs don't take as much as a brisket or pork butt.

I seldom do babyback ribs, just not enough meat for the time and pellets invested. Instead I stick with 'full cut' St Louis ribs; you get enough meat to make a meal and it's worth the effort.

 

[revbilly]

I have tried multiple times to cook babybacks with no success. I've gone with just a rub, rub with sauce (no foil). Same deal as above with foil and peach paper. Each time the outside comes out tough. It's dried out tough with our sauce.

Hears the thing. I have the 780 and in my opinion it does not produce enough smoke so I use a smoke tube.

I have tried staying the ribs with cider which I think made it tougher.

Any thoughts? I appreciate it.

I personally use the 3,2,1 method. I’ve done baby-back, St. Louis style and pork loin back ribs. I don’t spritz. I start at 225. I use two smoke tubes one with real hickory chips and the other with a blend of pellets (hickory, pecan and mesquite,equally)

After 3 hours I double wrap first in paper then in foil and bump the temp to 250.

If I’m going to sauce them, I do so every 15 minutes for an hour after unwrapping. If not, I place them in a cooler for an hour or more.

Hasn’t failed me yet.

 

[OldMayfield]

I agree with @Roddyboy , keep it simple.

I've had great success with Traeger's Simple Smoked Ribs recipe: https://www.traeger.com/recipes/simple-smoked-ribs. I do check temperature using Traeger's thermocouple (and other probes) rather than simply rely on time. I like to use smoke tubes, but they've been fine without them too. I've had success with 4 hours or so at 180 F prior to the final cook at 350F.

I have not tried the 3-2-1 recipe, but several folks refer to it, including my neighbor who has made great ribs with it.

 

[tclapp1031]

I do a lot of ribs.. I always go with a temp of 250 for 90 minutes, spray with mixture of Apple Juice & Apple cider Vinager (2/3rds apple juice), then spray every 45 minutes after that. Once internal temp reached 180, take off give them a good spray wrap in foil, and cook until internal temp reaches 205.. If you sauce them, put them back on unwrapped, reduce heat to 200 and cook for another 30 minutes. Bones just fall out!!!!

 

[Zerxes]

I have a Pro 34....I set it at 225 (actual temp is closer to 210)...I put my rub on it, leave on the smoker 4-5 hrs. If my family wants sauce, I paint a thin layer of sauce on it 30 minutes before removing. That's all I do. No spritzing. No wrapping. Nothing. Just 220deg for 4-5 hours (you have to look at them to see if they are ready, no probe needed).

 

[Rickyroques]

control your temperature and control your liquid and you will get what you crave, bones falling off. I use the 3-2-1 method that so many others have mentioned. 3 hours at 180 use a mix binder (worsestershire sauce and mustard) and your rub on all over. Let it absorb smoke and no peeking. You are smoking not grilling. Make sure your probe is in the meet and not touching the bones. After three hours it should reach 160-165f. If it doesn’t wait! Then wrap in foils, ideally three layers (as bones can break your foil) and for each rack individually wrapped, add 8 ounces of apple juice or half and half of juice and vinegar. If you like the southern style with sweetness on it warm up some honey, place a thin layer on your ribs and brown sugar on top. Set the heat to 225 while doing this. Seal those ribs well in the foil and 2 hours. Ideal temp of your ribs at the end of this process is 205F. Finally remove the ribs from the foil very carefully as it might break. Place on the grates, rub your sauce and let it ticken for 30 minutes. You will have the ribs you crave.

 

[grill meister]

What are your temps and times?

I usually do St Louis (on my 780) and start at 225 for the first three hours. I’ll spritz with a mixture of cider vinegar and water about every 45 mins or so.

I’ll wrap in foil after about 3 hours. When I wrap I’ll add a little of the mixture, some butter and brown sugar and put them “meat side” down.

Temp goes up to 275 and it takes about 2 hours or so until I unwrap, add sauce, and cook until it’s set. This is kinda the 3-2-1 except I am pretty loose with my times.

I don’t use a smoke tube.

Thanks for posting this ribs info. I've never used the cider vinegar spritz yet but I'd like to start. What is the recommended ratio of vinegar to water? How often do you spritz the meat? Thanks!

 

[Houseboater]

50/50 on the cider mixture works for me....

 

[JPSBBQ]

Still working on perfecting ribs. It’s a wonderful journey. Enjoy!

 

[Slimpicker]

Still working on perfecting ribs. It’s a wonderful journey. Enjoy!

View attachment 10309

I seemed to have regressed since Traeger ... I almost never had a fail in wood/coal smokers.
I got everything else pretty close to perfect enough for a pellet pooper but ribs got me stumped.

 

[JPSBBQ]

I seemed to have regressed since Traeger ... I almost never had a fail in wood/coal smokers.
I got everything else pretty close to perfect enough for a pellet pooper but ribs got me stumped.

I’m a 250-275 rib guy. I also prefer to do Stl cut spares. Usually take about 3.5 hours total. Always wrap spares rarely if ever wrap BB’s. The fattier spares react much better in the wrap. The leaner ribs are difficult to not overcook when wrapping. If I wrap BB’s it’s usually .5-.75 hrs.

Ribs are my single favorite cook.

 

[RayClem]

50/50 on the cider mixture works for me....

I believe the 50/50 mix of vinegar and water is common. Apple cider vinegar is common, but you can use whatever you wish. If you want your spritz to be a little sweeter, you can add apple juice to the mix. I often use 1/3 apple juice, 1/3 apple cider vinegar, and 1/3 water.

 

[Timmy]

Periodically I use

1/3 apple cider vinegar
1/3 apple juice
1/3 your favorite apple beer.

you can also change the mixture to your liking.