Baby Back Ribs

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toumaj

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Guys & Gals,

1st thread, so please bear with me.
My friend and I were turned on to a method of cooking baby back's on a rack in an oven with a lid on and maybe 2 inches of water on the bottom of the pan for 3 hours at 300, give or take.
Then we let them cool, smother them in sauce and put them on indirect heat for another 90 minutes with some smoke.
I'm not sure the smoke ever gets into the meat since it's been cooked for so long before it hits the grill.
Also, sometimes the ribs seem to dry out, even though there is water in the oven and water pans in the grill.
I've heard time and time again about not using the oven and just slow smoking them for 7-9 hours o the grill and they come out perfect.
But my wife and kids cry if the meat isn't literally falling off the bone, so I've been spooked from trying that.
Any thoughts?
Also, is it possible to use too much rub?
We have been rubbing the ribs before they go into the oven.
The rub is great, but I think a lot of the flavor of the rub is lost while they slow cook in the oven.
I have used more and more rub each time, but it's at the point where the rub almost turns pasty once it gets on the grill.
Remember I'm a rookie when you reply; go easy on me:)
Thanks everyone!
 
Was it some one you pi$$ed off that turned you on to cooking ribs this way ? Cooking ribs in the oven with 2" of water is basically boiling 'em.
Search this forum and ya can find a lot better way to get great baby back ribs.:thumb:
 
If you have the smoker you say you have in your tagline (Kingsford barrel with side smoker), USE IT! Read up here, get your fire and temp management strategy down, and leave the oven off from now on!

Baby Backs and the 3-1-1 method: Rub first, wrap and sit for a few hours, get a consistent 225-250 deg in the smoker, smoke 2-3 hours while spraying down hourly or so with apple juice, wrap in foil with juice for an hour, unwrap and smoke another hour, add sauce 10-30 minutes before pulling off. (Or just smoke and spray them for 4-5 hours with saucing at the end) You are that close to your first rack of eye-opening ribs!
 
We do similar to McGurk.

After we remove the membrane, I marinate the ribs in a mixture of apple juice, worchestershire, and water for a few hours. Remove, pat dry, apply rub, let
this sit for another hour. On the smoker (indirect heat) for about an hour and
a half at 250 degrees. Spritz with mixture of apple juice and worchestershire
twice during this time. Remove, wrap in foil, spritz pretty heavily before sealing
the ribs, then back on the smoker at 250 for another 3.5 to 4 hours (depends on
how falling off the bone you prefer them). If you want sauce, apply a little
and back on the smoker for about 10 minutes. That's all.

You wont find too many boil n bake rib fans here.
 
1FUNVET said:
Was it some one you pi$$ed off that turned you on to cooking ribs this way ? Cooking ribs in the oven with 2" of water is basically boiling 'em.
Search this forum and ya can find a lot better way to get great baby back ribs.:thumb:
Click to expand...

The ribs never touch the water, but I hear ya.
You'd be surprised at how nice these ribs can come out if done just right.
The slabs bend but don't brake if I pull them at the right time and the meat falls off the bone.
But it's very easy to overcook them and dry them out.
 
McGurk said:
If you have the smoker you say you have in your tagline (Kingsford barrel with side smoker), USE IT! Read up here, get your fire and temp management strategy down, and leave the oven off from now on!

Baby Backs and the 3-1-1 method: Rub first, wrap and sit for a few hours, get a consistent 225-250 deg in the smoker, smoke 2-3 hours while spraying down hourly or so with apple juice, wrap in foil with juice for an hour, unwrap and smoke another hour, add sauce 10-30 minutes before pulling off. (Or just smoke and spray them for 4-5 hours with saucing at the end) You are that close to your first rack of eye-opening ribs!
Click to expand...

Good post. Problem is that my Kingsford barrel/side smoker is so cheaply built and the metal used SO thin that I can barely get the heat/smoke from the side smoker to the barrell.
Lately, I've been using a very small amount of charcoal and putting it in the actual barrel, but all the way to one side.
Then I have to try to smoke from there which isn't easy and takes much too much time and effort.
I really need a new setup......
Are people here really that happy with those WSMs??????
 
Lake Dogs said:
We do similar to McGurk.

After we remove the membrane, I marinate the ribs in a mixture of apple juice, worchestershire, and water for a few hours. Remove, pat dry, apply rub, let
this sit for another hour. On the smoker (indirect heat) for about an hour and
a half at 250 degrees. Spritz with mixture of apple juice and worchestershire
twice during this time. Remove, wrap in foil, spritz pretty heavily before sealing
the ribs, then back on the smoker at 250 for another 3.5 to 4 hours (depends on
how falling off the bone you prefer them). If you want sauce, apply a little
and back on the smoker for about 10 minutes. That's all.

You wont find too many boil n bake rib fans here.
Click to expand...

