Need help with Ribs

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Phil in BC

10 Year 15 Year
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Oct 9, 2007
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Location
Kamloops British Columbia
Were having a birthday party for a friend this weekend and I thought Ribs might be nice to have on the BBQ. Only thing is, I've never cooked ribs before so I hope some of you pro's can give me a few tips. I do have a smoker and a decent gas bbq, but how do I get them to be the best ribs they've ever had? Do I dry rub or sauce? Pre bake in the oven in liquid? Please help!!!!!!!!

Thanks
Phil
 
Well...I suggest, since you are inexperienced with using a smoker/haven't smoked ribs in your smoker to date, to cook them on your BBQ for your party. Better odds of success from my experience.


Get some quality pork back ribs; trim them of thick fat and peel the thin membrane from the back or bone side of the ribs.

With a mortar and pestle or sacre-bleu a food processor: Mash orange peel (just the orange portion...not white pith), kosher or course sea salt, black pepper, good rosemary (I prefer fresh but dried is OK) and fresh garlic to a medium course paste (fennel seed is another nice addition to this mix; ditto for a little crushed red pepper flakes, etc.). Add enough olive oil to thin/make spreadable.

Rub a thin to medium thick coating onto the meat side of the baby-back ribs with the above paste; wrap with stretch wrap and let sit in the fridge overnight or at least 4-hours or so. You'll want to set the wrapped ribs on a cake sheet pan or similar to catch any juices that escape ;)

Out of the fridge about 2-1/2 hours ahead of serving time. Let the ribs stand at room temp about 30-minutes or so before taking out to the BBQ.

I like to first grill the ribs, flesh side down and then the remainder of the cooking time with the bone side down, over medium heat just to get them up to temp and slightly caramelized. Then indirect cook them over low to medium heat for about 90-minutes; lower temp and longer time is mobetta...don't hurry the process ;)

If you prefer moister ribs you can also, after the above grilling process, double wrap them in foil and let them sit in a low temp oven or if using a gas grill you can leave them on the grill, wrapped in foil, with the burners off...so just using residual heat, for up to an hour. The texture changes...and I prefer not wrapping but your personal tastes dictate! Just remember to back up your start time to account for the foil wrapped resting time!

Then after your party start experimenting with smoking ribs/meat in your smoker...its going to take you some time and experimentation to get decent smoked products out of your smoker.
 
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On medium-low heat... after you prep the ribs with rub.. overnight sit... I'd do the 2-1-1 process.

First two hours flipping and mopping every 30 min..

Next hour wrapped tight in tinfoil..(basically steaming them)

Final hour removed from tinfoil on BBQ. Flip twice and then apply sauce right before your take off the grill. Or leave plain and let the guest apply sauce as wanted...

Once the rib bone is showing and somewhat loose, meat pulling away from bone.. They are ready.

Good luck

J
 
Prep is key, spresso hit the nail on the head, trimming the excess fat and peeling the membrane off is very important. This is true no matter how you cook ribs.

I prefer not to use any rub at all when grilling. Just a quick sear on direct heat then indirect heat (~ 200° F) for anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour and a half depending on the thickness of the ribs, You will see the meat start to pull from the cut end of the bone when they are getting fall off the bone done. Then increase the heat and start saucing. I sauce at the very end and increase the heat to caramelize the sauce. I've never had any complaints, or leftovers, with this method. ;)

My method works well for sweet red sauce style BBQ. IMHO the long slow very low heat method is better for constant basting with thin vinegar based sauces or when you use rubs.

Rib cooking is not a simple art, it takes many forms, I can't say I've ever had any style of ribs that I didn't like though. So odds are good that you will be successful.:cheers:
 
I precook mine in beer, brown sugar, cider vinegar, chili powder, cumin, mustard, red pepper and a pinch of salt. I boil all of the above and add the ribs to the pot for about an hour or so depending on the rib size.

from there I put them on the grill over low to med heat until they are done......

never had any leftovers or complaints:grinpimp:
 
So Phil in BC...how'd your party and rib making go?

Curious minds want to know :D
 
Here is a recipe that my buddy turned me on to. He is a competitive cooker and has pulled a few top 3s in some pretty large competitions.

Peel the membrane off the back of the pork ribs, best way to do this is to get a small part lifted from the ribs then grab the membrane with a paper towel and pull.

After the membrane is off then rub the ribs down with your favorite dry rub. Don't use too much and try and stay away from the real salty blends....I have my own that I use.

Let the ribs set out while you get the smoker going and the temp down to about 220* using your choice of wood. I recommend pecan, hickory, and some sort of fruit wood such as cherry or apple. You may want to toss in a small piece of mesquite but be careful as it will overpower the other wood.

Set the ribs on the smoker meat side up with indirect heat. Once the ribs are situated then spray them down with apple juice. Some people add a bit of bourbon to the juice, I prefer to add the bourbon to a glass of ice and enjoy. Repeat the apple juice spray every 30 minutes for three hours, you only need to spray the top.

After three hours then spread butter on the ribs with a solid layer of brown sugar on to of that and finish it off with a light spray of apple juice, just enough to wet the sugar. My buddy uses the parkay butter in a squeeze bottle, I prefer to rub a stick o butter on the ribs.

At this point you can either let them go for another hour giving them a spray mid way through or you can stack em and wrap em in foil for another hour, the choice is yours.

The brown sugar and butter will make a nice sticky sauce of its own so Dont add sauce, you will not miss it.

Enjoy!
 
i use the 3-2-1 process. First cover with mustard and apple juice. put on grill turning every 45 minutes spraying with apple juice. after 3 hours remove cover with maple sugar and honey and wrap in alum foil adding some more apple juice cook for 2 hours. remove from foil and put back on grill for up to an hour untill they are the way you like them then eat. they are done after you remove from foil so just add sauce and heat or eat
 
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