Wrapped or Unwrapped? The Rib Debate Settled?
Wrapped vs Unwrapped St. Louis Ribs on the Pitts & Spitts
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Introduction
Wrapped or Unwrapped Ribs: Which Wins?
Hey everybody, Jake here. Wrapping ribs is something I've gone back and forth on for years. In some cooks the wrapped rack won, and in my recent 4-1-1 video the unwrapped one came out on top. So I decided to settle it with six racks of St. Louis ribs on my Pitts & Spitts, all cooked the same and seasoned the same, with the wrap as the only change.
The Prep
I picked up six racks of St. Louis style ribs from Costco. Nothing special, but they needed a trim: there were bones on top, big meat flaps at the end, and a lot of extra fat. I left the membrane on, since I haven't bothered removing it in a while.
The seasoning was simple, salt and pepper. I used my Pepper Cannon (use code RUMANDCOOK for 10% off) and a seasoned salt I like because it has a little texture.
The Setup
For fuel I used Bear Mountain's gourmet barbecue blend pellets, which mix oak, hickory, apple and cherry, and I added some pecan wood on top. When it comes to smoking wood, there are no rules. Use what's available where you live and mix it up until you find what you like.
This was my first cook with the new digital controller on the Pitts & Spitts, and I set it to 250°F. I let the fire starter burn for about six minutes before turning the grill on, because if the flame isn't established, the fan can blow it out. I also slid the heat deflector over about four inches to even out the temperature from left to right.
The Cook
Three racks went on the middle rack and the rest went up top. I pushed the racks together so the meat was bunched up, since I only wanted to touch them once. Then I left them alone, adding one wood chunk at about 45 minutes. The top and bottom racks cook a little differently, so I rotated them around to keep things even.
At about 3 hours and 45 minutes, the racks were all between roughly 168°F and 180°F. I picked three and wrapped them in paper. I don't use foil for this, because it pushes out too much moisture unless you're wrapping with a glaze. I also changed how the wrapped racks sat in the paper, meat side up on some and meat side down on others.
About an hour later, at the 5 hour and 45 minute mark, everything came off. I let the ribs rest for 20 minutes before cutting in.
The Results
I pulled one rib from the center of each rack and tasted them side by side. There was no sauce on any of them, which is probably the most ribs I've ever cooked without it. They all had a good smoke ring and great flavor, and honestly, if you judge on flavor alone, you can't tell the difference.
The difference was moisture. The rack that I wrapped meat side down was the one that stood out. It was about 10 to 20 percent juicier, which isn't a huge gap, but you can notice it on the tongue. The unwrapped racks and the meat side up wraps were neck and neck. I wish I had done two racks meat side down to double confirm, so treat this as one data point.
Final Thoughts
Here's my takeaway: smoke for about four hours, then wrap for an hour to an hour and a half depending on your temperatures, and put the rack meat side down in the paper. That said, every one of these ribs was phenomenal, so don't stress if you skip the wrap. Don't take my word for it, though. Try it at home. If there's something else you want me to test, leave a comment and I'll make it happen.
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Thanks For Watching
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