How Can You Tell if the Ribs Are Done? (Explained)

Smoked or grilled ribs are always a guest favorite when you are hosting family or friends for a BBQ.

We will now look at a few expert-recommended steps you can follow to serve the best-grilled ribs to your guests.

So, how can you tell when your ribs are done? There are around six different ways to determine when your ribs are done, but chefs, cooks, and BBQ enthusiasts agree that you should never rely on any one method on its own.

Quick Summary

Ways to Know When Ribs Are Done

• An internal temperature of 175-180°F
• The meat should be a mahogany color
• The bones should be exposed
• A rack of ribs will bend downward when it’s picked up
• A wood skewer will easily pass through the meat
• The rack should be very flexible when you pick it up

What Temperature Are Ribs When Done?

According to the USDA, pork ribs are done when they reach an internal temperature of 145°F [1].

However, your ribs can still be undercooked on the smoker at this temperature. It’s safe to say that you can keep your ribs on the smoker until the temperature reaches 175-180°F.

At this point, the fat in the ribs will have rendered down, and this will give your ribs that added flavor and juiciness.

Read More: Internal Temperature Chart for Pork Ribs

How To Tell If Pork Ribs Are Done Without A Thermometer

It’s not always easy to get an accurate reading on a thermometer when it comes to ribs; you need to know precisely where to probe the meat.

Even smoking enthusiasts and BBQ professionals use methods to tell if the ribs are done that involve looking at and touching the meat.

To tell if your ribs are finished smoking without a thermometer, you can follow these easy steps:

1. The color of your ribs: When your rib rack is finished, it will be a mahogany color on the outside. An important point to keep in mind is that you can’t rely on the color alone to tell since marinades or spices can often affect the color as well.
2. The bones: The meat on the rack of ribs will retract to expose about three-quarters of an inch of the bones when the ribs are finished. Another related point is that, when done, the meat will be easy to separate from the rib bone.
3. The bend test: To do the rib bend test, hold the rib rack on one end with a pair of tongs. How do you know if the bend test is successful? Your cooked pork ribs will bend downwards, and some cracks may form in the crust.
4. Wooden Skewer/Toothpick test: Take a wooden kebab skewer and probe it into the meat between the rib bone. You will know that your ribs are finished if they penetrate the meat without resistance, almost like piercing butter.
5. The flexibility of the ribs: You will be able to tell if the ribs are finished using a twist test to determine the flexibility of the meat. If you hold the rack of ribs in the middle, it will bend downwards at the ends and be slightly springy when you jiggle it up and down.

What Is the 3-2-1 Method for Smoking the Ribs?

Many rib smoking experts recommend following the 3-2-1 method for smoking the ribs, which essentially involves breaking the smoking time up into hours.

First, leave the pork ribs uncovered in the smoker for three hours with a dry rub of seasoning.

After three hours, wrap your ribs in aluminum foil with a marinated liquid covering the ribs.

You will then smoke this for another two hours. At this point, you can also check to see how much rib bone is exposed. Finally, baste your pork ribs with your favorite barbeque sauce for the last hour.

Using the 3-2-1 method will give you perfectly cooked ribs that are fall-off-the-bone tender, but this is overcooked in the opinion of some experts. These enthusiasts insist it’s better to use the 2-2-1 rule to cook ribs.

What is the 2-2-1 Rule for Smoking Ribs?

The 2-2-1 rule is best followed when you are smoking baby back ribs.

These ribs have a lower fat content, so they can dry out much faster, which means that a shorter cooking time is recommended.

This method is also ideal for those who prefer their ribs less overcooked than the 3-2-1 method does them.

To ensure that your ribs stay tender and juicy, cook them uncovered for two hours.

Then, wrap them in aluminum foil with your favorite BBQ sauce and cook them for two hours.

After this, you can remove the foil from the spare ribs and cook it for the remaining hour.

How To Tell If My Ribs Are Undercooked

Uncooked ribs are tough due to the meat’s connective tissue fat.

Cooking the ribs breaks down the fat, loosening the connective tissue and making the ribs juicy and flavorful.

By using the low and slow cooking process while ensuring that your smoker is at the correct internal temperature, you can serve up some of the best, tender, and juicy ribs.

How Do I Avoid Overcooking My Ribs

Firstly, you must reach the optimal smoking temperature of 225°F to avoid overcooked ribs [2].

Maintain this cooking temperature to smoke the ribs low and slow (meaning, at a lower temperature for a longer duration). This method will ensure that you serve ribs that are not overcooked.

When you’ve been smoking a rack of ribs at a higher cooking temperature for too long or even too fast, you might find that your ribs are tough, chewy, and dry.

Smoke them at 225°F for about five to six hours for the best-smoked ribs.

Read More: Controlling the Temperature in the Smoker

Beef Ribs Vs Pork Ribs

When people mention ribs, they probably refer to pork ribs rather than beef ribs. But what about beef ribs? How do I tell if my beef ribs are finished?

Beef ribs will take longer to cook before they are done since beef ribs are a bigger cut of meat than pork ribs.

With your smoker’s temperature at 285°F, your beef ribs will have to spend about eight to nine hours in the smoker.

How Do I Tell if My Beef Ribs Are Done?

When your beef ribs are finished, the reading on a meat thermometer should show about 203°F.

You can also determine the rib doneness using the toothpick test, inserting a wooden kebab or toothpick into the succulent meat between two bones.

If it goes in effortlessly, you can confidently say that your beef ribs passed the toothpick test.

Related Articles:

• How Long to Let Ribs Rest
• How Long Do Ribs Take to Grill
• How Long Should You Boil Ribs Before Grilling

References:

1. https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/meat/fresh-pork-farm-table/
2. https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/food-safety-basics/smoking-meat-and-poultry