Newbie questions - ribs

A large portion of "fall off the bones" involves foiling the ribs during the cook. The longer you foil; the more "fall off the bones" the ribs are. Lots of people use the 3-2-1 method. This method involves 3 hours in the smoke, 2 hours in the foil, and 1 hour back on the smoker to set the glaze. There are numerous variations of this method. If you want more information regarding foiling: PM

barbefunkoramaque

+You'll find there are many opinions on what the best tasting outcome is as there are people on the forum -and that's the way it should be! You are the chef at your house - so you'll develop the style and process that fits your tast.

I think Rightstuff has given you good advice. Basic starting place - from which you'll experiment and figure out what you like and how to make it happen with the cooker you are using.

Wood, of course, plays and important role - so as to which you use either solely or in combination. You say you like sweet sauce, but you may like the rub and wood smoke to have some bite - so you'll figure it out.

Others will have their opinion but I tend to put my rub on the meat, then a light spriz of oil before placing in the smoker. (As I write I'm tending to 5 lbs of boneless leg of lamb on the smoker with a combo of mesquite hardwood charcoal and apple/cherry wood chunks. I salted with natural sea salt, cause I like the flavor and how it tastes when it combines with the fat that melts as things slowly 'q. Cracked black pepper and spritz of canola oil. It's been on for about an hour at 240F - 260F cause there's some wind and a bit of rain gusting about so keeping it steady is not so easy - and will be there for another hour or so - at which point I'll wrap it and take it to my friend's home where we'll finish on the grill. Serving with a simple reduction of balsamic vinegar, unsalted butter, garlic and cilantro.)

OK - got off track here - sorry. What I'm getting at is it sounds like you're new to this and you will have so much fun experimenting and keeping some notes on what you did so next time you can repeat or revise. The folks on this forum are an amazing resource and I learn so much from reading their comments and advice on just about every topic.

Happy Grilling! - CB

TheRancheroGuy said:

I've never smoked ribs but here's my plan. Take the membrane off, brush lightly in olive oil, apply rub, and cook in the smoker at approx 250 to 260 for about 4-5 hours. I plan to finish on the grill with a sweet BBQ sauce.

I've read where you guys/gals talk about falling of the bones done or competition done. Is this just a question of smoking a little longer for the meat to "fall of the bones", or is there more at play, like cooking slower and longer?

All advice welcome! I've never smoked ribs and they are why I got the Bandera.

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May piece of advice is finish them on the smoker. Don't use the grill. Sauce during the last half/hour. Keep everything at 225. 250-260 is too hot for my tastes... I would avoid olive oil, too.

As for the bite:
To me, fall off the bone is overdone. Should have a bit of pull when you bite them. Just a bit. Since this is your first smoke, takes a bit of practice.

I've gotta ask: why olive oil? Why not the more usual mustard?

Oh, and hi neighbor!

I remove the membrane, rub them up with my rub and wrap them up for a nights rest in the fridge, smoke them low and slow at 225 for 4 to 5 hours, I like the more competitive type rib, foiling them make them fall off the bone, which are wonderful, reminds me a lot of a rib that was oven baked at a restaurant, I like to do a little chomping. I ultimate is to vac-u-pack the leftovers and freeze them for about a week and them warm them in the oven..............Good luck and I'm sure you'll find it's all a personal taste and preference thang......Keep cooking and trying different methods until you find the one that works for you and your smoker/grill..........

I've found that rubbing them the night before can draw out a lot of moisture depending on how much salt is in the rub. I've started to put the rub on an hour or two before I start to cook.

I also rub them the day I cook them. It's a personal preference thing, though. In fact, like everyone else says, ALL of this is a personal preference thing. A lot of the fun is in discovering how you and/or your family like them the best.

Are you doing spare ribs or baby back (loin back) ribs? If baby backs, and you like the idea of the 3-2-1 method, you may want to cut the 3-2-1 method down to 2-2-1 or 2-1.5-1. That's the way I do baby backs. I pull the membrane, slather w/ a little mustard or a little EVOO, put a bunch of rub on the top and a little on the bottom, then start in on whatever version of 3-2-1 I'm doing that day. I cook mine at 230° to 240°.

Welcome to the addiction.

By the way, for lots more great information on doing pork ribs, read the following threads:

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6963

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9030

Then, look at the top of the Q-talk forum and dig into the Roadmap thread. That will keep you busy for a while, but you won't realize that the clock is moving forward for at least a few hours.

I'm with the contingent that says to stay aroud 225 degrees. Temps above that can really dry them out.

Here is my .02 cents worth. I have used olive oil, salad oil, mustard and just wet them down a little. All seems to work just as well as the next so why not go cheap. Sometimes after I have applied the rub I will spray them with cooking spray to hold the rub in place. I have never rubbed them and let sit overnight, maybe a couple hours in the fridge before cooking, some say they get a hammy taste if the rub is on very long.

I never wrap in foil unless I am really pressed for time, some add a little liquid of their choice when putting them in foil. I personally like to hit them on the grill with sauce after taking off the smoker but thats my preference.

The best part of bbqing is doing it over and over until you achieve bbq bliss.
Dave

eheath said:

I'm with the contingent that says to stay aroud 225 degrees. Temps above that can really dry them out.

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Or overcook them. 275 or so is nice for when you want to get them done in less time, but not my prefered temp.

I prefer 225* and usually give them 5 hours (give or take)