BBQ Ribs....Not all cuts are created equally..

[sailor55330]

I know I'll get hassled for this, but I actually smoke on a gas grill. My Weber Summit has a built in box with burner control for adding wet wood chunks/chips and does a pretty good job of creating smoke. I use Hickory and Pecan or Apple when I can find it. SUre I'd like to have a dedicated smoker, but living in MN, there isn't enough of a season to make it worth while.

My rib method is
1. Peel the membrane
2. Dry rub (brown sugar, salt, cayenne, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, black pepper) about 30 minutes prior to putting on the grill.
3. Temp about 250 for about 3-3.5 hours
4. Spritz with apple juice about once an hour
5. Double Wrap ribs in aluminum foil after super heavy soaking of apple juice and seal tight.
6. Cook additional 1-1.5 hours around 225-250.

Usually results in the meat literally falling off the bone. Last time, I picked up a full rack by the end bones and they pulled out from weight of the rack.

[atgcpaul]

Happy Father's Day to me (and all the others here who are actual fathers or have the desire in their heart but just hasn't happened yet)

3 slabs of St. Louis style ribs with rub on. 2 pork shoulders rubbed last night. 1 flank steak sitting in an OJ/soy sauce marinade since about a 1/2hr ago. I might be doing chicken thighs, too.

Going outside now to setup the Egg. Will go to church with the fam while the shoulders cook then will come back and wrap in foil and then get the ribs on. I'm going turbo for the first time so fingers crossed. We have 3 other families from our church babysitter's club coming tonight.

[leehljp]

Happy Father's Day to me (and all the others here who are actual fathers or have the desire in their heart but just hasn't happened yet)

3 slabs of St. Louis style ribs with rub on. 2 pork shoulders rubbed last night. 1 flank steak sitting in an OJ/soy sauce marinade since about a 1/2hr ago. I might be doing chicken thighs, too.

Going outside now to setup the Egg. Will go to church with the fam while the shoulders cook then will come back and wrap in foil and then get the ribs on. I'm going turbo for the first time so fingers crossed. We have 3 other families from our church babysitter's club coming tonight.

Sounds and looks absolutely great. I am in the Springfield, MO area visiting my middle daughter this weekend. We drove to KC yesterday and had some KC BBQ - ribs, brisket and pulled pork, hot and mild BBQ sauce. Bought and brought some thick KC strip steaks for this evening.

With all the different flavors of BBQ, I have tasted many and love them all. ONE of the most unusual BBQ sauces was in Singapore a few years ago. It tasted very much like the sweet Memphis BBQ (and a little like "Baby Ray's"). But it had small chunks of cooked pineapple and mango in it. Those added to the flavor greatly and gave a hint of tropical flavor. At the first bite, I thought I was back in Memphis, then the pineapple and mango carried me to a far away land. I am going to give that a try one of these days by adding pineapple and mango to my sweet sauce. I know that regional BBQ lovers will look down on that, but that is OK with me.

The KC BBQ is less sweet than Memphis, but great. I love both. I also appreciate and like different dry rubs. And for now, I am craving the NC vinegar based.

[capncarl]

After spending the day with some n ga eggers I was given the lowdown on "turbo" cooking. I had to laugh at them and explain that was the way everyone else cooked their butts and ribs, but it was not by choice, it was the lowest they could get their grill without it going out! Why would you want to do that to an BGE? Like putting mud grips on a Harley. There is a definite difference in the meat texture or toughness between a butt cooked for 17 hrs @ 220 f vrs one cooked for 4-5 hrs @ 350f. Both are good but the low and slow wins out.

I always try other areas BBQ and have found little I didn't really like. The n Alabama sauce made with mayonase hasnt found its way in my list of likes though. Kinda sticks in your throat and looking for something to get the taste out of your mouth. Sorry n ala, just my opinion

Someone served BBQ beans made with peach pie filling and pineapple, I think I'll steal the idea and use in with some pulled pork.

