Ribs?

I have tried on several occasions to grill ribs but hardly a success. I can't ever get the perfect flavor with spice. Any suggestions on a good marinade or rub?

Here's a recipe that my husband and I use. There's no smoking involved, but it's actually a pretty good rib recipe.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes ... src=search[/url]

I make a rub that is just salt, pepper and paprika (equal parts). My wife likes it when I put a little garlic powder in it, and a friend started using brown sugar to sweeten it up. Rub em about 16 minutes before they go on the grill to let it soak in a little.

I don't marinate or boil my ribs. That's cheating. Good ribs don't need to be boiled or soaked (I'm talking pork spareribs here).

The key IMO is low heat and a rib rack that stands the ribs up on the grill to keep them from getting charred. 200 degrees for a good 4 or 5 hours. Only apply your favorite BBQ sauce for the last 10 minutes or so.

The BEST way to cook ribs is to cook them until they are just rare, put them in the fridge over night, then finish them up the next day. I've heard that Texas Roadhouse follows this method, but adds a dip in bacon fat before the second cooking. This works for steaks as well.

Don't ask me why, I'm not a chemist, just fat.



Good luck!

If I'm doing ribs for a crowd, I'll usually buy a 3 pack of those big steam table trays at Sam's, while you are in there, they have great spareribs in cryopacks, also really good packs of country ribs and babybacks. Buy a gallon of Cattleman's BBQ sauce there ( they used to just sell this to restaurants for years) and also a bottle of maple syrup, when you get it all home, cut the ribs into single ribs and lay them in a single layer in the pan, make a mix of 4 parts Cattleman's, 2 parts Maple syrup and 1 part of Worchestershire sauce and cover the ribs with the sauce, put the whole thing in the oven for about 1 1/2 hours at 350. Heat up the grill and finish them on the grill in about 10-15 minutes to just harden the sauce up on them, you can baste them with fresh sauce as needed. Toss the pan etc out in the trash, no cleanup ! Serve to an army of admirers.

I don't want to start a debate about his recipes, but I've tried Famous Dave's method for cooking ribs and was extremely pleased with the outcome. It was pretty labor intensive, but the end result was fall-off-the-bone tenderness. Personally, I wasn't thrilled with his rub recipe and prefer other mixtures I've tried. All that having been said, the following describes the PROCESS attributed by many sources to "Famous Dave":

Famous Dave's Ribs

Preparation:

First prepare rib rub thoroughly mixing all rub ingredients. Store in airtight container. The night before smoking, trim your ribs of all excess fat. Place them in a large plastic bag and pour in Italian dressing to coat. Seal bag well. Refrigerate for 4 hours, turning occasionally.

Remove and wipe dressing off. Sprinkle each rib with pepper then refrigerate overnight. ]

The next morning remove from wrap and wipe sludge off ribs. Generously coat front and back of ribs with Rib Rub and using your hands, rub seasoning into meat and set aside.

The smoking process will take 6 hours. Using a chimney charcoal starter get 15 briquettes red hot. Place coals on one end of grill and place 1 pound of green hickory around coals. Use water-soaked hickory chunks of you can't get fresh-cut hickory. Keep internal temperature of the grill at 200 to 225 degrees. Add more charcoal and hickory chunks every hour as needed. Place rib bone side down but not directly over hot coals.

After 3 hours, remove ribs from grill and wrap in aluminum foil. Hold in covered grill at 180 to 200 degrees for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until fork tender.

Next build a real hot bed of coals over the entire bottom of grill. Place ribs back on grill to add char flavor. When meat becomes bubbly it is done. Make sure to char off bone side membrane until it becomes papery and disintegrates. Slather with BBQ sauce. Let heat caramelize sauce. This carmelizing along with the charring and slow smoking is the secret to tender smokey ribs.

Ingredients:

Rib Rub (makes 6 cups)

2 cups packed light brown sugar
1 cup kosher salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup garlic seasoning
1/4 tbsp. chili powder
1/4 cup lemon pepper
1/4 cup onion salt
1/4 tsp. celery salt
2 tbsp. coarse ground black pepper
2 tbsp. whole celery seeds
1 tsp. crushed cloves
1 tbsp. cayenne
1/2 tsp. Mrs. Dash original blend
1/4 cup salt

Ribs

2 (4 to 5 pound) rack spareribs
1/2 cup Italian salad dressing
1/2 tsp. coarse ground black pepper
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup minced dried onion
1 cup Rib Rub
1 (20 ounce) bottle Famous Dave's BBQ sauce

My parents live in Memphis and they sell Rendevous(the old school BBQ place Downtown behind the Peabody)Rub retail down there. For a rub it seems to have more "balls "than any thing else I've tried. It's plesantly spicy with a lot going on favorwise. Every time I visit, I always pick up a container or two. It's very good on the pork burgers from Stone Cross Farms(The Farmer's Markets are up and running!) as well as ribs and chicken. For ribs I like to give them a healthy rub and let them sit over night before I do what I do(my Secret).

