{"id":395,"date":"2021-07-14T22:12:52","date_gmt":"2021-07-14T22:12:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hotelectricsmoker.com\/?p=395"},"modified":"2023-03-30T21:38:29","modified_gmt":"2023-03-30T21:38:29","slug":"how-to-cook-ribs-in-an-electric-smoker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hotelectricsmoker.com\/how-to-cook-ribs-in-an-electric-smoker\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Cook Ribs in an Electric Smoker"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Even if you’ve been cooking ribs in your electric smoker for years, there are still a few important things you need to remember. If you don’t follow certain steps then you may not be getting the best results. But never fear, with our help, it’s time to take a quick look at some of these steps and learn exactly how to cook ribs in an electric smoker<\/a> – to perfection!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First Steps<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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First, make sure your smoker is plugged in and turned on! I know it sounds silly but I can’t tell you how many times I have people come onto this website for advice only to reveal (after some digging of course) that their smoker was actually unplugged – and they wondered why they didn’t get any smoke flavor!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next, try adding more wood chips if needed-you want them soaked through before placing them inside the grill. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, don’t forget to add a little water or apple juice onto the grate every so often while smoking- this helps keep the meat moist during cooking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watch The Temperature<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First of all, make sure that the coals have settled and are not too hot. You can adjust this by blowing on them with your mouth or using tongs to move them around. This will also depend on the type of wood chips you use and how much smoke flavor you want from those chips. The level of heat is also dependent upon the number and frequency of puffs coming from your smoker\u2019s chimney vent. If it’s smoking heavily then it might be too hot inside for cooking anything but if it just has one puff every minute or so then it’s probably about right for cooking ribs in an electric smoker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What About The Cook Time?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The cook time of ribs in an electric smoker will vary based on which breed of pig the ribs are from, the age at which they were slaughtered, and whether or not they have been previously frozen. One cook usually yields enough meat for party-size appetizers plus three to four meals for two people. Whole racks should be removed after about 30 minutes and they can cook in an electric smoker for up to 3 hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are my tips for properly cooking ribs in an electric smoker: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cook them over a medium heat (tongs, your mouth, or the smoke stack will tell you if they are too hot). Pull them when they’re done – count on 20 minutes per pound of ribs and experiment on cook times, temperatures, and cook frequency to get it just the way you like it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can cook more than one rack of ribs in an electric smoker at once but have only one layer of racks in there or the layers will overlap, preventing smoke from being absorbed by each layer of meat. For this reason I cook only one or two racks at a time. Once the meat is cooked and removed from the smoker, cook will continue as long as there are drippings in the smoking pan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep this in mind should you cook more than one rack of ribs – allow for extra cook time to avoid having burned leftovers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it\u2019s cook time, set the temperature to a medium cook and cook with a good amount of smoke. Remember: don\u2019t cook them if there isn\u2019t good smoke being generated by the wood chips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pro Tip: <\/strong>Use an instant-read meat thermometer or other device to tell when your ribs are done. There is no one standard cook time for each type of rib; cook them according to the cook time and temperature indicated on the package or cook by pulling one off after 30 minutes (remember: count about 20 minutes per pound).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you want a crackly crust, cook for at least 3 hours in an electric smoker. You can do this, but I prefer my ribs soft with a lot of smoke flavor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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