[vaking]

You bring up a point: "I have never been able to tell a difference in soaking the wood in water vrs not soaking it,"

To me, the difference is the outcome wanted. Wet blocks will smoke longer and steam keeps it a tad more moist. BUT this is more for smoking than grilling. It might be mostly psychological - in that wet wood will smoke for a longer period and it sure is nice seeing it smoke and smoke and smoke at a low temperature. But IMO, it helps even out the temp instead of spikes (when using chunks). When "grilling," I want more fire than smoke taste, so I use dry all the way. I vary from time to time but most friends and family around me prefer the smoke.

I think it is mostly psychological. Take a nice chunk of dry wood, soak it for few hours, then saw across and see how deep into the wood the water got in. I think you will find that water was able to penetrate maybe 1/16". It means soaking wood chips in the water makes them wet only on the surface and adds very little in terms of smoke.

[BigguyZ]

About a month ago now I bought a Vision Kamado from Sam's Club. I looked at the main brands, and the quality was just as good as the BGE, Kamado Joe, or Primo units I saw.

Since then I've done a Butt Roast, a Turkey, and I've done ribs 4 times.

For ribs, I've always gotten Spare ribs, and I cut down the loin from the rack, which give me St. Louis style ribs. Spare ribs at my grocery store are running about $2.50 for Hormel cryovac, and $1.80 for fresh. Both have given me good results.

When smoking/ cooking them, I follow the 3-2-1 method. 3 hours with smoke, 2 hours in foil, and 1 hour out of the foil to firm them up a bit and for suguary rubs get a nice caramelization on them.

That's given me great results that I'm happy with.

I hope to try a brisket soon.

BTW- the consensus I've seen from serious BBQers is to not soak the wood. Even the packaging I've seen from the "manufacturers" says to put on the fire dry. When you think about it, the reason why boats are made from wood is because water doesn't penetrate it well.

One thing I like about the Kamado cookers is that they are versitile. I can do a roast at sub 200 temps all day, and without adding more charcoal I can take the roast off and get it up to 800 degrees to sear a steak in less than 10 minutes. Also, with that I'll be able to grill or smoke in the freezing Minnesota winters.

[JeffW]

For my St Louis cuts ribs I use the 3-2-1- method

Pull membrane, use rub and put in the smoker at 225 for 3 hours
I then rap the ribs in tinfoil after adding apple juice, brown sugar and liquid butter.
Back in the smoker for 2 hours.
Then I pull the ribs and put back on the smoker for 1 hour. The last 15-20 minutes I apply a glaze to them.

They are very tasty and not fall off the bone. You are able to get a good bite where the meat does not pull off the bone.

[marc82much]

They are very tasty and not fall off the bone. You are able to get a good bite where the meat does not pull off the bone.

Very true. Not everyone understands that.

As for pulling off the membrane, I always did that. But, on Diners Drive-Ins and Dives, they profiled a restaurant in KC (Kansas) called Woodyard (http://woodyardbbq.com/), and he said he does not do that. He says the membrane helps keep the moisture in and cooks off anyway.

We went to Woodyard and had their ribs...maybe the best I ever had. Did not use a drop of sauce, although I tasted all their offerings and they were really good.

Had their beans, too, but Jack Stack is still the reigning world champ in the beans department.

[leehljp]

As for pulling off the membrane, I always did that. But, on Diners Drive-Ins and Dives, they profiled a restaurant in KC (Kansas) called Woodyard (http://woodyardbbq.com/), and he said he does not do that. He says the membrane helps keep the moisture in and cooks off anyway.

LOML, my middle daughter and I went there last weekend. Very good meat but not quite smokey enough for us. Smoke was more of a "hint" than just "subtle". We bought the 8 choice of meat variety and got 2 orders of ribs, 2 pulled pork, 2 brisket, 1 sausage and one other. My daughter had not been a fan of Texas brisket but she really liked the WoodYard brisket. We were disappointed that they were out of the famous "burnt ends."

The meats were light on "rub" but still very good. My daughter likes more rub and does not like sauces. We had plenty of left overs and carried them to Terri's home, about 3 hours from there in Ozark/Springfield.

