Any advantage to brining spare ribs

[bo_gator]

Is there any real advantage that would come from brining pork spare ribs?

[Boshizzle]

Depends on who you ask. Some people who like to brine them say yes. Some people who sell rib brines say yes. Some people who don't brine them say no. Some people who sell only rib rubs say no.

You will only know if you try it.

[Deep South]

I have smoked ribs one hundred ways and believe that the best I made were straight out of the pack, dry rubbed and dropped on the grate. :clap2:

[El Ropo]

^^^^^ What he said. Sometimes simpler is better.

[woodbutcher1]

^^^^^^
Salt & Pepper

[slow-smoker]

Is there any real advantage that would come from brining pork spare ribs?

NO! Other than they might last longer in meat case, but they'll taste like ham. If you like spare ribs that taste like cured ham, that's the way to go.

[ssbbqguy]

It depends on what is in the brine. It amazes me that when people say brine they think water and salt and maybe some sugar is the only kind. Salt is the major factor along with a liquid and other flavors you want to use. I know of many champ. rib cooks that use salt and other chemicals in straight apple juice. They win often! I use juice based brines or as some would call marinades on many items with success.Point is there are more ways to use salt other than water. Steve.

[QTEX]

Agree with Steve, right on.

[landarc]

Well, I recently cooked ribs with an overnight rub, and they were terrific. Not a brine, but, rubbed over night, wrapped in tight plastic wrap, cooked over moderate heat and they were terrific. See?

http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u105/landarc/ribs3-1.jpg

Not at all hammy, had great texture and flavor through and through.

[JS-TX]

Well, I recently cooked ribs with an overnight rub, and they were terrific. Not a brine, but, rubbed over night, wrapped in tight plastic wrap, cooked over moderate heat and they were terrific. See?

http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u105/landarc/ribs3-1.jpg

Not at all hammy, had great texture and flavor through and through.

oh my! those look great. How did you cook those?

[swamprb]

I'm seeing more Enhanced ribs in the supermarkets, along with butts and cut up chicken.

People brine pork chops and loins, because they don't have much fat. I don't cook a lot of chops, but when I do I prefer an Apple/Maple syrup brine that is all over the internet. Just for the helluvit, I had some trimmed end pieces of some long Pork Loin Back ribs from our last comp and tossed them in the brine overnight. I posted some pics on my FB page and cooked them indirect with Maple Mojobricks and rubbed them with John Henry's Maple and layered with Smokey Okie's Okie Dust on the BGE.

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.358383947576093.84479.116187658462391&type=1

The small ends were too salty for my taste,(no surprise) the thicker chunks were very moist and had a nice smoke ring along with the sweet sticky sauce I felt this first experiment in brining ribs wasn't a washout-next time I'll definitely cut the soak time down considerably.

I know this might look like a gimmick and you sure as hell can use food grade buckets, but since I got The Briner http://www.thebriner.com/, I've been a brining fool, so I'll be posting more brined meats, I'm not into the science behind it all or the pros/cons, but you will never know if you don't try it yourself and see?

Just cruising the net for brine recipes, there are a lot of folks selling brine mixes along with Hi-Mountain, LEM, Butcher-Packer and the major BBQ Injection dealers as well.

[WineMaster]

Takem out of the Cryo, Trim em down and givem what they want. A heavy hand of 3 Eyz. Perfection is so simple !!!!!!!!!

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t298/WineGod/FairabaultBBQ080.jpg

[Butt Rubb'n BBQ]

I love to brine but I don't brine ribs.

[JS-TX]

Well, I recently cooked ribs with an overnight rub, and they were terrific. Not a brine, but, rubbed over night, wrapped in tight plastic wrap, cooked over moderate heat and they were terrific. See?

http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u105/landarc/ribs3-1.jpg

Not at all hammy, had great texture and flavor through and through.

oh my! those look great. How did you cook those?

[landarc]

oh my! those look great. How did you cook those?
Follow the LINKY (http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=143101&highlight=hot+fast+ribs) to my Brethren post

[Utah Jake]

Here's the thing. Rib taste and texture is personal preference so asking the question (although it's a good one) is like asking what makes good music. Apple City BBQ suggests a lot of their success came from soaking the ribs overnight in apple juice. I've done this and it does make them cleaner and more tender. Again, if that's what you are shooting for. Considering that 90% of the public wants fall off the bone ribs, this may be what you want.

[MS2SB]

NO! Other than they might last longer in meat case, but they'll taste like ham. If you like spare ribs that taste like cured ham, that's the way to go.

I'm going to disagree with this. The enhancing solution used in supermarket pork is very different from a brine which you make at home. Enhancing solutions contain not only salt and water, but also phosphates and other "flavor" enhancing ingredients as well. It is these ingredients which lead to the hammy flavor and denser texture of enhanced products.

I've never done it before but could certainly see the benefits of brining ribs.

[swamprb]

I know some comp teams that use enhanced ribs exclusively. They season then right before hitting the smoker.

[buccaneer]

Brining cant be done just before throwing them in the BBQ.
I don't recommend dry rubs because it all comes off when you do the pre BBQ boil.

[stephan]

I have brined poultry but nothing else. I would give it a try just to see how it comes out

[Ranbo]

I've been playing with brining ribs lately. There is a difference but I'm not sure if I like it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Randy
Big Belly BBQ

[Tatoosh]

I tried a brine once and they were, hands down, the worst ribs I've ever produced. I generally like to brine everything. But I'm gun shy of ribs now. They were very hammy and very tough! I definitely went wrong somewhere in there.

[swamprb]

Naysayers!

If you haven't tried brining or injecting ribs how can you formulate an opinion? Its like saying Low & Slow is the only way to BBQ.

http://usbbqsupply.com/home/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=23&products_id=128&zenid=05f19j38hd1rr11tvo4g8agl40

[captndan]

^^^^^ What he said. Sometimes simpler is better.
^^^^++++

[swinn]

Marinade yes, but standard brine will make it taste like ham. Marinades are okif your going for something other than a standard smoked rib flavor, but like they said above, Simple works best, rub it and smoke it!.
I supposed if your going for a moistness thing you could try injecting them with something that does not have a lot of salt in it, but I have never tried that.

[Gnaws on Pigs]

Well, I recently cooked ribs with an overnight rub, and they were terrific. Not a brine, but, rubbed over night, wrapped in tight plastic wrap, cooked over moderate heat and they were terrific. See?

Not at all hammy, had great texture and flavor through and through.


That's the way I usually do mine now after experimenting with different things over the years. Those look delicious, BTW!

[bo_gator]

Takem out of the Cryo, Trim em down and givem what they want. A heavy hand of 3 Eyz. Perfection is so simple !!!!!!!!!

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t298/WineGod/FairabaultBBQ080.jpg

My I inquire as to what 3Eyz is?

[cpw]

My I inquire as to what 3Eyz is?


3eyz is a bbq team that also sells their rub. It's very good:

http://www.3eyzbbq.com/

[Pitbull]

I have smoked ribs one hundred ways and believe that the best I made were straight out of the pack, dry rubbed and dropped on the grate. :clap2:

What he said! And if you are buying your ribs any place other than Sam's or possibly Costco you ribs ARE brined in a sence. Read the label on the pack.:tsk:

[NCGuy68]

I have smoked ribs one hundred ways and believe that the best I made were straight out of the pack, dry rubbed and dropped on the grate. :clap2:
Yeppers:thumb: And only my own homemade dry rub applied the night before.

[charray]

Follow the LINKY (http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=143101&highlight=hot+fast+ribs) to my Brethren post

:clap2:
GONNA TRY THE HOT & FAST