The easiest way to grill great ribs . . . not the best, but it doesn't take 7 hours of smoking, and can work on any home grill:

1. Put on your favorite rub. Several mentioned above. I use paprika, salt, pepper, brown sugar, cayenne, and cinnamon, but you can find recipes everywhere.

2. Put on rack and bake in oven for 2 hours at 225 degrees. Do not touch them while baking.

3. Take em out.

4. You can do the above the day before, or just before your guests come over. Then - around an hour before serving light your grill (if charcoal - can do it 10 minutes in advance if gas). Slather your favorite bbq sauce on the ribs, and grill on both sides.

You do most of this in advance, and only use the grill for finishing. It's easy at home, very little clean-up, and the ribs will be crunchy/carmelized on the outside and tender (but with a tad of tooth feel) on the inside.

Thank You all for your ideas. I will probably try each one on several occasions.

Yes, please add my thanks to all, I saw some good tips (rIb tips Hmnn?) from all who responded. I'll be stealing several of the rubs and methods to use too. I remember making ribs on the grill the first time and it was a good thing I had sharp teeth and a hungry dog. I think the key to success is low and slow cooking, you sure can't grill em like a steak.

GG.

I have an upright propane smoker that burns hardwood, my wife got me last year (they sell them at Meijer). I have tried several methods but just could never get the hang of ribs (way too spicy, way overcooked, cooked but tough, etc..), until this past weekend when I decided to go on my own and eschew a recipe. I got me a nice slab of spares from Kroger, put on a six spice rub overnight, then took them out an hour before cooking. I put apple juice and apple cider vinegar in the water pan instead of water this time, and kept the ribs moist with more apple juice at 225F (burning a mix of hickory and apple). After getting good smoke for 90 min., I took them off temporarily and wrapped thrice in heavy foil, pouring in more cider and juice, returning the the smoker for two more hours. When they hit 190, I took them out of the foil, basted some KC sauce and put them on the grill for five minutes to carmelize the sauce. Result: I think I have turned the corner on ribs. Before I had used a more complex rub and a mop sauce with dozens of ingredients, and not wrapped the ribs (just basted). I'll try again this Saturday with some more, hope for same or better as they were really good. ps I heard the 190F was the point after which most of the connective tissue was gone, but if you have kept them moist with baste then you're not cooking drywall...

Regards,
Brian

Here is a link to one of my favorite cooking forums, Cookshack.com.
http://forum.cookshack.com/eve/forums
They specialize in topics of concern to owners of electric smokers, but they entertain questions from anyone producing barbecue by most any method.
Ribs are a point of contention, because what constitutes the
'best' rib is highly subjective. You will find a lot of good recipes and good discussion, but please refrain from the use of 'boiling.' It is a legitimate method of cooking, but these folks will respond to the word 'braising' in a more inviting manner. :wink:
As for me, I slow-smoke ribs and then foil them, three hours at 250 degrees, sauce and rap in foil, cook for another sixty to ninety minutes, rest a few and enjoy the steam!

You will get a LOT of controversy over foiling ribs . . . personally, since wrapping them in foil in essence steams them, I'm violently opposed!

Now, my wife likes them that way, since they are "fall off the bone" tender, but I believe in a little more tooth feel, and slow cooking longer will accomplish that.

(Think of ribs the consistency of foil-wrapped brisket . . . if you like that, fine, but to me ribs shouldn't fall apart)

Here's how the hubby makes them, and they're to die for....he takes off the silverskin, and puts on a dry rub. He lets the rub sit for about 30 mins. Meanwhile, he heats the grill or oven. He wraps the ribs in foil, and bakes/grills them at 250 for several hours. After they're almost done, he drains the cooking juices into a pot and reduces them until they are thickened. He slathers this on the ribs, and cooks them until they are tender. You don't even need sauce.

Here's how the hubby makes them, and they're to die for....he takes off the silverskin, and puts on a dry rub. He lets the rub sit for about 30 mins. Meanwhile, he heats the grill or oven. He wraps the ribs in foil, and bakes/grills them at 250 for several hours. After they're almost done, he drains the cooking juices into a pot and reduces them until they are thickened. He slathers this on the ribs, and cooks them until they are tender. You don't even need sauce.

I do almost the same method, only I don't put the reduced cooking liquid/sauce on the ribs as they finish on the grill. I just serve it on the side. I do the part in the foil for about one hour, then I remove the foil and use very low heat and indirect method with lots of wood chips for smoke for another hour or until the meat starts drawing away from the bone on the ends of the rib.