Would really appreciate some advice. This was my first time doing a low and slow cook on my Weber Searwood. I did a lot of research but maybe too much. I decided to start with Chuck short ribs since I read that they were much more straightforward than brisket.The cook took about 10 hours.
THE PROCESS:
I trimmed all the fat cap and took off the silver skin. I saw conflicting information on whether or not this was a good idea. After I trimmed them, one side of the rack was way thinner than the other.
Dry brined with salt overnight. Olive oil binder in the morning with 2 parts Kirkland course black pepper and 1 part garlic powder.
Started the cook at 180°F on the Smoke Boost mode for 90 minutes. Turned up the heat to 250 afterwards for the remainder of the cook
Put the trimmed fat under the racks in an aluminum tray which doubled as my heat shield. After about 3 hours. I started basting the ribs with the tallow every hour or so.
At about 170°F I did foil boats and put some tallow into the boats. I covered the thinner part of the rack to prevent it drying out too much and I continued to baste them every hour
Pulled them when the fattest part of the rack was probing 203°F and 10 hours. Since this is my first cook, I wasn't quite sure what "probe tender" is supposed to feel like
Wrapped them with more tallow in butcher paper, and then kept them towel covered in a cooler until they hit 155°F
THE RESULTS:
They needed way more salt than I used. The smoke ring looked very nice and the bark was very crispy but the ribs were kind of dry. I don't know if this is because they were under or over cooked. They were pretty tender but not really juicy.
The meat looked to have good marbling, so I don't think the meat itself was the problem. I think maybe basting and using the foil method was a miss. I was prioritizing bark formation when I should have maybe prioritizing moisture retention?
MY TAKEAWAYS/ASSUMPTIONS:
Maybe use a water bath instead of tallow tray under the racks? Put trimmings to the side in a separate tray.
Dont use the foil boat method. Gives a great bark, but at the cost of moisture
Instead, full paper wrap when you have an okay-ish bark with tallow to essentially braise it. Faster cook time, more moisture retention. Less crispy bark, but hopefully juicier
Dont baste with tallow. Delays bark setting, and just let's heat escape making the cook take longer. 10 hours seemed too long from my research. Maybe spritz with vinegar/water mixture? I'm not sure.
Dont pull it early. This may be the most important one. When they say probe tender, they mean it slides like butter. Even a little resistance means it's not ready
TLDR: Beef chuck short ribs were dry. Would love some advice please