Ironwood 885 (First overnight cook)

[RemE]

He doesn’t say what his IT’s are, so really no way of knowing what went wrong.
Personally, I don’t like 3-2-1 ribs, because they are usually fall off the bone (over cooked). Sounds like his were undercooked

That's the thing with ribs, everyone has their preferred doneness. Some like some bite, others (like me) like fall-off-the-bone.

I agree, this was under cooked.

 

[SRC NC]

Figure I’d reach out since I see you’re a moderator. Yesterday I did the 3-2-1 ribs method using the Traeger app. I’m going to jot down what I did for you to critique if you don’t mind. Pretty underwhelming first experience.
1) Took Out of fridge an hour before cook. Took off the silver skin, rubbed w mustard and seasoned w meat church rubs.
2) 180 for 3 hours
3) Wrapped, added brown sugar, honey and butter.
4) 225 for 2 hours
5) Unwrapped, sauced and put back on smoker
6) 225 for 1 hour

it came out tough and sauce never tightened. Flavor was good but fell short of expectations by a long shot. I didn’t attach my igrill ambient probe to the grill rack to monitor the internal temp of the smoker bc I’m assuming for what the 885 cost the temp reported out to the display and app would be accurate. But thinking about it today I thought possibly it wasn’t cooking at the appropriate temperature.

Any feedback at all is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

I would go with RemE but I have a TL 850 and the temp isn’t even close to what I program in, what the probe in the meat reads is also off. The temp I program in is off +20 degrees at least! I now have a fireboard2 and it was the best investment I have made. I can now make all the adjustments I need while using the TL and their meat probes are right on too. Much better success with cooks and ribs come out phenominal.

 

[RemE]

I would go with RemE but I have a TL 850 and the temp isn’t even close to what I program in, what the probe in the meat reads is also off. The temp I program in is off +20 degrees at least! I now have a fireboard2 and it was the best investment I have made. I can now make all the adjustments I need while using the TL and their meat probes are right on too. Much better success with cooks and ribs come out phenominal.

My point was that the grill holds a set temp, if you set it to 180 it will hold close to that setting. BUT, the problem is that this 180 temperature might be inaccurate. Using a Fireboard to monitor the grill and setting the Traeger's temp to whatever number is needed. So for example, I set my grill to 185F and the Fireboard reads 200F. The grill maintains 185 but the actual temp is 200F.

I mentioned before, with a tool like Fireboard, you develop a "map" on what grill settings equate to actual measured temps.

So the grill's are stable but inaccurate.

 

[Slimpicker]

So, now I held off long enough.... I've done hundreds of ribs but never on a Traeger yet, and NEVER EVER as low as 180°, that would be an almost impossible temp on ANY smoker I've ever owned, even my Ugly Drum Smoker. So, for the most part, the 3-2-1 method was NOT invented with the Traeger in mind at all... these are Ribs that cook at 225° at the LOWEST for 3 hours, 2 in foil, and Usually when they come out of foil they are DONE, mine ONLY go back on the grill to harden the BBQ sauce if I want to, sometimes I don't care.

3-2-1 has been around WAY BEFORE any Traeger was a 'home' item and most wood/coal smokers can't even maintain a temp as low as 180°, I NEVER tried to, and I've never made a bad batch of ribs ever...

Ribs are FAIL PROOF, if they are UNDER DONE then cook more, either wrapped or not. If they are OVER DONE and dry, put them in a sealed turkey roaster, add thinned out BBQ sauce (just like pork steaks) and cook them for another hour or 2, they will COME BACK TO LIFE!!!!
►If they already are FALL OFF and you don't like them FALL OFF the bone, THEN make PULLED RIB MEAT!!!! You'll LOVE IT. Get rid of the bones, chop the meat up, add BBQ sauce, and make a Sandwich just like PULLED PORK!!!!
We have a local BBQ restaurant that sells JUST THAT!! PULLED RIB sandwiches!!

 

[SRC NC]

My point was that the grill holds a set temp, if you set it to 180 it will hold close to that setting. BUT, the problem is that this 180 temperature might be inaccurate. Using a Fireboard to monitor the grill and setting the Traeger's temp to whatever number is needed. So for example, I set my grill to 185F and the Fireboard reads 200F. The grill maintains 185 but the actual temp is 200F.

I mentioned before, with a tool like Fireboard, you develop a "map" on what grill settings equate to actual measured temps.

So the grill's are stable but inaccurate.

I was trying to make that point but I actually was needlessly a bit more long winded! I think having a way to get the correct temp is crucial to having good experiences and then all enjoy the product! Once the correct temp is set, the Traeger does a great job at holding that as I have found with the FireBoard.

