Smoked Ribs

[bigredbirdfan]

Smoked some b-back ribs sunday using the 2-2-1 method. Would prefer not using foil and smoking longer. Any suggestions. Also would like help on Spare Ribs. My smoker is kind of hard to regulate temperatures below 225.

[ekl-stl]

I dont wrap them either.. I smoke for about 2-3 hours then I like to stack them on each other and spray them down with apple juice... I also try to get that temp around 200* by using more wet wood or closing my dampers..

[Terry Beeson]

What kind of smoker do you have?

Smaller fire... less wood.... close the dampers down... 185 - 225 deg F and 185-190 is best. Also, keep the ribs as far from the fire as you can.

As for the foil method, why not?... Oh...w ait... foil the ribs... NOOOOO.... foil the wood/chips.... yes....

For a "quickie" I've boiled the ribs and smoked them for an hour or two then sauce them for another 30 mins or so... Turns out better than you think.

Then again, a lot depends on the kind of smoker you're using...

Mine is a CharBroil side fire box type.

[bigredbirdfan]

What kind of smoker do you have?

Smaller fire... less wood.... close the dampers down... 185 - 225 deg F and 185-190 is best. Also, keep the ribs as far from the fire as you can.

As for the foil method, why not?... Oh...w ait... foil the ribs... NOOOOO.... foil the wood/chips.... yes....

For a "quickie" I've boiled the ribs and smoked them for an hour or two then sauce them for another 30 mins or so... Turns out better than you think.

Then again, a lot depends on the kind of smoker you're using...

Mine is a CharBroil side fire box type.

That is exactly the one I have but it is about 20-30 years old. I can't seem to get the temperature down even when my vents are closed off.

I do use a full chimney of lump wood charcoal.

[mclothier1]

So how did they turn out? dry? mushy? blackened? The key thing is to self judge your recent attempt, then adjust as needed to get them how you like it. You can adjust time, temp, foil or no foil, etc. just dont try to change too much on each attempt. Even helps to keep notes, and when you finally find that magic, you got it written down so now you can re-produce those results every time.

Is your smoker the kind that has a water pan? the water helps to regulate the temps since it boils at just over 200. Maybe start out with 3/4 chimney next time? Baby backs cook faster than spares, so the 2-2-1 is just a starting guide, I always use a digital temp probe, ribs tend to be done around 160 or so. if you take em close to 190 or 200 they will simply fall apart.

You dont have to foil at all if you dont want, but you definetly dont want to get em too hot without the foil, this is how they get dried out.

I know of a guy that cooks his on a charcoal grill about one hour total, and they were good, very good...but not quite as good as mine..lol

Spares... do them the same as the baby backs, except use a 3-2-1. 3 hrs smoke, 2 hrs in foil, 1 hr to finish...sauce or no sauce it helps firm up the bark.

I prep mine by slicing off the skirt (the diagonal flap of meat on the bone side) and then sprinkling rub on the bone side, let it sit till the rub looks wet, then flip it over and rub the meat side, wait a few minutes till it looks wet also, then in the smoker they go.

Make sure to smoke the skirt meat and any other trimmings, chop it up and use it for making a pot of beans.

[rps]

Please realize I state personal preference and do not judge.

Never, ever, not once, ever again buy or use baby back ribs. Not enough meat or fat. They are neat and cute, but we all know that neat and cute aren't BBQ words.

I have already written about smoking butt and most of what I wrote applies to ribs. Brine with sorghum before you begin. Pat dry and rub. Use SMALL handfulls of lump charcoal. I use a chimney to start the charcoal but I do not fill the chimney. BTW lump burns hotter and faster than manmade charcoal, but the manmade has additives we do not want in our food. Use foil packets of hickory nuts or chips. Be patient. I do 4 to 6 hours of smoke for ribs and more for butt. If you choose to use the oven, and I do often, leave the meat unwrapped and set the temp below 200. I am lucky and have a JennAir that can really hold 190. After the ribs are fully cooked, wrap them in foil and put the packet in a brown paper bag for at least an hour. Trust me, the brown paper bag is important. Ribs are a total gestalt/ambiance experience and grease stained brown paper bags are important.

Serve with sauce but never, ever, not once, ever use sauce before service.

[mclothier1]

Serve with sauce but never, ever, not once, ever use sauce before service.

