Baby Back Ribs

[timmy7649]

briquttes/lump is wood!!:crazy:

 

[mtomto]

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!

Thats an awful lot of hoops to jump through for Babys when not really necessary. Spares yes, BBs no.

Marinade, rub however you like. Set up a grill for an Indirect smoke that will run 300-325. Water pan over the coals, Open vents over the ribs on one side. Regulate heat by the bottom vents. Add your smoke wood or chips to coals. Place ribs opposite of heat, cover and then dont look at them for an hour.

Then take a look, as you will be 15 to 30 minutes away from them being finished--spritz or sauce as you care to, but total cook will run 1:15 to 1:30 depending on how much rib your doing and your heat remaining around 300. Smoke ring, gentle tug off the bone. Perfect Baby Backs---they really don't require an all day commitment.

 

[Lake Dogs]

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

Havent done double blind, but as I rarely eat ribs with sauce, and when
it does have sauce, it's EXTREMELY light, it's very easy to tell which
meat has been smoked properly and which hasn't, and which has NO
smoke. Also, it's pretty easy to pick up the fake smoke flavor in
smoke flavored sauces; they are AWEFUL I M H O.

 

[antoant]

briquttes/lump is wood!!:crazy:

:laugh: That just cracked me up. I don't know if briquettes are more filling than anything else but lump is not wood. It used to be wood but after it turns to charcoal all the stuff that you get out of dry wood, which give you that extra flavor, is mostly if not completely gone. Like it or not if you are cooking using just lump with a diffuser of any kind that stops the drippings from reaching the fire you are getting little if any extra flavor.

 

[antoant]

Havent done double blind, but as I rarely eat ribs with sauce, and when
it does have sauce, it's EXTREMELY light, it's very easy to tell which
meat has been smoked properly and which hasn't, and which has NO
smoke. Also, it's pretty easy to pick up the fake smoke flavor in
smoke flavored sauces; they are AWEFUL I M H O.

So the reason you can tell is because the flavor is different or the smoke ring? Because you can get a smoke ring in the oven too. Now if it is the taste then you need to have meat that is lightly sauced as you said but for people that like sauce you must have a very good pallet to figure out the difference if at all.

 

[ChicagoSizzlin]

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

Its so obvious to anyone who has cooked ribs on wood/charcoal. I went to my brother in laws house and they served boil n bake ribs. Worst ribs I ever tasted but being the good guest I said " decent ribs " and that's about it. I'm not going to be rude and spit it out and shout " WTF is this? " lol.

Once you make ribs the right way (IMO from these forums) you will never go back to boil or bake. You will notice off the bat just from the bark alone which you don't get from baking them.

 

[fat boy]

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?

I throw in a couple hunks of hickory or whatever flavor I'm looking for. In the WSM, it doesn't take but a few chunks of hickory to smoke for awhile.

 

[SteelSmokin]

If you want to argue with us and you like the way you make the ribs so much why are you here asking us how to fix them?

 

[toumaj]

YES! The WSM is almost idiot proof and turns out some great Q.

You calling me an idiot???
Kidding!
Thx for the info.....

 

[antoant]

If you want to argue with us and you like the way you make the ribs so much why are you here asking us how to fix them?

Hm. The OP never actually argued his way against some other way he just said they come out nice his way too. I am the one arguing because I see a lot of "unless it is smoked it ain't good" which I don't think is true. Sure smoking can give you another layer of flavor but to be honest I had ribs from an oven that tasted equally good if not better than smoked ribs. I think that only people that are very good pitmasters can actually take advantage of the extra layer of flavor provided by the smoke. And again that might go unnoticed if you like your sauce with some ribs in it.

I don't mean to insult anyone or step on anyone's toes but I don't like generalizations without something concrete to back them up.

 

[toumaj]

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.

Exactly my thinking.......But I'd like to have a proper smoker to do shoulders, butts, ribs, brisket, etc.....

Thx!!!!

 

[toumaj]

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.

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.