I'll try that method this weekend for the World Cup Final...THX!!!!!!
 
toumaj said:
Good post. Problem is that my Kingsford barrel/side smoker is so cheaply built and the metal used SO thin that I can barely get the heat/smoke from the side smoker to the barrell.
Lately, I've been using a very small amount of charcoal and putting it in the actual barrel, but all the way to one side.
Then I have to try to smoke from there which isn't easy and takes much too much time and effort.
I really need a new setup......
Are people here really that happy with those WSMs??????
Click to expand...
YES! The WSM is almost idiot proof and turns out some great Q.
 
1. Put down the baby backs and step away from the oven.
2. Build a UDS...do a search on UDS on this forum. There are a lot of plans. Build it and use it.
3. Yes it is possible to use too much rub.
4. Are you just messing with us with that first post? You don't really bake baby backs in the oven with 2 inches of water do you?
 
The meat takes the smoke better at the beginning of the cook (when yours is in the oven) Practice the process your doing in the oven on your smoker. Fall off the bone ribs are typically overdone. You should be looking for "pull off the bone". When you hit that point, your family will likely change their views.

Good luck
 
Smoke your meat, boil your potatoes. You will be very happy with a WSM until you see the receipt. Build a UDS, you won't regret it, and it has thinner walls than most smokers out there!
 
NRA4Life said:
1. Put down the baby backs and step away from the oven.
2. Build a UDS...do a search on UDS on this forum. There are a lot of plans. Build it and use it.
3. Yes it is possible to use too much rub.
4. Are you just messing with us with that first post? You don't really bake baby backs in the oven with 2 inches of water do you?
Click to expand...

Thx for the info on the UDS - I'll check it out.
What part of my first post sounded like a joke to you?
 
McGurk said:
Smoke your meat, boil your potatoes. You will be very happy with a WSM until you see the receipt. Build a UDS, you won't regret it, and it has thinner walls than most smokers out there!
Click to expand...

Are the 22" WSM's really $400!!!
Geez!!!!
 
ipls3355 said:
The meat takes the smoke better at the beginning of the cook (when yours is in the oven) Practice the process your doing in the oven on your smoker. Fall off the bone ribs are typically overdone. You should be looking for "pull off the bone". When you hit that point, your family will likely change their views.

Good luck
Click to expand...

After re-reading your original post, you are starting with the ribs in a pan with a lid on it. Doing that in a smoker won't really gain you anything. You will have to leave the lid off.

If I am understanding you correctly, the ribs are on some sort of rack in the pan so they are not actually in the water. That is not much different then using a water pan in a WSM.

A little tweaking and you'll be there.
 
toumaj said:
Thx for the info on the UDS - I'll check it out.
What part of my first post sounded like a joke to you?
Click to expand...
The part about cooking them in the oven. :becky:

Keep it simple my friend. You'll get a lot of advice about pulling membranes and marinades and all that.

Focus on the important stuff first. Get a decent smoker or build a UDS. I bought a WSM and I love it. It is indeed almost idiot proof.

Takes me 20 minutes to get it prepared to cook. Baby backs typically cook (for me) in 4 hours. And that is falling off the bone, which isn't necessarily the desired affect amongst most meat-aficionados. It is the way I like them, though. And I typically cook for me. :cool:

Figure out what works for you. But I think once you taste your first truly smoked ribs, you'll never use an oven again. Good luck, my friend.
 
toumaj said:
Thx for the info on the UDS - I'll check it out.
What part of my first post sounded like a joke to you?
Click to expand...

At times, some folks joke about boiling ribs on this forum. Steaming ribs in an oven where there is no charcoal, wood, wood pellets, bbq pit, smoker, or other BBQ tool sounded like a similar joke to boiling ribs. Once you cook your ribs low and slow in a real BBQ pit, you will never steam them in an oven again...at that point and only at that point in time you will understand why I asked if you were just messing with us. Taste the magic of 250 degree thin sweet blue smoke gently caressing those baby backs, and you will understand...
 
McGurk said:
Smoke your meat, boil your potatoes. You will be very happy with a WSM until you see the receipt. Build a UDS, you won't regret it, and it has thinner walls than most smokers out there!
Click to expand...


:thumb::thumb::thumb:

UDS is the way to go and you can tell people you built it.
 
My uncle straight up boils his rib in a big ass pot of water. They don't even taste like ribs when they are done, more like pot roast. He swears they are awesome, and they are edible, primarily because they are covered in bbq sauce and you can't really taste them, but they really suck.
 
So I have a question, which was mentioned briefly by someone in his post.
If you cook in a WSM with the water pan full and by using briquettes/lump but without any actual wood how is that different than cooking in a sealed pan with water not touching the food in the oven?

And I also have another question. How many of you have tried smoker ribs vs oven ribs in a double-blind experiment?
 
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