3, 2, 1 Baby Back Ribs recipe left me with shoe leather

[Whjones71]

My first try at ribs on my new Traeger 575. They looked beautiful but were as tough as shoe leather. So disappointing. I wasted 6 hours of my life just to throw them away. Not sure what the hell I did wrong. Pretty devastated right now.

I can only assume I over or under cooked them. Followed the damn recipe from Traeger to a T. Wasted money and time.

Bill

 

[CMTiger]

Undercooked maybe. I don’t really see the bones coming out. Did you temp them? It’s a bit late now and not much of a help, but any time recipes are more like guidelines. Every piece of meat can cook a little differently

 

[Shedd]

Wasting time and money is part of figuring out how to accomplish things in life, especially BBQ! It’s definitely a learning process but ribs are usually easy to cook ……once you figure out what you did wrong.
What temperature did you have your 575 set at?
I don’t cook Baby backs 3-2-1 I cook by looks and feel but I cook at 225 first three hours uncovered. I check and if they have dry places I spritz them with watered down apple cider (not vinegar) during that time. Then I spread butter over foil, drizzle with honey and a little rub, I double wrap them tightly in foil, then I start checking them around 1 1/2 hours until the bones start to show on the ends. The longer you keep them in foil the tender they get. I don’t do a competition style rib I like mine falling off the bone. Actually on baby backs I cook them until the bones will pull out. I like to remove the bones and have them boneless. But that’s me. Some people like to put them back on the grill to firm up and add sauce and such. If that’s what you’re wanting then once the bones start showing and the ribs bend easily then remove from foil and cook until they glaze over. Checking the internal temperature occasionally not to go over 195. Hopefully this helps.

 

[Whjones71]

Wasting time and money is part of figuring out how to accomplish things in life, especially BBQ! It’s definitely a learning process but ribs are usually easy to cook ……once you figure out what you did wrong.
What temperature did you have your 575 set at?
I don’t cook Baby backs 3-2-1 I cook by looks and feel but I cook at 225 first three hours uncovered. I check and if they have dry places I spritz them with watered down apple cider (not vinegar) during that time. Then I spread butter over foil, drizzle with honey and a little rub, I double wrap them tightly in foil, then I start checking them around 1 1/2 hours until the bones start to show on the ends. The longer you keep them in foil the tender they get. I don’t do a competition style rib I like mine falling off the bone. Actually on baby backs I cook them until the bones will pull out. I like to remove the bones and have them boneless. But that’s me. Some people like to put them back on the grill to firm up and add sauce and such. If that’s what you’re wanting then once the bones start showing and the ribs bend easily then remove from foil and cook until they glaze over. Checking the internal temperature occasionally not to go over 195. Hopefully this helps.

 

[Whjones71]

The traeger recipe was 180 for 3 hours no foil with high smoke. Then 225 for 2 hours in foil. Then 225 30 min no foil to firm up the bbq sauce.

 

[Whjones71]

I have a sneaking suspicion that my grill isn't getting up to temp despite what the digital readout is saying. I'm going to go buy an analog oven thermometer to verify that the internal temp of the grill is accurate.

 

[CMTiger]

I have a sneaking suspicion that my grill isn't getting up to temp despite what the digital readout is saying. I'm going to go buy an analog oven thermometer to verify that the internal temp of the grill is accurate.

Your actual pit temp is almost certainly not what’s showing on the the Traeger. Most of us here use some sort of third party set up to monitor both the ambient and protein temp

 

[Whjones71]

Your actual pit temp is almost certainly not what’s showing on the the Traeger. Most of us here use some sort of third party set up to monitor both the ambient and protein temp

For $800 I feel like it should be accurate. What's the point if the grill is a piece of crap? I'll take it back and get something far cheaper and then buy a third party temp monitor separately. Ugh.

 

[CMTiger]

For $800 I feel like it should be accurate. What's the point if the grill is a piece of crap? I'll take it back and get something far cheaper and then buy a third party temp monitor separately. Ugh.

It’s not a piece of crap. It’s sucks, but it is what it is. For $50 you can get an InkBird and churn on some great meals. Or take it back. I’m sure other grills are good too. My friend has a cheap pit boss and he loves it, but it doesn’t have the wifi capabilities

 

[Shedd]

For $800 I feel like it should be accurate. What's the point if the grill is a piece of crap? I'll take it back and get something far cheaper and then buy a third party temp monitor separately. Ugh.

In all honesty, all grills $10,000 or $200.00 will not always be the “true temperature” and it varies depending on many factors. Traeger does have a reputation of it not being accurate but it’s always best to use/have another probe to compare with, it’s part of grilling. Especially some good ones that you can trust. I have friends that have about any type of grill/smoker available and they also use a third party. It’s kinda like a chef has more than one knife.
I have a 780 Pro but it doesn’t have the Super Smoke however to me it doesn’t make any sense to extend a cook time for such little if any difference in smoke. That’s 45 degrees lower from the standard 225, so that alone can allow the ribs to dry out unless you spritz them regularly. You could do a little research on this forum and you’ll figure it all out. Very few people have great success right from the start but it’s part of a learning curve. Welcome to the forum, please don’t think myself or anyone else is giving you a hard time, just trying to help because that’s what this forum is all about. None of us are perfect and we all have done exactly what you just did. It’ll definitely get better.

