As you already know from many of my Science of Barbecue articles smoking meat is a technique that slowly melts fat and relaxes the collagen in meat allowing water into the muscle fibers creating gelatin. This process is called rendering and it is the main reason why you should cook your ribs past their “done” temperature. If
you are cooking pork ribs past the temperature of doneness, how do you know when the ribs are ready? Ideally, you will smoke or slow roast your ribs using the 3-2-1 technique. This is the easiest rib technique to master and provides fairly consistent results. Prepare and season the ribs with your favorite rub. Preheat your smoker, charcoal grill, or gas grill to 225°F - the ideal temperature for cooking ribs. Smoke/slow cook for 3
hours using indirect heat. Wrap the ribs in foil with some liquid and continue cooking for 2 hours. Unwrap the ribs and cook one more hour, at which point you can sauce and sear, or add another 30 to 60 minutes to slow-cook the sauce on. Why Do You Cook Ribs Past “Done”?The accepted finished temperature of pork is 145°F, however, this has not given the collagen inside your ribs time to become gelatin for that perfect bite. That begins to happen when temperatures inside the meat reach 165°F. Continue cooking ribs until they reach around 195°F to 203°F for maximum render. You can keep an eye on this using a meat thermometer between the bones, however, you need to exercise caution as the meat nearest the bones will register as warmer than the meat in the middle. It can be a tough balance with thicker probe thermometers. How Do You Know When Your Ribs Are Ready?If you find that the probe on your old BBQ meat thermometer isn’t the right size and haven’t gotten yourself a new one, like the Napoleon Bluetooth Wireless BBQ Thermometer, yet, try one of the following techniques. While they’re open to interpretation and definitely not fail-safe, these techniques can be helpful in making sure your ribs are ready for serving. The Bend TestCarefully pick up your ribs using tongs or heat resistant barbecue gloves. You can either bounce them or bend them gently. Cracks should begin to appear on the surface of the meat between the bones. When the ribs nearly break in half from this test, you know they are pretty much there. If only a shallow crack appears, give them a little longer. A variation that avoids breakage, is to try carefully pulling two parallel bones away from each other. If the meat begins to tear, then they’re tender enough to eat. If not, cook for a little while longer. The Twist TestCarefully twist a bone in the middle of your rack of ribs. If the bone begins to break free of the meat – but doesn’t slide out, that means that the ribs are done because the collagen has melted.
The Skewer TestSimply use a thin wooden skewer (like for kebabs) or a toothpick to test the meat. Press it in between two bones and if little to no resistance is met, then the ribs are ready. The Test of TimeLeave your ribs be. Trust in the cooking method of 3-2-1 and don’t worry about it. Generally, it takes between 5 and 7 hours of slow cooking for the thicker spare/side rib, while it only takes 4 or 5 hours to cook. The thing about timed cooking like this is that variables like meat/bone thickness, outdoor temperature, and more can have a direct effect on the length of time it takes to finish your ribs to perfection.
Why should you cook your ribs past done? The long and short(rib) of it is that it provides the collagen and fat in the ribs to melt and render giving you a tastier and more tender outcome. How do you know they’re ready? The best way is to use a BBQ Thermometer to ensure you reach the perfect internal temperature of between 195°F and 203°F. The other tests are open to interpretation and take practice to perfect. How do you make sure your ribs are perfectly done? Share your secret technique, favorite rib recipe, or just your success stories on our social pages like Facebook and Instagram, using the hashtags #BBQRibs and #NapoleonGrills. Happy Grilling! Can pork ribs be pink?Can ribs be pink even after they're cooked? The short answer is yes. In fact, this phenomenon is fairly common with smoked meats. If you've done the job right, a pinkish tinge is not only safe, it's a good sign.
How can you tell if Rib meat is undercooked?Peek-A-Boo Test
If the middle of the meat is still pink with blood, you should continue to put it on the grill and continue cooking. The color in the center of the rib should be white or slightly tanned. If you still see pink color and a little juice, it means the ribs are undercooked.
How do you tell if pork ribs are done with a thermometer?Pork ribs aren't ready to be served until their internal temperature reaches 195° F to 203° F. At this temperature, fat and collagen throughout the meat has broken down and flavored the ribs. This contributes to the overall taste and texture of the ribs.
Are pork ribs pink when cooked?Can ribs be pink? Yes. If you're making smoked ribs, the meat will have a pinkish tinge around the edges (see The Visual Test, below. This is a normal reaction, and it will remain even when the pork is fully cooked.
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