Kahaar, Vonk, other home chefs. Help.

[Minrott]

How do you make BBQ spare ribs that just fall apart?

I've never been able to get a rack of pork spare ribs to fall apart like they do at a good BBQ restaraunt like Famous Daves. They taste good, nothing wrong with that, but they're stiff and a little chewy. And I have to cut them apart and gnaw the meat off the bone instead of them just coming apart. What am I doing wrong?

I've grilled them, broiled them, slow cooked them, and today I even tried a combination of cooking at about 200 degrees in a roaster for 3 hours then broiling on high for 10 minutes each side to get a good char. Same outcome.

Help

[DangerPaul]

What I have always done is slow smoked them for a day. The next day, I make the BBQ sauce and put it in a dutch oven. Let them cook for about 24 hours prior to serving them, not only does the meat fall off the bone, but the meat can be cut with a spoon. I have made them this way about 5 times and only once did they not turn out that way, but I used cheaper meat from a shitty food store. You have to buy good meat, that is a major portion of it as well.

[Minrott]

Smoked them in a smoker? Like for making sausage and jerky? Damn I didn't think of that.

Anything I can substitute for a dutch oven? Someone says dutch oven and I think of an iron box you stick under the coals of a fire at boy scouts.

[DangerPaul]

Or when you pull your woman's head under the covers after you fart?


No, I mean a true smoker. Something like this, one that uses wood is best for flavor.
http://www.goodwood-outdoor-cooking.com ... _grill.htm

Or take your grill, remove charcoal and fill with wood chips. Start chips on fire and put meat on highest rack in grill, but you risk burning meat this way. I forget what I have, but it is a slow cooker and it is huge, so you can cook overnight and not burn the food.

[Minrott]

Ah I see. We used to have one we build out of a refridgerator, but it was hard to regulate heat. Made good jerky and excellent carp though. I might have to invest in something like that.

[vonkaar]

You don't "really" need to smoke ribs to get them to come out right, but you do need 'smoke'.

What kind of equipment do you have? Everything you've described sounds like it's indoor cooking, which is still doable... but it makes it interesting.

There are endless ways to cook ribs... you just need to try them all until you find a way that you like best.

It's all about timing... which holds true for pretty much any barbecue. Unlike hamburgers and hotdogs, which are typically cooked on an open flame and charred quickly, barbecue (imho) is cooked one of 4 ways: slowly, REALLY slowly, stupid-crazy slowly, or 'spend your whole weekend, just for 1 freaking meal' slowly.

Ribs shouldn't take more than 2-3 hours. There just isn't enough meat on anything besides bison ribs (so I've heard) to justify spending an insane amount of time on. So, that puts 'most' ribs in my 'really slow' category. I don't know how you could maintain a low enough temperature to not destroy your meat over 24 hours, yet still be healthy enough to inhibit bacteria growth. 180° or so maybe? I'd still think that it would cook the fuck out of the meat in 12 hours. Anything less than 150° and you are BEGGING for DANGEROUS (life-threatening) food poisoning.

Also... Do you remember to remove the plasticy membrane from the backs of the ribs before you cook them? I didn't know to do that when I first started and they were always impossibly tough. To do that, turn a rack meat side down. Insert a sharp pointy object, such as the tip of a meat thermometer, under the membrane (the best place to start is right next to the first rib bone). Using a dish cloth or pliers to gain a secure grip, pull off the membrane.

Did you want a specific recipe to try out? I could list my favorites if you wanted.

Pretty much... if I assume you are using a charcoal grill and cooking baby-backs... just slow smoke them, over 250°-300° for about 1.5-2 hours. You'll know they are done when the meat has shrunk back about a quarter inch from the ends of the bones. They should also feel slightly fragile when you pull them off the grill, but remember that they'll continue to cook when you take them off. So... don't overdo it. Also, when you take them off and put them onto your cutting board, keep them covered in a tent of aluminum foil until you are ready to work with them. That'll help keep the moisture in. Nobody wants dried out rib meat.

[Tikker]

pretty much agree with what vonk said


if you've got a 2+ burner bbq you can smoke them fairly easy

you need some tin foil, wood chips, and some ribs


(ps, i always put a dry rub on the ribs when smoking them)


you put a bunch of fragrant woodchips (fruit trees work great) inside a infoil bag (or fold a couple sheets of tinfoil together to make a bag yourself)

poke a bunch of holes in the bag with a fork to let the smoke out


the bag with the woodchips goes on lets say the left side of the grill
you turn the burner on, on the left side, leave the right side OFF


once the bbq hits 150-180 degrees the smoke should be building up pretty good

stick the ribs on the RIGHT side of the grill, ie the side with no direct heat


cook for 4ish hours


now pull th eribs off, stick on a plate, and put your BBQ sauce onto the ribs

now turn the bbq on, both sides (no smoke) and grill the ribs fairly quickly
they're already cooked, so all you're really doing is reheating them, and glazing the bbq sauce

[Minrott]

I tried it inside with the roaster because I'd had the same results on the grill.

Like I said, they cook fine, taste fine, but I cannot get them to that "fall apart" stage like a good roast out of the slow cooker.

This time they were cooked at 200 degrees for 3 hours, and were still tough as hell.

[Arlos]

I know someone who boils his ribs first, with a lot of spices in the water (bay leaves, etc) If you do it quick and at a high temperature, you don't lose any of the flavor of the meat. Plus, it lets you get rid of a lot of the fat as well. Once cooked through, remove the slab from the pot (you need a large pot, obviously), and let it cool to room temperature under foil. Then, slather on your BBQ sauce and take it out to the grill. Doesn't take long out there, since the meat is already almost cooked, you're just finishing it the rest of the way, plus caramelizing the sauce. Works quite well, actually, strange as it sounds.

-Arlos

[Tikker]

erm

the fat is the flavour

[Snero]

the way I've done them in the past, and it turns out pretty well, is to steam them. I usually put herbs in the water, some oregano, basil and lots of rosemarry, the meat gets some of the flavour and the whole house smells good too. If you steam them for 5 hours or so the meat falls off the bone before even putting it on the BBQ. By then everything is already cooked so you're just doing that for the flavour. I usually steam for 4 hours or so, and then BBQ for 1-2 hours with woodchips and the BBQ sauce.

It works well if you don't have a smoker available

[Evermore]

The Smoke Ring Everything you need to know about bbq and then some

I can get ribs falling off the bone in 3 to 5 hrs at about 250 deg in my smoker. Easy way to test is to turn a bone. they spin freely when done.

[Evermore]

I know someone who boils his ribs first, with a lot of spices in the water (bay leaves, etc) If you do it quick and at a high temperature, you don't lose any of the flavor of the meat. Plus, it lets you get rid of a lot of the fat as well. Once cooked through, remove the slab from the pot (you need a large pot, obviously), and let it cool to room temperature under foil. Then, slather on your BBQ sauce and take it out to the grill. Doesn't take long out there, since the meat is already almost cooked, you're just finishing it the rest of the way, plus caramelizing the sauce. Works quite well, actually, strange as it sounds.

-Arlos

this is pure sacralidge <sp>. You can only get to about 212 is degrees and Tikker is right the fat is the flavor. Boiling is the debil. you want it to melt and run down the meat