How do you make your ribs?

[hockeybc69]

A couple of friends of mine are smoking nuts. The one actually does contests throughout MN and WI. His team was invited to the Jack Daniels contest in Kentucky a couple years ago even.

The one friend told me this method:

baste with mustard(he said the vinegar in the mustard helps break down the meat)

liberally apply seasoning

Let sit in the fridge for a couple hours

Set the smoker at 210-225 and cook 3 hrs on the grates, individually wrap the ribs in foil for 2 hrs, then remove and toss the foil and apply bbq sauce and cook for an hr.

I have done it many times and havent had anyone not like them.

My coworker that does the contests told me this method(which I havent tried yet).

Set smoker at 275

apply rub to the ribs liberally

spray with apple juice every 30 minutes

cook until meat temp of 165

take off the smoker and put into a foil pan

in the pan add some apple juice, rub butter on the ribs, also apply a light amount of brown sugar, then add the bbq sauce

put the pan in the smoker and let cook until internal temp of 200 and feed the troops

What do you do that you like??

[highlife4me]

I have done it wrapping in the foil for a couple hours but I really need to watch them. It is real easy to overcook the ribs using that method and the meat gets kind of mushy. I'm not a big mustard fan and was hesitant to paste a fine rack of ribs with the yellow stuff but I must say it does a real nice job holding the rub on the meat and you never taste the mustard.

[RumRiverRat]

Did these Today

[reinhard1]

the mustard thing i haven't done yet but will try it on one rack just to see how i like it. always like to try something new. the reason i think the mustard basting is interesting is because i know a meat cutter who is still working but does smoking for groups of people for different occations. i asked him once what's his favorite way to smoke a pork butt. he said all he does is baste it with mustard while its smoking and when its done he breaks down the meat and puts it into his sauce for pulled pork. after i got done talking to him i thought to myself just mustard just cant be that great. well with your comments in your post i will have to revisit the mustard basting.

i will contribute to this thread regarding ribs but i'm getting ready for the sack so i can get up early tommorow and go fishin. thanks again for reminding me of the mustard basting. good luck.

[Redlantern]

A book I have on grilling has a lot of mustard in it's rubs and sauces. I never much cared for the end result, even though I love mustard on sandwiches and in salads. If you aren't sure you'll like it, try it on just one rack of ribs.

[hockeybc69]

I can honestly say that when my ribs are done, there isnt any hint of mustard.

[reinhard1]

mustard has been around for a long time and used in many dishes. everyone's taste's are different but it's always worth a try. i start off usualy putting my rub on the ribs and putting them in double foil and keeping them in the fridge overnight unless the meal is short notice.

then i put them in the grill/smoker in indirect heat until they are just about done. in the mean time i get coals going in the firebox on my grill/smoker for a temp around 200 for the rest of the cooking time. i take the ribs out of the foil and put them on the grill and start putting on my mop souce turning them once in awhile. i basicly have to take them off the grill with a couple of spatulas for they are ready to fall apart. always make sure to take the membrane off the back of the ribs. good luck.

[thirdeye]

A couple of friends of mine are smoking nuts. The one actually does contests throughout MN and WI. His team was invited to the Jack Daniels contest in Kentucky a couple years ago even.

I guess I'm a smoking nut too. Heheee. I have a lot of friends that are competition cooks, and I'm a certified KCBS BBQ Judge. Both of those methods you mentioned (or a variation of them) are used by many cooks. Sometimes the times and temps are changed up depending on whether baby back ribs or belly ribs are being cooked.

My general method is pretty simple. I use either salt and garlic pepper, of a moderate amount of rub and start my smoker off around 225° for an hour or so.

The next couple of hours I ramp up the pit temp and will spray the ribs with apple juice/wooster/olive oil mix.

I do like using a foil step, but only for about 45 minutes, a little Parkay, brown sugar, some sauce, meat down in the pouch and with a little of the apple juice for liquid.

Then I just monitor the doneness with a toothpick. If I want them glazed I put them back on the pit for 30 minutes, adding glaze in the final 10 minutes.

Oh yeah, save any juices from the foil.... they can be added directly or can be added to your sauce.

[reinhard1]

excelent as usual. for those just starting or have done it awhile, this is valuable information. thanks. good luck.

[Harmonica Bear]

Yep - Yesterday was a perfect day for rib cookin....

[reinhard1]

great work. i got that football shaped deal off the firebox but wasn't as easy as it looked. so when it came to the griller itself, instead of pounding that thing out i just took the baffel off and with my biggest drill bit drilled as many holes in the football shaped thing until all the area was covered. then put the firebox on and works just fine. good luck.

[McGurk]

Q) How do you make your ribs?

A) 2-2-1 method for Babybacks, 3-2-1 for Spares and/or St Louis cuts.

Buy them. Rinse and clean them the night before. Peel membrane. Trim spares into St Louis cuts of desired. Rinse again and pat dry. Apply thin coat of cheap mustard and good coat of rub to both sides. Wrap in saran wrap and put in fridge overnight.

Pull out of fridge an hour before smoking. Get charcoal started and allow burn time in the smoker until you get thin, clean smoke. Get smoker up to 225 deg. Put on ribs and don't look at them for an hour. Get spritz (apple juice or mix) or mop sauce ready to use.

Spritz them after 1st hour of smoke, and every half hour after that until they start to "weep." That means the fat is rendering out and gives the ribs a wet look without spritzing, and usually arrives around 3 hours in. You should start to see some "Pull back" at this point, too. The meat shrinks exposing some of the rib.

