It's really easy to burn ribs on the pellet smoker. Typically I'll use the 3-2-1 method because it's easy and consistent. Took me a bit to really get the recipie down on this particular cooking method vs charcoal,offset etc.
Why ribs burn on a pellet grill
There's a couple different factors to this.
The first is that the heat is centered in the little burn box on the bottom and rises up. An offset cooker will typically cook in a more convective type of way that will avoid hot spots. To mitigate this on a pellet cooker, place your ribs on the top rack with a water pan beneath. I usually use a dispisable foil pan for this.
The second, too much sugar. Sweet sauces are nice and all but putting sugary stuff on the ribs too early and at too high of a temperature will always cause burning. Try to stick with a lower sugar sauce for the final stages or keep the heat a bit lower during the final cooking stages (not necessarily recommended).
The third reason is dryness. If you wrap your ribs without a little butter and apple cider vinegar, they'll dry out and get too hot inside the foil. The butter and apple cider vinegar helps to braise and tenderize the meat, rendering the fat. You can cook at 300F and above this way, and the end product will be extremely moist and tender.
As a side note, loin back ribs are much not forgiving as well than something like st Louis and baby back. Personally I can't stand chewy ribs that have unrendered fat so I'll always cook hot after the 3 hour smoke absorption phase.
Yep. Low and slow is the way to smoke meat. I didn't get a deer this year so trout fishing is on the calendar. Brined and smoked rainbow are delicious.
Yup. Still though don't forget a bit of heat at the end to render all the fat out and get the collagen nice and soft. I need to go fishing more this next year
Wrong. You don’t need to raise the temperature. Just wait until it’s tender. It is a function of time as well as temperature. Don’t go over 300F and you won’t burn the sugar. You are rushing things for no good reason.
~230F (110F). 3-2-1 is ok, although it isn't necessary. (That's why they call it a crutch).
Start early, be patient. Don't add a ton of sugary sauces until final round. You can rub with sugar in the beginning. If your looking, it ain't cooking.
Always smoke with water, or water / apple juice mix. Moisture is critical. Relax, take it slow. Have a drink and enjoy life.
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Start early, be patient. Don't add a ton of sugary sauces until final round. You can rub with sugar in the beginning. If your looking, it ain't cooking.
Always smoke with water, or water / apple juice mix. Moisture is critical. Relax, take it slow. Have a drink and enjoy life.
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