View topic - Best ribs?

Lots of good ideas here. Most I too follow, some a bit different. Before buying a smoker I used a gas BBQ all the time to smoke ribs and stuff. I know much of this is redundant to what was already described, but there are a couple things I did different.

-I now only use a rub on my ribs. Maybe in the last 15 minutes will I mop on some sauce, no need to put it on for any longer. Most times I just put some on the table for use if anyone wants too. I find most people after trying it both ways, just want it with the rub only.

-indirect heating for sure. One side only burning if a 2 or 3 burner Q

- maintain a 220-225ºF temp with the ribs on the opposite side of the Q from the burner that is on. Use an accurate oven thermometer to monitor.

-I also put in a huge pan of water. The reason for doing this IS NOT because it adds moisture to the ribs, it really doesn't. What it does is provides a large mass of heat right at boiling point (212ºF) which aids greatly in maintaining a 220-225ºF temperature in the Q.

-I did use a smoke box. Presoak lots of chips but mix in 1/3 dry when I put on the Q. I place it under the grate, right on the flames. I would often reload this at least once to go for near an hour of smoking. I find this is enough.

-I would say that most times I hardly ever go over 4 hours. I use a temperature probe and pull them off when the thickest part reaches 165ºF. Another guide is the there should be about 3/8-1/2" of bone protruding from the meat.

-I then spritz them with apple juice, wrap them in tinfoil, then wrap in lots of towesl and put in a preheated cooler (dump a kettle of hot water in it for a bit) for an hour or two, when we are ready to eat. I now always plan for them to be done at least 2 hours ahead of chow time.

They come out of the cooler steaming hot, tender and ready to scarf down.

NOTE: Beer or red wine must be consumed during this process to ensure the quality of the smoked meat to come out finger licking good.

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-Jim-

"Paddle faster, I hear banjos!"

Red wine instead of beer? H-mmm... have to give that a try next time.

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“We can have great disparities of wealth or we can have democracy. But we cannot have both.” - Former Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis

Sounds like an ad for a massage parlor.

Whatever works to soften the tissue.

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-Jim-

"Paddle faster, I hear banjos!"

Never boil.

My wife cuts em in pieces, one or two ribs wide and bakes em covered for no more than a half hour. Pour off the grease, smother in BBQ sauce, and then bbq for 3 minutes on a side. Put em back in the roasting pan, cover again w bbq sauce, and roll em around. Serve em hot.

I like to cut out individual ribs while they're raw, cover in bbq sauce, and then just bbq them like hot dogs, about 10 min. total. This gives a juicier, fatter tasting rib. They've got some crunch and you really have to bite into them and pull off the meat and fat in hunks. Sometimes the fat squirts out while you bit em. They're very popular at camp.

Our favorite BBQ sauce is President's Choice Hickory smoke flavoured BBQ sauce in the 1kg bottles.

Ask the butcher at the grocery store for uncut ribs. Did you know that the rack you buy at the grocery store has been cut into strips on a saw? The real uncut pork ribs vary in length, up to 10 or 12 inches long. You'll feel like Fred Flintstone when you eat em. Now and then I find em at No Frills for $1.50/lb.

You fella`s are all doing it wrong. Throw away the pork and try bear ribs. much better

I bet bear ribs are better in the fall than in the spring. And I bet they taste a lot better than pork ribs. I was thinking of doing ribs this weekend. My shopping list: 2 onions, pepper, brown sugar, 1 bear, 2 cases beer.

Funny you unearthed this thread. I was meaning to write up a cook report. I made a batch of ribs about a month ago after carefully reading this thread and following instructions carefully (I did mine in the oven, with the award winning rub, with an oven thermometer etc. etc.) Everyone said they were the best ribs they had ever eaten although I still saw (tasted) room for improvement.

A hearty thanks for everyone who posted.

Yer ticklin' me ribs, Neil!

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“What is the good of having a nice house without a decent planet to put it on?” - Thoreau

Dead on, Neil, fall bear is definitely the way to go. Ribs of all kinds are made up of not only meat and bone, but fat and connective tissue. The fat keeps the meat tender during the cook. The connective tissue is what makes some ribs tough and needs to be cooked slowly at low temps to soften it.
Dunkin, your cooking method is near perfect IMO.
Andy, whole racks of ribs are the way to go. Here are a couple of pics of preparing a whole rack for cooking as a "St. Louis" style trim.

First, cut the breast bone from the ribs using a sharp knife cutting through the cartillage joining the rib to the breast bone.


Next trim the diagonal flap of meat.



Next, pull the membrane covering the bone side of the ribs. This will toughen during the cook and will also prevent flavour from the rub from penetrating the meat if not removed.



Finally, trim the flap of meat at the end of the rack and you will have a fine looking rack of ribs. Rub and cook the pieces you trim off, too. The small flaps of meat cook quickly and give you something to snack on while the ribs finish.



Back ribs come trimmed ready for the BBQ and don't need this process except for removal of the membrane.
Last step is to give them a coat of rub and start the cook.

Dunkin, you mention a smoker box. Here is a smoker box setup on a gas grill. Only the side under the box is lit. This pics shows Armadillo eggs but its the same setup as for ribs.



Here's what they look like after rubbing.



.... and ready to eat.

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Pete

When I go in the woods, the bears hang their food in the trees.

I think we should have a Ribs Gathering in Temagami. I've always wanted to go there.

Can you get a Ph. D in ribs?

Best ribs gathering I have found is in the heart of smoked meat country at the Ozark Paddlers Rendezvous on the Current River.

A cold smoker over a wood fire..mmmm takes a whole day though.

What does that amount to in beer? (CDN beer, that is, such as Heinekin.)

Great idea, Neil! When do you want to do this?

I do have a BS - Batchelor of Barbeque Science From the Pitmasters College of Greasehouse University. They offer Ph. D's as well.

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Pete

When I go in the woods, the bears hang their food in the trees.

It's a 7 hour 19 minute (19?) drive from my house to the town of Temagami so it would have to be a long weekend. No bugs over the May long weekend, right?

I would have to check and re-check before committing to anything though, there's the rub.


Would you be teaching the class? If someone brings bear then I guess we could have sbear ribs.

Sorry. Our food class is in La Verendrye and not sure if it will consist of BBQ. Also it involves the requirement to paddle in all equipment in a canoe, solo.

You can do much better in a microbrew than that peewater Heineken.

Abita Turbodog.