Hmmm, nothing like a slab of ribs!

IronLion · « **Reply #40 on:** 8 Jun 2007, 01:18 pm »

Speaking of ribs; my first cook in my new big green egg (actually, a mini green egg). 4 hours of cooking at around 270-280 with indirect heat and this was my dinner last night.

PhilNYC · « **Reply #41 on:** 8 Jun 2007, 01:51 pm »

Looks yummy! How'd they taste?

whopnyc · « **Reply #42 on:** 8 Jun 2007, 06:43 pm »

First cook and you chose ribs?...brave man. Enjoy your new Egg. If you like steak, I highly recommend a tri-tip roast.

Bob in St. Louis · « **Reply #43 on:** 8 Jun 2007, 07:27 pm »

Guys.......As the moderator on this forum I'm finding the increasing number of food threads particularly offensive.

Currently their are eight pages of posts about ribs and BBQ. A drink thread has also started in the 'Audio Circle' forum.
I'm stuck here at work without the means to fulfill my desires.
The "White Castle" burgers I just ate for lunch just aren't doin' it for me.

Tonight when I go home, I'll grab an adult beverage, slap the wife, kick the kids, and then fire up the grill.

Bob

IronLion · « **Reply #44 on:** 8 Jun 2007, 07:35 pm »

Whop, I'm gonna try a tri-tip soon, for now I have an aged new york strip in the fridge thats gonna get seared to hell tomorrow night after I try throwing some mussels directly on the grill under lower heat. The ribs tasted very, very good; I will be making more in the future for sure.

Turnandcough · « **Reply #45 on:** 8 Jun 2007, 08:27 pm »

Quote from: PhilNYC on 8 Jun 2007, 12:39 pm

Quote from: Turnandcough on 8 Jun 2007, 01:00 am
BTW - You don't really have to worry about the membrane that much if you're using baby back ribs.

I'm going to have to disagree with this...I mostly do babybacks, and keeping the membrane on puts a barrier between your rub/marinade and the meat, so you don't get the same level of infusion. And yeah, I agree that boiling them lessens the flavor, too...

OK guys
When you simmer baby backs what's left of the membrane is, IMHO, negligible. But since I like to keep the channel open to suggestions I will pick up a few racks tonight, cook them without par-boiling them and report back later this weekend. I've been par-boiling them for so long that I don't even remember what non-boiled ribs taste like. All I know is that by the time I'm done with mine they're candied(but not too sweet), chewy, and spiced just right with a kiss of smoke and plenty of flavor. One thing I hate is soft, bland, "wet" ribs smothered in "ketchupy" sauce.

Turnandcough · « **Reply #46 on:** 8 Jun 2007, 08:31 pm »

Quote from: Bob in St. Louis on 8 Jun 2007, 07:27 pm

Tonight when I go home, I'll grab an adult beverage, slap the wife, kick the kids, and then fire up the grill.
Bob

As a Sicilian friend of mine once told me "When you get home tonight slap(slappa) your wife around a bit. You won't know why you did it - but she will"

Bob in St. Louis · « **Reply #47 on:** 8 Jun 2007, 08:37 pm »

Quote from: Turnandcough on 8 Jun 2007, 08:31 pm

...............You won't know why you did it - but she will"

Thanks man, I'll tell her you said that.....When I'm finished.

Turnandcough · « **Reply #48 on:** 9 Jun 2007, 11:53 pm »

Quote from: Turnandcough on 8 Jun 2007, 08:27 pm

Quote from: PhilNYC on 8 Jun 2007, 12:39 pm
Quote from: Turnandcough on 8 Jun 2007, 01:00 am
BTW - You don't really have to worry about the membrane that much if you're using baby back ribs.

I'm going to have to disagree with this...I mostly do babybacks, and keeping the membrane on puts a barrier between your rub/marinade and the meat, so you don't get the same level of infusion. And yeah, I agree that boiling them lessens the flavor, too...
OK guys
When you simmer baby backs what's left of the membrane is, IMHO, negligible. But since I like to keep the channel open to suggestions I will pick up a few racks tonight, cook them without par-boiling them and report back later this weekend. I've been par-boiling them for so long that I don't even remember what non-boiled ribs taste like. All I know is that by the time I'm done with mine they're candied(but not too sweet), chewy, and spiced just right with a kiss of smoke and plenty of flavor. One thing I hate is soft, bland, "wet" ribs smothered in "ketchupy" sauce.

As promised I cooked the ribs without par-boiling them first. I peeled off the membrane and used my usual rub and mop but increased the infusion time in the oven to 4 hrs.
Conclusion: While the actual meat flavor and texture was similar the remaining fat content was higher on the non-boiled ribs(boiling melts away most of the fat) and as we all know, while they're not good for you, those little pockets of fat taste good.
So I guess I'll have to swallow my pride and admit that you guys were right. Non boiled ribs are superior.
As Neanderthal man said when he ate ribs for the first time: "Fat good - bone bad"

PhilNYC · « **Reply #49 on:** 10 Jun 2007, 02:33 am »

Had a BBQ today as part of my daughter's birthday party. Here are some pics...

ooheadsoo · « **Reply #50 on:** 10 Jun 2007, 07:58 am »

I just got back from stuffing my face full of chinese food for a couple hours (friend's graduation dinner thing) and your ribs STILL LOOK CRAZY GOOD.

Bob in St. Louis · « **Reply #51 on:** 10 Jun 2007, 12:03 pm »

Phil, those looks reeeal good!! aa

ooheadsoo · « **Reply #52 on:** 11 Jun 2007, 12:18 am »

You'll share the recipe with us, now, right? It'd be criminal if you didn't.

