Started four racks of baby back ribs the night before last.
Step one was to rub the ribs. Half were rubbed with Traeger Coffee rub. The other half were rubbed with Rub Some Butt, which is a Carolina style rub. They went into the refrigerator until yesterday.
Step two was to smoke the ribs with a mix of maple and oak over low heat for two hours, give or take. They were then vacuum packed, chilled and went back into the refrigerator until this morning.
Step three was putting them into a 165 degree bath this morning. They’ll go for about 8 hours.
A suggestion for you concerning rubs for future cooks.
Salt is the only component that is commonly in commercial rubs that actually absorbs into the meat. All of the other components remain on the surface and are a component of the bark. Since ribs are so thin it only takes about an hour or so for the salt to fully penetrate the meat. Knowing this can save you a lot of time up front. If your rub does not contain salt letting the rubbed meat rest in the refrigerator really does not add any flavor to the inside meat.
I prefer to use homemade rubs that do not contain any salt. What I do is Dry Brine my meat and then add the rub shortly before cooking. By making my own rubs and dry brining I am able to accurately control the salt in my meat. When I first started I found far too many commercial tubs contained a lot of salt. If you have something thicker like a roast it can take up to 24 hours for the salt to penetrate.
A dry brine is just salting your meat far enough in advance where it gets fully absorbed into the meat, so it improves (goal) moisture, texture and flavor. It does not overpower the ribs, as long as you do it right.