I know your not judging, but sometimes you gotta give the people what they want. I usually smoke up a batch of 20 slabs to take to work, I sent out a list and gave each the option of "dry" or "wet" and every single one chose "wet".

Myself I prefer "dry" since I dont like the sauce to overpower the flavor that I created with the rub and smoke. I guess "dry" doesnt sound to appetizing, ?? but done correctly, even "dry" ribs are really juicy!

[rps]

Yes. What people want is very important. However, indulge me an anecdote.

The best ribs I ever ate are not my own. They were made by Al Saab, a Lebanese gentleman from Tulsa. He owned and ran Al's Steakhouse at 81st and Memorial from the early 50's when it was out in the country until the mid 80's when he sold it for development as a shopping center. There was no sign on the place. It was a speakeasy located in a white clapboard house on five acres, but a high class one. The federal judges went there and Al was bullet proof from the law. My father represented him in other matters and we ate there often. Al's brother was Pierre who owned and ran Pierre's. Al's nephew, Tony, had the best Q joint in Tulsa during the 80's, but invested unwisely in oil and lost it all.The guys who opened Eddy's and Jamil's in Tulsa were also Lebanese and learned from the Saabs. He knew food, cried alot, and you entered his place through the backdoor and into the kitchen. If he didn't know you and like you, you never got any further.

Al taught me ribs. He had a brick two chamber he built himself. He used only hickory and repeated his mantra: 180 to 200 degrees, low and slow. He dry brined and seasoned but never sauced. Until I build a brick two chamber and use it for 30 years, I'll never get his flavor.

Because of him, ribs are near and dear. The unfortunate consequence is that I rarely eat at Q places and never at chains. When Emeril steams his ribs, I turn him off.

In your place I would make the ribs the people want, and also make them "the right way." Once they taste how much meatier, juicier, and less fatty a dry rib is, they will sing your praises and convert. If not, tell them to go eat at a chain.

[Andy & JoAnne]

Crazy as this sounds, it makes the ribs absolutely tender. Place a tin can 1/2 filled with the liquid of your choice (water/applejuice/beer) on your chips/coals. This helps moisturizes the meat while cooking. When I lived down south, I would also substitute about one fourth of the cooking medium (charcoal/wood chips) with hickory nuts with the outer layer still on. The greener the better. Great smoke flavor plus the green hickory nuts moisturize the meat as well.

Happy Cooking

[mclothier1]

Yes. What people want is very important. However, indulge me an anecdote.

The best ribs I ever ate are not my own. They were made by Al Saab, a Lebanese gentleman from Tulsa. He owned and ran Al's Steakhouse at 81st and Memorial from the early 50's when it was out in the country until the mid 80's when he sold it for development as a shopping center. There was no sign on the place. It was a speakeasy located in a white clapboard house on five acres, but a high class one. The federal judges went there and Al was bullet proof from the law. My father represented him in other matters and we ate there often. Al's brother was Pierre who owned and ran Pierre's. Al's nephew, Tony, had the best Q joint in Tulsa during the 80's, but invested unwisely in oil and lost it all.The guys who opened Eddy's and Jamil's in Tulsa were also Lebanese and learned from the Saabs. He knew food, cried alot, and you entered his place through the backdoor and into the kitchen. If he didn't know you and like you, you never got any further.

Al taught me ribs. He had a brick two chamber he built himself. He used only hickory and repeated his mantra: 180 to 200 degrees, low and slow. He dry brined and seasoned but never sauced. Until I build a brick two chamber and use it for 30 years, I'll never get his flavor.

Because of him, ribs are near and dear. The unfortunate consequence is that I rarely eat at Q places and never at chains. When Emeril steams his ribs, I turn him off.

In your place I would make the ribs the people want, and also make them "the right way." Once they taste how much meatier, juicier, and less fatty a dry rib is, they will sing your praises and convert. If not, tell them to go eat at a chain.

Cool story!

I agree if more people would try ribs done the "right way" they would probably convert. Problem is more and more chains use the sauce to add the flavor, and people are just plain used to it.

We have at least one place here local (non-chain) that has decent BBQ, the ribs are always served dry.

And one of these days I would like to build a brick smoker, Ive been searching for plans and ideas and found a few things. Now I just need to build my back patio-deck area and build it in.