Smoke Ring Question

[Funfoodie]

Howdy! I haven't posted in a long time, but hadn't been doing much on the bbq.

I purchased a Weber One-Touch Gold with Smokenator and smoked the ribs that are the green tray a few months ago. I did two racks of pork ribs with one rack being on the Smokenator's Hovergrill over the other rack at 200-225 degrees for 6-7 hours (if I remember correctly)

I now have purchased the Char-Griller Duo 5050 with side smoke box and smoked ribs that are on the yellow plate a couple of days ago. I did two racks of baby back ribs side by side at 225-250 degrees for 4 hours.

Both tasted delicious (in my opinion). I believe the texture of the recent ribs (yellow plate) was a bit more soft, but was not falling off the bone.

The smoke rings are definitely different as the 1st ribs had a darker pink ring and the 2nd ribs had a light pink throughout. What should they look like and what do competition judges look for?

[Que'a Syde]

The smoke rings are definitely different as the 1st ribs had a darker pink ring and the 2nd ribs had a light pink throughout. What should they look like and what do competition judges look for?

I can tell u from the kcbs standpoint a smokering on ribs is not looked at...im not sure bout the other ruling bodies but ive always been told that its the appearance of the meat the look, as far as the outside, color-presentation arrangment-sauce.. they want it to looks so tasty they cant wait to dive in..but u dont want goopy glops of sauce or schmeers all over the box either and no pooling of sauce in the bottom..meat has to be one bite awsome..and be able to bite through without the entire rib pulling away from the bone..ie overcoooked..or too tough..ie undercooked..Im still learning myslef but this is what i have gleaned from my meer 2 years of studyin the aspects b4 i dove into comps...but ther are others that have WAY more exp that will chime in im sure...good luck and those ribs looked tasty... And the diff on smokering intensity will come from how long ur ribs were exposed to the smoke in cooking as well as to what type of wood u were using to smoke with...I think...lol...

[3 star redneck]

Smoke ring is not a part it the judging criteria in Texas bbq cook offs.

[Funfoodie]

Thank you so much for your responses! I am not planning on doing comps anytime soon, but have been watching a lot of the bbq shows on cable and they make it seem that the bark & ring are critical.

So there is not a particular "look" of the ring that you have to worry about...just that it has one? I thought it had to be graduated color to the bone.

I do understand that the meat has to be tender yet stay on the bone...leave a bite imprint is what I have heard.

[3 star redneck]

you are correct...If you smoke with wood you will alway have a smoke ring...

[n2dabluebbq]

something to consider is that a smoke ring can be chemically induced. there was a time when smoking meat induced it, but alas you can't count on that anymore(sad).
as far as your results go, there will a difference between the way a upright cooks vs a offset. also the amount of wood vs charcoal used for fuel.

[RWBTEX]

Most judges don't like real pink ribs, its a mental thing about being raw even if they are not, a little ring is okay but not too much for better scores. A well cooked and juicy tasty rib is always a winner at comps and at home with family and friends.

[jtilk]

Never really heard judges caring much about a smoke ring on ribs... primarily it's brisket. Having a brisket exposed to smoke for atleast 4 hrs will generally take care of it. If you want a little more "assistance" with adding a ring, see if you can find a rub that is somewhat high in salt. Smoke rings are cause by nitric acid in the meat and salt helps bring it to the top, forming the outter ring.

[txngent]

It is a known fact that an uneducated judge will judge more on appearance than what an educated judge. This is why some will alter the appearance with a "helper" called Tender Quick. Applying Tender Quick or other curing salts will give a pink/red ring around the meat even if you cook it in the oven. Too much or too long absorption time will give the meat a real dark red color. This is one of the main problems with cooking ribs that are "enhanced" as this is generally a salty brine type injection and will render a pink/dark red color as well as give the meat a "hammy" taste. I've seem people chosen to judge (not calling them judges), that would table talk about how the smoke ring shows a good smoke time... by the time a table judge could shut them up, it is too late to take the image out of the other chosen people's mind.

From what I gather the Texas BBQ comps are generally the same teachings.... we are judging the taste and textue... not the appearance as much, hence the non-presence of greenery on the turn in. However, I just have always been brought up that it has to look good enough to eat before you want to eat it. Well, till I started getting hungry!