BBQ ribs for the first time

[Adrian_Visser]

if you want to keep it simple. oil, salt and pepper. put on charcoal grill, sear one side, turn over, and keep the lid on till done. Then use your favorite sauce.

And have fun with all the meat stuck to the bone.

I have tried braising them in BBQ sauce in the oven instead of boiling them a couple times but I still haven't gotten it completely right.

Boiling them gets the meat falling off the bone but it takes away all the flavour of the meat.

[Eecen]

All this talk of meat is getting me hot and bothered

[e34john]

Easiest way for decent ribs, will begood but nothing like slow smoked ribs.

Don't boil them, put them in an oven safe dish, add a few table spoons of vinegar, cover and bake for an hour or so. throw them on the grill to add a little char, baste and flip, I do it about 3 times toadd a nice crust of sauce.

I use that Sweet Baby Rays sauce as someone suggested but I usually add a little more brown sugar into it.

[naplesE30]

I am going to go with the hickory chips. Non soaked in a foldgers coffe can as my smoke box. As well as a squirter of apple juice.
I am super excited to start I just hope they turn out well.


Really interesting to see the different methods from around the country. We could prob start a sticky on nothing but bbq or food in general. Being from STL originally everything is bbq'd (never really used the term grill) and basted with Maull's sauce.

little box full of damp apple wood, hickory or maple chips. = way better ribs if you dont have a smoker

[dannyyisntt]

Get it!

[der affe]

Get a big brush and mop it with apple cider vinegar, don't blast everything off with a squirter. The vinegar will give it a sweet tangy taste on top of everything else and the acid will break down the meat, opening the pores so you get more flavor in the meat.

Use the sqirter full of water to control flare ups when you are grilling.

[SimplyDope]

Ribs for breakfast? I wish. So hungry...

[naplesE30]

Just sampled a piece and I must say I am impressed

[aaron325ix]

And have fun with all the meat stuck to the bone.

I have tried braising them in BBQ sauce in the oven instead of boiling them a couple times but I still haven't gotten it completely right.

Boiling them gets the meat falling off the bone but it takes away all the flavour of the meat.

actually not at all, my ribs are pretty bomb, been doing them that way for years when i just want some quickly. Plus, your canadian, therefore anything you have to say about BBQ is null and void :p

[lambo]

God dammit you guys are making me miss my dads ribs off the smoker...fuck

[TexasTerp]

First of all, do not use apple wood. It's an over played, weak wood. Stick with Hickory and Mesquite as a base. You can use Maple, Cherry or Pecan (my favorite) to add a sweeter flavor. Mesquite is generally too strong a flavor for my taste but to each their own. ALWAYS soak your wood when smoking. The only time you should ever be using a dry wood is when you are making charcoal out of it.

Apple juice can be added to a vinegar based sauce to sweeten it. I wouldn't use it in a tomato based sauce though.

Dry rubs should always be put on 24hrs in advance. Sauce can be added in the last hour if in indirect heat. Final 10-15 minutes if in direct heat.

Obviously indirect heat is going to be the best way to smoke ribs (or any meat for that matter).

One last thing, really well done ribs should NEVER be "fall off the bone". You should be able to sink your teeth into it and not pull most of the meat away. When done right it'll still be nice and tender.

[naplesE30]

Ribs turned out damn good for my first time. Not the best ever but def better than I thought they would. They were tender and juicy without being mush,,,, with good flavour. Could have gone a little lighter on the rub and a little heavier on the smoke...

Here is what I did.

1.Full slab spare ribs, cut to stl style and peeled membrane on the rib underside off.
2.Then lightly lightly basted yellow mustard( next time would use spicey brown) then rub applied liberaly
3. Covered with tin foil and set in fridge for 16hrs
4. Bought hickory chips @ lowes along with smoke box, let wood chips soak in h20 for an hour.
5. Turned on front burner of 3 burner gas grill and let temp get to 250.
6. Put wood chips in somke box and set under grate directly on flame cover things.
7. Put ribs underside down on grill in very back of grill, and put water in bread pan on grate in front of grill.
8. Let ribs cook 1hr at a time turning not flipping ribs and lightly basting with apple juice, while not taking off any rub
9. After 4.5 hrs cut ribs in half and put mustard base bbq on half ribs, and tomatoe based bbq on other half. Wrapped ribs sepratly in tin foil and cooked additional 30 mins on 350 with direct heat.
10. let cool and enjoyed.

I messed up and had about an hour with no smoke as I needed to add more chips, which was a pain in the ass because you have to take every thing off the grates to get to the smoke box. Also had about 30 mins with the heat around 300 as I forgot i turned up the heat after adding chips to get the temp up.

[der affe]

First of all, do not use apple wood. It's an over played, weak wood. Stick with Hickory and Mesquite as a base. You can use Maple, Cherry or Pecan (my favorite) to add a sweeter flavor. Mesquite is generally too strong a flavor for my taste but to each their own. ALWAYS soak your wood when smoking. The only time you should ever be using a dry wood is when you are making charcoal out of it.

Apple juice can be added to a vinegar based sauce to sweeten it. I wouldn't use it in a tomato based sauce though.

Dry rubs should always be put on 24hrs in advance. Sauce can be added in the last hour if in indirect heat. Final 10-15 minutes if in direct heat.

Obviously indirect heat is going to be the best way to smoke ribs (or any meat for that matter).

One last thing, really well done ribs should NEVER be "fall off the bone". You should be able to sink your teeth into it and not pull most of the meat away. When done right it'll still be nice and tender.

i agree for the most part, but when you are doing beef ribs for the first time and you use a stronger flavored wood, like hickory or mesquite, you can over smoke it and make them taste like sweet tasty meat charcoal.
that is why i recomended the apple wood.

op, you need to get a cheap lowe's/home depot smoker and try doing a brisket now and of you like mustard sauce, i have an easy recipe that you can play with and adjust it to your tastes. my Texas freind call it liquid gold and go ape shit over it.

[E30_pilot]

----> 3 years at Lombardi's Barbecue & Deli.

Omg lombardi's is theboob.com!!

[naplesE30]

i agree for the most part, but when you are doing beef ribs for the first time and you use a stronger flavored wood, like hickory or mesquite, you can over smoke it and make them taste like sweet tasty meat charcoal.
that is why i recomended the apple wood.

op, you need to get a cheap lowe's/home depot smoker and try doing a brisket now and of you like mustard sauce, i have an easy recipe that you can play with and adjust it to your tastes. my Texas freind call it liquid gold and go ape shit over it.

yeah, I think I am going to invest in a cheap smoker. My wife thought it was good as well and even asked if I had a smoker if it would have been better,,,, so the seed is already sewn. Smoking is something that I have always wanted to try but been intimidated by. No-one in my family ever had a smoker so I have never really been exposed to how its done. Plus I never wanted to waste all the $$$ and time by screwing up, but it was actually fun and my wife got a hoot out of watching me actually plan a meal, plus she didnt have to cook or clean anything. I am def a mustard guy so bring on the recepies.

Also I was a bit leary about over smoking it with the hickory wood, which in hindsight prob would have been hard to do on my non-sealed gas grill. Anyway thats how you learn I suppose.

Thanks for all the pointers and different ideas/methods.