First time using 3-2-1 ribs method. Didn't come out as expected...

[AJ in AK]

New to the world of Traeger cooking. Bought myself a Fremont model at Costco for my birthday. Tried the 3-2-1 ribs method and followed the instructions per Traeger website (with videos clips) to the T. Ribs tasted great but didn't have that fall-off-the-bone level of doneness. In fact they were still a bit chewy. Got a wonderful pink "smoke ring" on the meat but expected to be able to pull the meat away effortlessly not chomp and tug it off the bone. Any advice? Does ambient outdoor temp matter much WRT cook time? August here in AK is in mid 50s. Initial 3 hour period was at 185, not 180 because I couldn't get the grill down below 180. Would that matter? During the start of the 2 hour period when rack gets wrapped in foil - When I added to apple juice I felt the foil cool way down because I just took the juice out of the refrigerator. Would that matter?

I had these ribs cooked with this method on a Traeger at a friends house and they were perfect. That meal was huge inspiration for me to buy the Traeger. Any tips would be much appreciated!

 

[Murphy's Law]

There’s a really good chance your ribs may have been under cooked.

I’m not that real familiar with that model but Traeger temp probes are notoriously inaccurate. My Pro 780, for example , is pretty close at 180 but when I bump temp to 225 and above the offset is anywhere from 25 to 40 degrees.

I am cooking a pork shoulder now and I wanted to start the cook at 225 so I set my Traeger to 235. I bump temp to 275 so my Traeger is set to 300.

I am going to grill some corn around 375 so I’ll probably set the Traeger to 425 ish.

Many here use an external thermometer to get an accurate ambient temperature and then set the Traeger at what ever temp we need to hit that temp.

Also always use a good instant read thermometer and cook to temp, not time.

Happy birthday and congratulations on the new purchase!

 

[M.Wong]

I had a similar experience my first time using the Traeger 3-2-1 instructions- The next time I kept it at 225 degrees and I used more wet stuff in the foil wrap stage.

Came out much better the second time around. See the answers I got, as well as post #8 in this link: HERE

 

[MidwestSmoker]

I agree with @Murphy's Law about your undercooking it because the Traeger probes are off. But I also don't think the 3-2-1 method really works. You need more time at the beginning and less time at the end.

I start at around 200 and raise it to 250 after 3 hours. Smaller racks (baby backs) will reach the wrapping stage in about 4 hours, but larger racks (spare ribs) can take up to 5. Once wrapped, it cooks very quickly and is done in 2 hours or less. I don't sauce my ribs, I just serve the sweet sauce on the side.

 

[Newtra]

Another vote here for undercooked. I'm still new to my Traeger, but I noticed the temp prob is not great. If your grill was set to 180, I wouldn't be surprised if you were actually cooking at 165ish. I now set the grill temp approx 15 degrees higher then I actually want to be at, and monitor on my thermopro.

 

[rixer]

By any chance, did you leave the membrane on?

 

[RayClem]

If you want your ribs to be fall off the bone tender, you are going to have to cook them to a higher temperature. You can smoke them at a lower grill temperature to produce more smoke. Keep them in the smoke until they reach a stall temperature somewhere around 160 - 170 F. Then wrap them. If you wrap in foil, it traps all of the moisture and no more smoke can reach the ribs. Thus, you can boost the grill temperature up to 250 F and keep cooking until the ribs reach your desired level of doneness.

If you want firm, chewy ribs, you can unwrap them around 180-190 F. If you want them to fall off the bone, you can cook them to 200-205 F. Ribs experts can look at a rack of ribs or pick them up and look at the way they flex and determine the degree of doneness, but for those who are not experts, the thermometer is the best way to determine what is going on with your ribs. I do not mind chewy ribs, but my wife is not a big fan of ribs, so I try to make them fall off the bone to keep her happy.

The final step is to firm up the bark/sauce by cooking them for an additional hour. As soon as you unwrap the ribs, all the moisture trapped inside the package will begin to evaporate and the internal temperature is likely to drop. Thus, it is best to get the ribs up to your desired temperature before unwrapping them. Otherwise, the final step might take far more than 1 hour.

Although the 3-2-1 method implies a total cook time of 6 hours, when using your grill please do not cook based on time. The time is just a guideline, not an absolute. Always cook to internal temperature. The ribs might be ready in 6 hours, or them might be ready sooner or later.

 

[DarienJim]

You might want to watch this:

 

[DarienJim]

Another vote here for undercooked. I'm still new to my Traeger, but I noticed the temp prob is not great. If your grill was set to 180, I wouldn't be surprised if you were actually cooking at 165ish. I now set the grill temp approx 15 degrees higher then I actually want to be at, and monitor on my thermopro.

Do not really too much on Traegar probe as it can be off by 25 degrees either side of true temp. Invest in a good instant read thermometer.

 

[RonM]

There's a YouTube where one national-level BBQ champion says, "I'd like to kill the guy who invented the 3-2-1 method."