3-2-1 Pork Spare Ribs

OK- here's my question:

How well does the 3-2-1 method work if you're using a rib rack. Does it work at all?

Interesting question....I wonder if anyone has tried it?

Hi, I know I am new here but here is how I cook my ribs. I cook them out of the foil for 2 hours. I spay them with an apple juice/cherry juice/red cooking vinager mix about twice in the first hour. In the second hour I use head country BBQ sauce (headcountry.com). I then wrap them in heavy duty foil for 2 hours. Then I put them back on the pit for 1 hour and 15 minutes out of the foil. Before I put them back on the pit unfoiled I use the glaze that I developed for competitions. That glaze does contain Texas Pepper Jelly. I use the pineapple habenaro(sp?) I cook at or around 222f. I always cook bone side down. I trim them St. Louis style.

This method earned me a first place trophy last weekend. I know its different than what yall are doing but I thought I would share it. Nice to meet yall.

CanadaBBQGuy wrote:

OK- here's my question:

How well does the 3-2-1 method work if you're using a rib rack. Does it work at all?

I use a modified 3-2-1 (3-1.5-1.5) with my racks all the time with no problem.

My rib racks are kinda wide though.

They are the type made by Charcoal Companion that also double as a roast rack when flipped upside down.

397 you got any pictures of those first place ribs? Congrats!!!

Does anybody see any problem with using a 3-2-1 method with a gasser and smoke boxes? I've been commissioned to do some ribs for my father-in-law for his birthday this weekend, and the "First-Timer's Ribs" I did last time were a little too chewy for my taste.

As long as you can keep the temperature low, near 225°, it should work. Being as the ribs are actually being cooked indirect, the 3-2-1 times may need to be shorter to compensate so keep an eye on them.

I am going to use this method (3-2-1) to cook spare ribs this weekend.

Murman

CanadaBBQGuy wrote:

OK- here's my question:

How well does the 3-2-1 method work if you're using a rib rack. Does it work at all?

When they're in foil, you don't need the rib rack. You can stack'em on top of each other since you're not looking for smoke/heat to surround the rib as you would in a rib rack.

Return 'em to the rack when you take 'em out of the foil.

In the 2 3/4 years since I asked the question above I've actually given up the 3-2-1 method altogether. I've been able to turn out excellent ribs with no foiling at all. But it's good to know that the method still works anyway.

CanadaBBQGuy wrote:

In the 2 3/4 years since I asked the question above I've actually given up the 3-2-1 method altogether. I've been able to turn out excellent ribs with no foiling at all. But it's good to know that the method still works anyway.

I've never used the 3-2-1 or its variations of it. My money is used to purchase more meat instead of more foil.
Less time is spent just messin' with stuff, like foiling and unfoiling meats. And more time is spent to enjoy my favorite beverages while the ribs are smoking.

jazzspot wrote:

CanadaBBQGuy wrote:

In the 2 3/4 years since I asked the question above I've actually given up the 3-2-1 method altogether. I've been able to turn out excellent ribs with no foiling at all. But it's good to know that the method still works anyway.

I've never used the 3-2-1 or its variations of it. My money is used to purchase more meat instead of more foil.
Less time is spent just messin' with stuff, like foiling and unfoiling meats. And more time is spent to enjoy my favorite beverages while the ribs are smoking.

Ditto. The only time my ribs get foiled is when I'm finished cooking and want to let them rest.

I cooked five racks of ribs in my Dome the other day, and just sprayed them with apple cider at hour 4. Glazed some of them racks w/ bbq sauce and cranked up the heat 30 minutes before pulling them. They turned out fine.

These were the Danish ribs... not too meaty, but not much fat either. The upside is they were not greasy. That was also the downside

So those of you who don't 3-2-1 can you post your method... is it just 6 hrs in the rib rack spraying every so often?

jmartis wrote:

So those of you who don't 3-2-1 can you post your method... is it just 6 hrs in the rib rack spraying every so often?

I use my BDS for smoking, which is smoking/cooking directly over the charcoal (24+ inches of clearance between the food grate and the charcoal basket) without the use of a water pan or other barrier between the food and the charcoal, I maintain a temp of 225-250, start bone-side down, I flip my slabs every 45 minutes... minimum spraying. I may spray them once or twice. If I use a rib rack, I flip or turn over the slabs every two hours. Smoke until I know they are done. I use time as a tool, not as a rule for when my ribs are done. Not all slabs cook to my satisfaction of doneness at the same time. I use the bend test of the slabs to check for doneness. Pull the slab off the smoker and wrap in HD foil with a few sprays of apple juice, allow to rest 30-45 minutes.

Whichever type of smoker/grill I would use for smoking ribs or other meats, is to ensure the smoker/grill thermometer is accurate and I would use the bend test to determine when the ribs are done. When I used to use my CG for smoking, I would lay the slabs on the cooking grates bone-side down the whole time (maybe flip once or twice depending on if I wanted something to do ) and move the slabs around the main chamber once just to cook in different areas being wary of the hotter temp by the SFB. I would spray them with apple juice every hour very quickly and close the lid. The one process I NEVER used, was the 3-2-1 process. And I probably will never use that process.