Brining Ribs?

[mrboy]

Did my first UDS cook over the weekend... brined a chicken and cooked some ribs. Chicken was fantastic, ribs were good, but not as moist as I'd like.

Does anyone brine their ribs? Seems like it would work. I'm thinking brine for about an hour, rub w/no salt rub and sit overnight in the fridge, then cook as usual.

Do any of you brine your ribs and what experience can you share? ("share", I hate that overused word... what the heck can you tell me!)

Thanks.

[Greg1911]

Are you sure you didn't overcook them? It isn't that easy to dry ribs out.

I think the nitwits from Cooks Illustrated brine ribs but they don't know anything about barbecue IMHO.

[BBQ Grail]

Can you brine your ribs? Yes. Will it make any difference? Very little.

How about giving us a few more details of how you cooked the ribs and maybe we can help you that way?

Dry ribs? Normally, just not cooked properly.

[Mdboatbum]

Honestly, I think every piece of pork can benefit from a brine. Careful you don't overdo it and end up salt curing your meat, but an hour or so couldn't hurt. It all boils down to what you like. If you're in the "fall off the bone" camp, it might not make much of a difference as the meat will be completely broken down and the gelatin will be providing a lot of moisture. However, if you like more of a tug in your ribs, and/or get a rack that has a lot more meat on it, you could easily end up with meat the consistency of overcooked pork loin. In that scenario, a brine would definitely give you a little extra leeway. Maybe a side by side comparison would definitively answer the question. Hmmm, I think I know what I'm doing this weekend!

[bigabyte]

Hammy.

[BBQ Grail]

There are two reasons to brine. One to infuse a particular flavor profile into the meat. The second would be to add moisture to the meat.

If your reason is the first then I say go ahead and brine your ribs. The reason brining pork is so important is today's mass produced hogs have had the fat bred out of them. Thus, brining pork loins, chops and such which are the most lean of the cuts.

If you are buying ribs that are fatless then brining might help. However, most of the time ribs have enough fat on/in them to make brining, for moisture, a non-factor.

Brining should never be a replacement for proper cooking methods. I'm still going say, tell us how you cooked your ribs, in detail, and let's see if there is something that can be tweaked in the cooking process.

Hope this helps. Have a wonderful day and good cooking...

[BBQ Grail]

Hammy.

Right on Chris!

Brined Ribs = Enhanced Ribs.

And we all know about the flavor of those bad boys.

[bigabyte]

I do like Ham though...

And I would eat them with trp1fox, and I would eat them in the Penalty Box...

[mrboy]

I cooked the ribs for 5 hours at 225 (temp stayed pretty solid) and had a small bread pan of water over the charcoal basket.

The ribs weren't dry, just not as moist as I'd like. I'm used to cooking on a weber w/the coals on one side/fire bricks to control heat and a water pan over the coals. It's a very humid cooking environment that produced moist ribs.

This was my first UDS cook and I'm still learning the profile of what she turns out.

Thanks for all the help.

[BBQ Grail]

Okay, where are you measuring the grate temperature? Center of the grate or the side?

[va92bronco]

I started brining ribs several months ago and do notice a difference in moisture and flavor. It is not a huge difference, but it is there.

[Lake Dogs]

I do; soak them overnight in water, apple juice, worchestershire sauce.

[Mark M]

Not me. I like to keep everything simple.

[El Ropo]

I thought moist ribs were a result of allowing all the fat/collagen to break down and release their moisture into the meat. Sort of like how a brisket can be dry and still undercooked because it hasn't given up the ghost yet.

Never used a water pan in my UDS and the ribs are always glistening with moisture on the top when pulled off the cooker. I don't mop or spritz either, just dry rub and cook till "done".

I think another brethren calls it pig butter? Maybe it was Pitmaster T.

[Wampus]

Can you brine your ribs? Yes. Will it make any difference? Very little.

How about giving us a few more details of how you cooked the ribs and maybe we can help you that way?

Dry ribs? Normally, just not cooked properly.

Okay, where are you measuring the grate temperature? Center of the grate or the side?

I don't brine ribs. MY advice? Listen to ^^^THIS^^^ guy. Sir Larry is WISE!


5 hours at 225 (if it was 225) doesn't sound that off. Kettles are tricky though. Most don't have built in thermos so it depends on where you are measuring from. Did you do a single rack? Did you do the chicken and ribs at the same time? If you overcrowd a kettle, there's a chance you had to get into the hot spot depending on how and where you put the fuel. Did you do coals off to one side or both? Do you have a thermo in the lid or an oven thermo on the grate? A probe thermo in a tater or foil ball? If the thermo is in the lid where on the lid? Was the lid turned so that the thermo was near the fuel or on the other side? Is the thermo near the exhasut vent? All important questions. My brother has an after market thermo in the lid of his kettle and can get all different readings depending on how he turns the lid.

[mrboy]

I put the probe clip under the grate (on the bottom sided of the grate), directly under the 3 racks of ribs that were in a rib rack with space between the racks.

I had to segregate the meat, ribs on top grate off to one side, chicken on the bottom grate off to the other... one of the guests has a pork allergy. Other than the offset meat, forcing the ribs to the right-hand third of the grate, I think everything else was pretty standard. I'm pretty sure I was burning @ 225.

Keep the questions coming, It's a learning curve with the new smoker.