Thx for the post. I am on the verge of buying the 22" WSM this afternoon.
I'll keep the Kingsford barrel and use it for traditional steaks, chicken, etc.
But I'll have the WSM for the weekends
Thx again, pal.
I appreciate it.

 

[toumaj]

Thats an awful lot of hoops to jump through for Babys when not really necessary. Spares yes, BBs no.

Marinade, rub however you like. Set up a grill for an Indirect smoke that will run 300-325. Water pan over the coals, Open vents over the ribs on one side. Regulate heat by the bottom vents. Add your smoke wood or chips to coals. Place ribs opposite of heat, cover and then dont look at them for an hour.

Then take a look, as you will be 15 to 30 minutes away from them being finished--spritz or sauce as you care to, but total cook will run 1:15 to 1:30 depending on how much rib your doing and your heat remaining around 300. Smoke ring, gentle tug off the bone. Perfect Baby Backs---they really don't require an all day commitment.

Thx for the reply. Quick question: Can the weber WSM really hold heat all night long? I heard that you could get it set up before you go to bed and it will actually hold the heat the entire night!
If so, brisket cooking just got much more enjoyable!!!

 

[toumaj]

OK, y'all...
I just got the WSM 22" on Amazon.
We should get in within 1-2 weeks.
I also ordered the premium cover (which I can return if it's included in the original purchase - which I doubt).
Got both for just under $400.
I'm going to keep the Kingsford barrel, but I'll ditch the side smoker.
I'll do our regular grilling on the Kingsford and the slow cooking on the WSM.
I also purchased 2 of the Steve Raichlin rib racks - any opinions on those?
Not cheap, but it looks like it does a good job and the reviews were all really positive.
I wouldn't have known what to do if it weren't for this forum - thanks guys and gals!!!

 

[Ron_L]

Quick question: Can the weber WSM really hold heat all night long? I heard that you could get it set up before you go to bed and it will actually hold the heat the entire night!
If so, brisket cooking just got much more enjoyable!!!

Yes, it can. Look into the Minion Method for setting up and burning the charcoal. With the Minion Method you can easily hold temp overnight. i still get up every couple of hours to check things, but I'm paranoid that way :-D

OK, y'all...
I just got the WSM 22" on Amazon.
We should get in within 1-2 weeks.
I also ordered the premium cover (which I can return if it's included in the original purchase - which I doubt).
Got both for just under $400.
I'm going to keep the Kingsford barrel, but I'll ditch the side smoker.
I'll do our regular grilling on the Kingsford and the slow cooking on the WSM.
I also purchased 2 of the Steve Raichlin rib racks - any opinions on those?
Not cheap, but it looks like it does a good job and the reviews were all really positive.
I wouldn't have known what to do if it weren't for this forum - thanks guys and gals!!!

Sounds like a good plan! You're going to love the WSM. I've never seen the Raichlin rib racks, but rib racks are pretty much rib racks :-D

 

[toumaj]

Yes, it can. Look into the Minion Method for setting up and burning the charcoal. With the Minion Method you can easily hold temp overnight. i still get up every couple of hours to check things, but I'm paranoid that way :-D



Sounds like a good plan! You're going to love the WSM. I've never seen the Raichlin rib racks, but rib racks are pretty much rib racks :-D

Thx, Ron - I feel good about today's purchases:thumb:

 

[NRA4Life]

Congrats on the purchase! Now you will have the opportunity to experience real BBQ! Good choice on getting the 22.5" also.

 

[McGurk]

If you can afford it, then the WSM will be an excellent smoker for you for years to come. Way to pull the trigger! Enjoy the new toy, read up as much as you can here, and don't be afraid to ask questions. Good Luck!

Another great place to read and learn about some basics is here:
http://www.amazingribs.com/recipes/porknography/rib_cuts.html

 

[SteelSmokin]

Well then I apologize to toumaj :doh: I read it wrong thanks for the correction.

 

[Anchors Smokeshop]

I'm pretty sure that I read somewhere on this site that meat stops absorbing smoke when the meat temperature reaches 140*. So if you're cooking in the oven past this temp, no point in putting wood in the smoker.
BTW... stop making ribs in the oven!