 

[JamesB]

So, now I held off long enough.... I've done hundreds of ribs but never on a Traeger yet, and NEVER EVER as low as 180°, that would be an almost impossible temp on ANY smoker I've ever owned, even my Ugly Drum Smoker. So, for the most part, the 3-2-1 method was NOT invented with the Traeger in mind at all... these are Ribs that cook at 225° at the LOWEST for 3 hours, 2 in foil, and Usually when they come out of foil they are DONE, mine ONLY go back on the grill to harden the BBQ sauce if I want to, sometimes I don't care.

3-2-1 has been around WAY BEFORE any Traeger was a 'home' item and most wood/coal smokers can't even maintain a temp as low as 180°, I NEVER tried to, and I've never made a bad batch of ribs ever...

Ribs are FAIL PROOF, if they are UNDER DONE then cook more, either wrapped or not. If they are OVER DONE and dry, put them in a sealed turkey roaster, add thinned out BBQ sauce (just like pork steaks) and cook them for another hour or 2, they will COME BACK TO LIFE!!!!
►If they already are FALL OFF and you don't like them FALL OFF the bone, THEN make PULLED RIB MEAT!!!! You'll LOVE IT. Get rid of the bones, chop the meat up, add BBQ sauce, and make a Sandwich just like PULLED PORK!!!!

EXACTLY! I agree with that 1000%!
I’m in my mid 70’s, my grandfather used to own a butcher and BBQ shop, and sold meat cut and or cooked to order. He had a big ol brick pit behind his shop where he cooked the meat, and by the time I was 15, I was the “chief cook and bottle washer”. Back then, we didn’t wrap anything in anything (leave it wrapped to long, and it’s easy to mistake fall off the bone done for just plain mushy). No fancy thermometers back then either, learned to tell how hot the pit was by how long I could hold my hand over the grills. Learned to tell the doneness by look and feel.
I almost never wrap ribs, because the gain by doing so is so small, that it makes it almost not worth the trouble. Spareribs cooked at 225-250 are gonna be done in 5-6 hours, and it’s easy to tell, by looking at them, and then verify by picking up one end.

 

[RemE]

So, now I held off long enough.... I've done hundreds of ribs but never on a Traeger yet, and NEVER EVER as low as 180°, that would be an almost impossible temp on ANY smoker I've ever owned, even my Ugly Drum Smoker. So, for the most part, the 3-2-1 method was NOT invented with the Traeger in mind at all... these are Ribs that cook at 225° at the LOWEST for 3 hours, 2 in foil, and Usually when they come out of foil they are DONE, mine ONLY go back on the grill to harden the BBQ sauce if I want to, sometimes I don't care.

3-2-1 has been around WAY BEFORE any Traeger was a 'home' item and most wood/coal smokers can't even maintain a temp as low as 180°, I NEVER tried to, and I've never made a bad batch of ribs ever...

Ribs are FAIL PROOF, if they are UNDER DONE then cook more, either wrapped or not. If they are OVER DONE and dry, put them in a sealed turkey roaster, add thinned out BBQ sauce (just like pork steaks) and cook them for another hour or 2, they will COME BACK TO LIFE!!!!
►If they already are FALL OFF and you don't like them FALL OFF the bone, THEN make PULLED RIB MEAT!!!! You'll LOVE IT. Get rid of the bones, chop the meat up, add BBQ sauce, and make a Sandwich just like PULLED PORK!!!!
We have a local BBQ restaurant that sells JUST THAT!! PULLED RIB sandwiches!!

SAGE ADVICE, Thanks!!

 

[Timmy]

This was my last rib cook. You be the judge. They were pretty much done at the 5 hr mark.

Sat Jan 23 Session

Auto-created session

share.fireboard.io

I fix them this way all the time, no issues. My family and friends cant get enough of them. And they are fall off the bone, not mushy.

 

[Slimpicker]

This was my last rib cook. You be the judge. They were pretty much done at the 5 hr mark.

Sat Jan 23 Session

Auto-created session

share.fireboard.io

I fix them this way all the time, no issues. My family and friends cant get enough of them. And they are fall off the bone, not mushy.

Like I said, FAIL PROOF!!! Once you find your groove and they are as DONE as you want them then that's it!!

As your temps say, to me, 180° is just flat out too low, OR do them at 180° but they won't be done in 5 hours

 

[Timmy]

Like I said, FAIL PROOF!!! Once you find your groove and they are as DONE as you want them then that's it!!

As your temps say, to me, 180° is just flat out too low, OR do them at 180° but they won't be done in 5 hours

I know, its weird, i feel if i cooked them at a higher temp they'd be done in like an instant. But this is how i taught myself how to cookem, so i dont know any better.