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I am smoking ribs in a charcoal smoker. The smoked rib recipe that I am following instructs smoking the ribs at 225°F. My smoker is maintaining a temperature of 215°F. I can add more lump charcoal to raise the temperature, but fear I will soar right past my target temperature.
I realize the ribs will cook slower at a lower temperature, but is maintaining 225°F paramount to cooking the ribs correctly? Am I risking food safety by maintaining a slightly lower temperature?
When you approach the low end of the low-and-slow cooking methods, a concern that is normally not an issue in faster cooking methods starts becoming important: how long will it take the food to get to safe temperature?
You want the food to be above 140 F (60 C) for the entirety of the cooking process, for safety, although having that happen instantly is not possible. Therefore, you want the temperature to get to that threshold as quickly as reasonably possible, especially for the surface of whole cuts of meats where the greatest risk of pathogens are.
Therefore, I would urge you to err on the side of caution and safety, and use the extra coal at the beginning of cooking until the food reaches at least 140 F.
Once it gets out of the danger zone, and into the safe zone, you have much more freedom. However, barbecue is far from exact. I would not worry about a 10 or even 15 F disparity. Your final outcome will likely be indistinguishable.
Still, once the food is safe, if you wish to allow the temperature to be somewhat lower, that is the time to do so.
When smoking ribs, you're fine as long as you stay in a broad temperature range. Basically, as long as you're not getting hot enough to caramelize sugars and brown the meat, you're fine. I'm happy anywhere in the 210 F - 250 F range. I've done ribs as high as 260 F with occasional spikes to 275 F, and they turn out fine. I've also done ribs as low as 200 F, but that adds significantly to the cook time and dries the ribs out a little.
I'd suggest adjusting airflow first. If you open your vents a little, you should be able to get an extra 10 F. If your vents are already fully open and you really want to raise the temp, you'll need to add more coal and should adjust the vents to 1/2 open (so you have some fine control after the new coals catch). That said, I'd rather smoke at a stable 215 F than spend the day playing with coals and vents.
As long as you cook it long enough so that internal temperatures reach safe levels than you are fine. Sous vide for instance commonly occurs at temperatures of 150 degrees for instance for beef.
Pork needs to be at least 145 degrees Fahrenheit to be considered safe.
On a side note 225 is perfect for ribs. A meat thermometer is tough to use on ribs because of the thin meat and the bones but figure that Baby Backs will cook in about 3-4 hours and St. Louis can take about 6. Pick them up with your tongs and they should bend easily under the weight and start cracking at the surface.