 

[Whjones71]

In all honesty, all grills $10,000 or $200.00 will not always be the “true temperature” and it varies depending on many factors. Traeger does have a reputation of it not being accurate but it’s always best to use/have another probe to compare with, it’s part of grilling. Especially some good ones that you can trust. I have friends that have about any type of grill/smoker available and they also use a third party. It’s kinda like a chef has more than one knife.
I have a 780 Pro but it doesn’t have the Super Smoke however to me it doesn’t make any sense to extend a cook time for such little if any difference in smoke. That’s 45 degrees lower from the standard 225, so that alone can allow the ribs to dry out unless you spritz them regularly. You could do a little research on this forum and you’ll figure it all out. Very few people have great success right from the start but it’s part of a learning curve. Welcome to the forum, please don’t think myself or anyone else is giving you a hard time, just trying to help because that’s what this forum is all about. None of us are perfect and we all have done exactly what you just did. It’ll definitely get better.

I'm just very disappointed right now. I'll be better tomorrow and ready to try again. I'm definitely going out and buying an analog oven thermometer to put inside the grill but what third party temp monitor brand and model do you, and everyone else, use, at least until i get a few hundred bbqs under my belt and can go by feel?

 

[Shedd]

I’m in a different situation than some people here, I have a big group of friends that either like myself,mainly cook for the joy of it but some of them either have restaurants or food trucks and a couple just like to spend cash to see what results it can find. I’ve used every type of third party probe out there but I find myself using a plain therm pro the most. I just got a couple MEATER’s to try out but it’s not about the price but reliability. Check your meat probe (it’ll be in the calibration section of your instructions. If you get a third party probe check it too. I check /calibrate my probes before every cook. A few degrees isn’t a big deal but it’s more about learning how and what to look for. You’ll get it then you’ll be hooked!

 

[CMTiger]

I'm just very disappointed right now. I'll be better tomorrow and ready to try again. I'm definitely going out and buying an analog oven thermometer to put inside the grill but what third party temp monitor brand and model do you, and everyone else, use, at least until i get a few hundred bbqs under my belt and can go by feel?

I have this one. It’s $100 now, but Amazon always has sales on these. I got it half off. 4 probes and wifi capabilities. The thing is for lots of cooks I need more than one probe anyway so this is a nice option. Lots of folks here use fireboard, but that will cost you a whole lot more

https://www.amazon.com/Inkbird-Thermometer-Rechargeable-Wireless-Calibration/dp/B07XNTJKY4/ref=asc_df_B07XNTJKY4/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=563656725342&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=7442210017640783999&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9032810&hvtargid=pla-950622599429&psc=1&th=1

 

[CMTiger]

A good instant read is also a must. I have a thermapen mk4…..it’s just the model prior to the one I’m linking below. There are much less expensive options out there that probably do fine. InkBird apparently has one too now.

Thermapen® ONE

Specializing in cool, unique and professional temperature tools. Super-Fast thermocouples, thermistors, infrared thermometers, data logging and more.

www.thermoworks.com

 

[CC Clarke]

As taught by our instructor at a Traeger Shop class, "Good BBQ is the result of a lot of bad BBQ". Coming from a famous Pit Boss, this was kind of sobering. I struggled with consistency, (after using the Traeger recipes) until that class. My learning curve is a lot flatter these days; experience is the best teacher after sitting in front of one with ample to share.

1. When you're learning a new recipe (sorry, this is grill does not have a Staples "Easy" button, as the ads would have you believe) always document what it says and how your results come out. Temps, times, etc. It may take a couple of tries, (learning isn't cheap, but constant failures are more so) but eventually, you'll find the sweet spot that has your grill turn out consistently excellent food - barring a bad cut of meat.

2. Prepare the ribs. Are you removing most of the excess fat and the clear membrane?

3. For the beginning smoke phase, I spray my ribs with apple juice every 30 minutes. Later, I make an aluminum foil pouch and fill it with some apple juice before sealing the meat inside.

4. Cook to temp. Always have a hand-held thermometer available. (I really like the accuracy of the Meater, but have had good experiences with the (cabled) iGrill from Weber. Two Traeger flip-out, digital thermometers died within two months, so I moved on to the two afore-mentioned thermometers on both of my grills.

Now that the pandemic seems less dire, I highly recommend attending a Shop class. They're not only a lot of fun, but you'll learn things that might take years to figure out otherwise.

Oh yeah, you get an excellent meal of each of the recipes taught in the lesson guide too!