Just adding my 2 cents to all the good advice you've
already received:


Bilz wrote:
> Yesterday was a beautiful day for a barbecue. I am new to barbecue,
> but I have been very successful so far by following directions and
> having good results come out. So I invited 10 friends over, and
> barbecued up some spare ribs... and they were so tough and chewy that
> they were almost inedible.

Given your description, I'd agree they were under-cooked.

> Here is what I did:
>
> I soaked the ribs overnight in apple juice. I then cured the ribs
> with a dry rub for 4 hours.

My pal Don liked to soak ribs in a mixture of apple juice
and cider vinegar for a couple of hours before cooking. Me,
on the other hand, I like to simply paint the ribs with some
yellow mustard maybe 5-15 minutes before I cook 'em.

In both cases, we apply rub 5-15 minutes before cooking
(for me, I just apply the rub after the mustard).

One time, we cooked two sets of ribs at the same, Don
marinated a few and I painted a few. The marinated ribs
were slightly smaller after cooking, but didn't seem
any less juicy. We could not tell a substantial difference
in taste.

> I used an offset smoker (Silver Smoker from Char Broil). I cooked
> with hickory briquettes (from Royal Oak) and soaked Hickory chunks.
> In the firebox, I put a pan of apple juice for some added moisture.
> The temperature in the smoke box remained between 200 and 300 degrees,
> depending on how recently I opened the box.

Juice and water and stuff in the firebox really doesn't add
moisture to the meat.

> Every 1/2 hour, I opened the smoke box to liberally spray the ribs
> with apple juice. I flipped the ribs, and rotated them so they had
> equal time close to the fire box.

Let me get this right, every half-hour, you open the cookbox
and let all the heat and smoke escape, then sprayed the ribs
with liquid to further cool them down? No wonder they're
undercooked :-).

With a little experience, you'll know when to start checking
your ribs the first time. For me, cooking around 230-260F,
the first check for baby backs is around 3.5 hours. Until
then, I don't touch the cookbox lid, not even to peek. The
only lid you might be opening is the firebox to add fuel, but
otherwise, let the cooker cook and don't try too hard.

> I cooked the ribs for 4.5 hours, and a half an hour before we ate, I
> lathered both sides with my barbecue sauce.
>
> They TASTED pretty good, but they were so tough that they could barely
> be ripped apart. Overall, they were so tough that it was an
> unpleasant experience.
>
> WHERE DID I GO WRONG??????

You tried too hard. Don't fuss over the meat. Don't
open the cookbox until the meat is nearly done. Relax.

The truth be told, I've been there, back when I was starting
out. I fussed over the meat, rubbed it the night before,
mopped with apple juice and vinegar and what-have-you.
Fortunately, I learned a thing or two from the rest of
this fine group, and stopped trying so hard.

Cheers,
Dana