How To BBQ - Ribs

How To BBQ - Ribs
by Joe "Woods Goods and Stuff"

Items you will need for How to BBQ - Ribs

* Pork or Beef Ribs(as many as you like)
* Aluminum Foil
* Italian Dressing
* Wood of your Choice
* Your choice of Rub
* Charcoal (optional)
* Salt and Pepper

When BBQing Ribs, you will find both Pork and Beef ribs commonly, some places just say ribs and you get what ever they have that day.

There is a difference between the two:

The Beef Ribs are less expensive, contain massive bones, and do not have quite as much meat as you might expect. It is my opinion the beef has a better natural flavor, however you cannot get the beef rib meat quite as tender as you can pork. I recommend that you try a batch of each and see which one you prefer. Normally, since the meat has more flavor I go with a less sweet sauce,therefore not covering up the meat. You do end up with a nice large handle to hold your food which is neat, small children may have more trouble eating the beef as opposed to the pork.

The Pork Ribs come in two different cuts, the flagship pork loin or “baby back” cut and the spare rib cut. If money is not a factor always go for the baby back as this will yield the higher quality meat without the fat/veins. Maybe it is just me but Pork fat is not as nearly as appetizing as Cow fat. The Baby back ribs have small bones, and the meat is very high quality and tender. and spaced evenly among the whole cut. The cut further down the rib is called the Spare Ribs, The Spare Ribs have a fold and more fat inside the meat. You can also find veins occasionally which gross some people out. You can still find some great meat on a spare rib, it is more work biting and cutting around the fat. You can find them at half the cost of baby backs though.

Prepare your Ribs

Your ribs may come fresh or frozen, as far as taste is concerned I have not found any differences. We bought ours in bulk frozen and we have bought them fresh over the counter. If your ribs are frozen, allow them to sit in your refrigerator until they are completely thawed before preping them. As always, clean your prep are as well as your hands. Upon unwrapping, we normally rinse them prior to cutting them in half, of course cutting them is not a necessity if you want the look of a full rack on table. Halfs are easier to deal with and are the perfect size for our foil packs we will be using.

The first thing we remove is the clear membrane located on bottom of the ribs located on the bone side, not the meat side. The easiest way to remove is start on one end and slowly separate it as you pull down the rest of the rib. This can be quite a challenge, its ok if you cannot remove every little piece. But this is one of the secrets that will allow the rib meat to pull right off the bone when consuming. Both Beef and Pork ribs have this membrane, in some cases the membrane will already be removed but not very often.
Ok, now for the most important part of the cook, the secret to tender ribs is steaming them in their own juices and maybe a little we will add. Take a large piece of aluminum foil and center the rib half on it bone down making a rainbow shape. Pork meat in particular is pretty dependent on flavor, so now is the time you will rub the ribs down with dry rub, add salt/pepper and a few dashes of Italian dressing. The Italian dressing will not only add a little flavor but will be there to create our steam. We will add a few basic rub recipes on the site for you to start with as well.

Now create your air tight packet by folding the sides over the rib half then rolling it tightly down. Ensure no air can escape so that we steam the ribs properly. Prepare your remaining rib halves using this method.

How to BBQ your Ribs

Put either in Oven or smoker for approximately 2 hours at 300 degrees. I would check on them at an hour and a half though. They are so small, I never really check with a meat thermometer you just learn to tell when they are done. When ribs begin to get done, the meat shrinks and bone is visible. I also pick them up and see how flexible they are you want to pull them out of the foil pack when you begin to see the bone and they are pretty flexible but not quite falling apart. They will get to that point if you let them steam for too long.

Upon completing this part of the cooking process and removing them from the foil pack. You will notice how tender these babies are! Now it is time to BBQ and get some flavor in that meat. Smoke them for another 30 minutes, rib meat absorbs smoke flavor easily so if you are using a stronger wood like hickory or mesquite be careful not too over smoke. I do normally flip them and allow both side to smoke for some time. It is optional if you want to add sauce at this point of the cook, it is really personal preference. You have probably heard not to burn your BBQ sauce because it is a tomato based product, well I love burning my sauce on the outside of the rib to create a little bark. Just don’t over do it!

Another optional finish after the oven cook is grilling over charcoal, this too can create a nice flavor or bark, but too me does not match the BBQ flavor. Grilling them over charcoal does not take long, just a few minutes on each side and you are done. When serving, pork ribs seem to compliment a sweeter sauce, while the Beef is perfectly fine with a mild or even a spicy sauce. But this is just personal preference…… Don’t just sit there, go ENJOY your Meat Fallin’ off the bone BBQ Ribs that you made!

How To BBQ - Ribs
by Joe "Woods Goods and Stuff"