PhilNYC · « **Reply #53 on:** 11 Jun 2007, 12:54 am »

Well, like I said before, the recipe is pretty basic. Here's what I do:

For 1 slab of babybacks, remove the membrane and cut the rack into two halves. Put the halves into a single plastic zip-lock bag, with meat-side facing out (ie. flat sides are back-to-back). Pour in 2/3 cup of soy sauce into the bag and toss to make sure ribs are covered.

In a separate bowl, mix together 1 cups of brown sugar, 1/4 cup red pepper, 1/4 cup black pepper, 1/4 onion powder (adjust the amounts to your own taste). Spoon in mixture into the plastic bag, again making sure that the ribs are covered. Also add two tablespoons of minced garlic. Zip-lock the bag with some air in the bag and toss/rub the bag so that the ribs are as evenly covered with the mixture and garlic as possible. Once evenly coated, push out as much of the air from the bag as possible. Then re-seal and put in the refridgerator overnight.

To cook babybacks, you need to do the "low and slow" thing...low/indirect heat for a long time. I use a Weber Smoker, which also has a water basin to add some steam to the smoking process (keeps things moist). I put water and apple juice in the basin. The ideal temp for a low and slow process is about 250 degrees, and getting 6+ hours should get you to the "fall of the bone" point (the ones pictured above made it in 7 hours). Every hour in the process, I spray the ribs with apple juice as well, and at the 3 hour mark is when I start adding some wet wood for the smoke (wood chips also need to be soaked overnight)...I generally use hickory chips.

If you're heavy-handed enough with the wet rub, these will actually taste pretty good without any kind of sauce. But if you want to add a sauce, I usually add it to the ribs with about 45 minutes to an hour before they are done. Admittedly, I've not yet tried my hand at making my own sauce. Have tried a few sauces, and my favorite is probably from http://www.saltlickbbq.com (only available from that website). For supermarket-available sauces, I like Stubbs' Original BBQ Sauce...

And that's it! I'm guessing that Whopnyc is a bit more advanced than me, since he's in Texas, so he may have some better tips...

ooheadsoo · « **Reply #54 on:** 11 Jun 2007, 02:57 am »

Thanks Phil. I figured you'd posted the recipe before, but it can't hurt to have another post in close proximity to the pictures

I'll have to pick up a smoker or one of these ceramic kettle deals one of these days.

dave slagle · « **Reply #55 on:** 14 Jun 2007, 04:25 am »

OK here is my method, oddly very similar to my audio design... crude evolving and effective using the resources at hand.

I shun the baby back ribs for the fattier (and cheaper) version and cook them (gasp) on a gas grill with a few tricks.

divide your grill in half and place a tray full of water under the grate on the half you will place your ribs (in a rack fatty side up to start). This will be the dead half of the grill, keep the burners off on that side, the tray of water simply catches grease (preventing the deadly flames from sneaking over from the hot side) and keeps things moist.

Fire up the other half of the grill at a level that will provide the low and slow temp of choice. (generally the lowest possible setting.) on the vacant side of the grate, place another pan which becomes your flavor fire. I use applewood since i have an apple tree in the back yard i constantly prune. The ideal situation keeps the gas fire to maintain a level below what is needed and the flavor fire brings the temp up to the needed level for the low and slow cooking method. I'll be the first to admit that monitoring the flavor fire and adding the proper apple trimmings is a pain, but the results are ribs that need no barbecue sauce and have an exquisite flavor. Essentially if the apple fire is burning too hot, i'll douse it a bit and toss some green wood on it. If the fie need some help, on goes the dry shavings. My rub is generally a simple kosher salt and coarse pepper deal pressed into the ribs about an hour or two before hitting the rack.

dave

gooberdude · « **Reply #56 on:** 14 Jun 2007, 02:25 pm »

this is a cool method Dave.

Inside the pan with the flavor fire, does the heat from the burners ignite the wood...or is the wood wet enough to just smoke?? Also, can both pans be the same? ie, does the fire pan need to be beefier? no pun intended!

dave slagle · « **Reply #57 on:** 15 Jun 2007, 02:26 am »

you need to light and maintain the "flavor fire" with a match... actually a butane starter comes in handy. you just need to keep an eye on the grill and if visible smoke stops coming out the flavor fire needs to be tended to. Having a supply of both dry and wet wood at your disposal also helps to maintain the proper heat. to give an idea of scale, my flavor fire is typically in a 9X12 foil pan with 6-8 inch long pieces of wood ranging from 1/4 inch to 3/4 inch in diameter. Also be careful when you add branches since it is pretty easy to stir up the ash and give the ribs a nice coating (particularly on a windy day) Who knows that may be part of the flavor

Do be aware that the flavor fire can get too big and elevate the cooking temp substantially so at times the gas may need to be turned off completely to avoid cooking them too fast. I'd steer away from using a mister to quench the fire for the ash reason mentioned above. One of the earlier posts did give me the idea to have a mister filled with apple juice for the occasional wetting of the ribs or to use apple juice in the dripping pan to add a little sweetness.

dave

PhilNYC · « **Reply #58 on:** 13 Jun 2008, 11:09 pm »

A photo of my ribs got invited to this great group on Flickr called "Bar-B-Qued Ribs"...

http://www.flickr.com/groups/356964@N20/

some young guy · « **Reply #59 on:** 13 Jun 2008, 11:21 pm »

Nice looking bark Phil.

Where did you purchase the stand-up rack?