Spare Ribs, done

[oldgreenbean]

Hey JamesB,Dont't laugh at my question,but why are my ribs so dark in color when they are done? They do not look as good as yours.I smoke em open for 3 or 4 hours then wrap em in foil for 2 more.They are always dark & I am not totally happy with them yet.Is there a ROOKIE mistake I might be making?

[JamesB]

Hey OGB, remember there are no dumb questions... We all were all rookies at one time.

First a few questions for you. What temp are you cooking at? What are you using for fuel? Are you using a rub? What ingredients are in the rub? Are you mopping? With what? Do the ribs taste good to you?



This could really be another thread in itself, but I'll be happy to try to help you here. From the pics of your smokin a butt thread, it appears that you are cooking on a smaller offset and maybe cooking with wood only?

We may be covering some ground that you already know and these are my opinions based on personal experience. Others may have differing views.

If you have a lot of sugar in your rub and cooking at too high a temp, the sugar will start to caramelize and possibly burn, leading to a darker color. Also using a mop that is high in sugar can also contribute to a darker color.

The smaller offsets are much more difficult, IMO, to operate on straight wood (I got my start on a Brinkman Smoke-n-Pit.). A small hot clean burning fire is what your after when cooking with all wood. You should not try to choke down the fire with your intake vents and for the most part, you exhaust should always be left wide open. Trying to choke down a wood fire can lead smoldering wood and 'dirty smoke' and that produces creosote. Yep, the same stuff they used to coat railroad ties with. This too can lead to a darker color on the meat.

Different types of wood can also produce a different color on the meat. IE: the few times that I've used cherry, I got a much darker bark on the meat.

On your cooker have you tried to run it with a base of lump or briquettes and use chunks of wood for the smoke?

I'm betting that one or more of the above is the reason... Let's start a new thread and maybe you can post a pic of your ribs etc. and we can get other opinions as well.

James.

[JamesB]

BTW: The pics of the spares in this thread had a glaze applied to them as soon as they came off the pit. This also lightens the color a bit and give's them a bit of a shine.

Here is a pic of some ribs w/o the glaze for comparison.

[JamesB]

Here is an example of some loin backs cooked a bit hotter than I normally with a high sugar rub. They were still very good, but much darker. Don't let the foil in the pic fool ya. I don't wrap ribs until they come off the pit.

[Allie]

Good lookin' ribs and I don't even like them. lol