Foil wrap ribs with a good heavy shot of spritz and put back on smoker for another 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Open foil and put back on smoker for finishing. You should see significant pull back after the foil step.

Check doneness after a 1/2 hour by picking up the ribs in the middle with tongs. If they are pretty rigid with no "meat splitting" they are not done. If they bend under their own weight with some visible "meat splitting" they are probably ready to eat. You can now put on sauce and grill them over high heat for 10-15 minutes if you'd like (I don't, sauce is on the table). Pull them, put them all on a large platter, and cover them with tin foil. Let them sit for 15-20 minutes. Cut and serve.

If the ribs fall apart at the bone during the bend test, pull them immediately and serve. They are definately done, and I'd even say they are over-done at this point. The meat can get mushy, and is not as appealing to me.

Another way to check doneness is to twist a rib bone. You want it to move with little resistance but pretty freely. If there is no twisting resistance the ribs are overdone and probably mushy.

[thirdeye]

There is one other way to check doneness....

[McGurk]

There is one other way to check doneness....

Too Done.

J/K! Sign me up!

[Farley]

Made ribs up at the cabin last weekend. They turned out pretty good but had to improvise, I was planning on also smoking beans at the same time but couldnt fit it all on the same cooker so the first few hours the ribs were in the weber, while the beans were on the gas grill. Noticed a good amount of pullback after the first few hours so I wrapped the ribs in foil then and put them on the gas grill where I could regulate temp better and moved the beans to the weber. (I use electric smoker at home so not as seasoned with temp control on a weber) After about 2 hours at 225 degrees in foil, I placed the ribs back on the weber (basted with sauce) and beans back on the gas and after 1 more hour they were done. The boys raved about the ribs (and beans) but I feel like they didnt quite get the amount of smoke that they deserved, same with the beans. I can say that if you do beans with pineapple, use it sparingly, it really over powers the flavor, luckily I didnt use a whole heck of a lot. I think I hit that about perfect, but wouldnt use any more than 4-5 chunks per 28 ounces of beans.

So all in all, I planned on the 3-2-1 method but ended up doing a 2-2-1 pretty much. Noticing the pullback is what saved me from messing up I think.

[eyeguy 54]

I can honestly say that when my ribs are done, there isnt any hint of mustard.

you are the mustard king mark. ;>)

[eyeguy 54]

Gonna be a great summer trying some of these tips!

[IamZombie]

I use the oven since I don't have a good grill.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/oven-barbecued-baby-back-ribs-recipe/index.html

I skip the sauce and just use Sweet Baby Ray's.

Heat oven to 325F.

Line a pan with foil.

Put ribs on, little bit of seasoning, coat in sauce.

cook for 90 min, pulling them out and coating with more sauce every 30 min.

works pretty well for quick ribs.

[reinhard1]

Matt i think that's a good way to do ribs when you are fixed for time and are busy with work and family. some of us with the grill/smokers and the time do it slow and low [heat]. with me it's like my love for the outdoors, i got the same for grilling, smoking, and making sausage. i kind of look at my boat the same way i look at my grill at times. kind of like, cant wait to use it type of thing . good luck.

[eyeguy 54]

Doing some today with the mustard to see how they are. Does water in the pan do much? Also what about different wood? I have hickory,alder,cherry apple and mesquite. mix? any thoughts/ thanks!

[hockeybc69]

Sometimes I do 50/50 water/apple juice in the pan. Or if I have a glut of apples, I will slice them up thin and toss some in the water pan.....

Does it do anything??? Good question. LOL!!!

Wood, I use apple wood for all my turkey and pork smoking jobs. I use oak or hickory for my red meats.

[eyeguy 54]

just pulled the foil off and the bend test worked. nice tip! now some sweet and zesty daves turned the heat down a bit and supper in an hour.

[eyeguy 54]

Plus one for mustard! Tender city :>)

[311Hemi]

I may be getting a smoker soon, but as of now I am forced to use the oven and propane grill. We do ribs at least once a month and below is the way I cook them. I got the main rub and cooking idea from another post here a couple years ago when I was first learning how to do ribs. I have not swayed much from that original post and have gotten many compliments on the ribs. This is good if your looking for a quicker method as these are done in roughly 3 hours.

My process:

-Rinse well and then pull the membrane

-Rub with dry rub (1 tbs course salt, 2 tbs sugar, 1 tsp smoked paparika, 1/2 tbs mgcurks steak seasoning)

-Wrap tight with tinfoil and let sit for a while (30 min?)

-Heat oven to 275* put in oven bone side down (usually put a pan underneath to catch drippings). Cook for 1 hour.

-Turn ribs over and cook for another hour to an hour and fifteen min.

-I usually drain the grease from the foil at this point, remove the ribs from the foil and place them on the grill.

-Have grill preheated to 250-275 with woods chips in tinfoil and smoking over the burner that is going. I heat with one burner on one side so I can cook indirectly. Cover one side of ribs with BBQ of choosing (we use Famous Dave Rich and Sassy) and heat for 15 min or so. Flip and repeat.

-I will then cover with a little more sauce and cook directly over the flames for 5-10 min each side to caramelize or firm up the sauce.

I'm not sure if the woods chips really do much at these short time on the grill, but I do it anyways. Sometimes I don't use them. Hopefully I can get a smoker soon and start learning the real process behind that.

[RumRiverRat]

If the Baby Backs fall off the bone they are overdone IMO.

I prefer Spare ribs anyway.