My personal preference is the meat about to fall off the bone while not being over done.

(I did not realize until I saw your post that it was in Kansas instead of Missouri. Terri put the address into the navigator and I never realized that we were in Kansas.)

[capncarl]

BigguyZ, I purchased my large big green egg about 6 years ago, and did my research like I did with the BT3. I liked the online support that the eggers had like this site is to our saw, and I really liked the availabity of parts and accessories. I can't say for a fact that extra $$$ paid for a ceramic grill is a true savings, but if I had continued patching up gas grills every year ,buying new burners, throwing the whole grill away because they do not sell that burner any more or it is rusted slap out, I believe that I am money ahead. The cost of lump coal vrs propane is probably a wash when you consider the chickens and hamburgers that rendered uneatable on the gas grill. And, when momma is happy, everyone is happy.

[dkerfoot]

I have never cared for "falling off the bone" ribs myself. Why eat mushy meat?

I aim for Filet Mignon tender. Very tender but still with a bit of chew.

I prefer St. Louis cut to baby backs. More flavor and more meat for the dollar. Sam's Club has great prices on ribs and butts. Sometimes I buy local whey-fed pork, but it is so much more expensive that it is a bit hard to justify.

Over time I have migrated to heavy rub with sauce on the side that I personally don't use. I smoke them low and slow using apple/cherry wood and then a couple of minutes on a very hot grill to caramelize the bark.

I love Meathead's rub from amazingribs.com:

Ingredients
3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup paprika
1/4 cup Morton's kosher salt
1/4 cup garlic powder
2 tablespoons ground black pepper
2 tablespoons ground ginger powder
2 tablespoons onion powder
2 teaspoons rosemary powder

This is a slightly older version - his current recipe removes the salt - I like it like this. I also make it a bit hotter, but this is a GREAT place to start.

I also make a lot of bacon, sausage, dry cured salumi, and a variety of charcuterie. If you are interested in making salumi and charcuterie, I highly recommend Umai Dry bags: http://www.drybagsteak.com/ They eliminate the need for careful temperature and humidity control.

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[BigguyZ]

I also make a lot of bacon, sausage, dry cured salumi, and a variety of charcuterie. If you are interested in making salumi and charcuterie, I highly recommend Umai Dry bags: http://www.drybagsteak.com/ They eliminate the need for careful temperature and humidity control.

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I just found out about those! I've always wanted to get a Foodsaver anyway, but this is another reason to get one. I'll wait until August, but then I figure I'll pull the trigger on the FS and get those bags as well.

[BizCoach]

My wife "smokes" ribs in the oven using lapsang souchong tea for the smoke. The recipe came from America's test kitchen. And it's really good.

[capncarl]

It seems that most all agree it is not entirely about the finished bbq, it is also about cooking out of doors, the smoke, the smell. Nothing has been said about the wonderful sides that come off the grill. My favorite is cut up potatoes in a flat tin-foil envelope. I sometimes add some sausage, always some onion and carrots and this rivals about anything on the grill top. Note, this is for the shorter grill cookings like steaks, chops or chicken.

[leehljp]

It seems that most all agree it is not entirely about the finished bbq, it is also about cooking out of doors, the smoke, the smell. Nothing has been said about the wonderful sides that come off the grill. My favorite is cut up potatoes in a flat tin-foil envelope. I sometimes add some sausage, always some onion and carrots and this rivals about anything on the grill top. Note, this is for the shorter grill cookings like steaks, chops or chicken.

I couldn't agree more! Japanese always grilled veggies and fruits with their back yard "yaki niku" meats. My middle daughter's favorite is 1/2" sliced sweet potatoes grilled and also broccoli. My family loves Broccoli, in which the ends have a tinge of crispiness from being singed. I usually put the broccoli around the edges to "cook" somewhat and then over the center for several seconds to get singed. One daughter likes corn on the cob wrapped in aluminum foil and another likes it directly on the grill with a slight singe to it.

Cabbage and bell pepper singed are two more that we picked up in Japan.