Ribs

[steo]

Buy one or two whole slabs of pork ribs. I've done this so many times I don't measure anything. Combine lots of salt, pepper, garlic powder, ground cayenne, http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/cayenne.htm, and what ever other dried herbs you like. I think the most important and time consuming part is how well you clean the ribs. I take a very sharp small knife and remove every single bit of fat I can get to. Go in between each bone on the inside part of the ribs and remove the thin skin like stuff to expose the meat. Once you have got nothing but meat and bones visable take the dry ingredients and rub into entire rack. Heat oven to 250 and place ribs on a large cookie sheet. After four hours remove from cookie sheet, place cookie sheet on lower rack of oven and ribs right on the upper rack. Make sure the cookie sheet is directly underneath to catch the drippings. Reduce heat to 170 and cook another six hours. Heat your favorite bbq sauce or make your own and apply right before ready to eat. I suggest not cooking with sauce applied because the meat pulls away from the bone and the texture changes. Keep any left overs in the fridge "dry". Reheat ribs and sauce seperately when you are ready for more later. Once again put the warm sauce on right before eating.

[Woodbutcher]

Dave,now you got me going.........RIBS.....
After trimming,fat and bone side skin removed,i apply a dry rub to both sides and refrigirate for 24 hours.I will set up my Brinkman Sportsmans Smoker and smoke for 2 hours using Hickory.

Allow ribs to cool.Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Wrap the ribs in plastic wrap (Saran),then in foil,place on baking sheet and bake for 1 1/2 hours @ 350 degrees.

Remove the ribs from the oven and allow to cool while still wrapped.
(your probably thinking Saran wrap ???? no way,it's going to MELT,it's not going to Dave)

Talk about meat falling off of the bones. I eat them dry,NO BBQ souce for this boy.

They are fantastic.:thumbup:

Leonard

[Happy Trails]

The ribs sound good with either method. I use a differant approach using my Cookshack Smoker - low and slow with smoke - 225 for 5 hours w/ various hardwoods. I thought I would share a little trick on the membrane, both of you have mentioned. Just get the edge of the membrane started on one end of the rack with the tip of a knife; then grasp that flap of membrane with a dry paper towel and pull the rest of the membrane free. It's easier than you might think and much faster than trying to remove the entire thing with a knife. Try it, let me know how it works for you. Pork Fat Rules.

Happy Trails

[Woodbutcher]

Right on George,the membrane has to go,which ever method is used. A clean dish towel works well also.I can tolerate some fat,how else are all your joints get lubricated ??

Leonard

[miker]

Folks, I also peel away the membrane skin off the bottom of the ribs, but I normally only remove the the "patches of fat", then rub the meat vigourously on both sides with my herb and spice blend,then I brush it with honey, sprinkle it with sea salt and black pepper, then wrap them in saran wrap, and allow to refrigerate overnight. Then into the smoker, with a mixture of cherrywood and applewood chips, for 2 hours at 200 degrees, then onto the rotisserrie, with my homemade "mutha" sauce,mike

[Ohio Transplant]

Regarding the membrane: Well, let me tell you. I've removed plenty off of venison, but the two racks O ribs I'm doing "Steortz method" took me over an hour to pick it off. I couldn't grip it with the towel and when I did it came off in tiny little pieces. Finally, after I felt I had all of the membrane off, I decided to leave the rest of the fat. Hel, wouldn't be nothin' left ifin I took off ALL the fat...........lol

Anyhow, they are in the oven for the first 4 hours............get her done.....


someone let me know when its 1:15, k?

:grinteeth

[Happy Trails]

Rex,

Have you had success removing the membrane with a towel before? If so, I wonder what was differant. I'm sitting here envying you ribs. Guess I better go to the freezer.

George

[Ohio Transplant]

George, honestly, I never took the membrane off of pork ribs before. Guess I missed the boat on that one.
They sure are smelling good here.

[Happy Trails]

I've had good success removing the membrane with a dry paper towel. I do bring the ribs up to room temperature; rinse under hot water; pat dry before pulling the membrane loose. I learned this technique from a BQ restaurateur at the following link:

http://forum.cookshackamerica.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi

Wish we were having an east wind so I could get a whiff of those ribs.

George

[Ohio Transplant]

thank you for the tips!! These were refrigerated prior to, so that probably made a difference.

[steo]

Rex, another hour or so and they should be ready to soak up some sauce. Don't forget to heat the sauce up a little.

[Happy Trails]

Rex,

I'm thinking it's about time you shared a few of those ribs.

HT

[Ohio Transplant]

I'm glad to say that although your presence wasn't physical, you were here in spirit, and those ribs were incredible. Can you say LEAN!! And I added the sauce when they were completely done and stuck them under the broiler just long enough to set it. They were awesome and the family loved them. Tender is the key word. And the bones were slick with no gnawing needed.

[Happy Trails]

Thanx for sharing. I could almost taste them in your description.

HT

[topher]

Sorry folks trimming the fat is cool,but the membrane is my favorite part just my 2cents.lol.topher

[steo]

I did two full racks today and tried to hurry the process along by raising the temp and cutting the time. They won't go to waste but not near as good as when you take your time and let them cook long and low.

[Ohio Transplant]

if your ever in the Rochester NY area, check out Dinosaurs. Delicious

http://www.dinosaurbarbque.com/

[Ohio Transplant]

HT, thanks for the membrane removal tip. Brought up to room temp, it rips right off with the paper towel, just as you said.

[Happy Trails]

Rex,

I'm glad it worked for you. But, you had to go do it, didn't you? :scold: I'm sitting here salivating all over my keyboard. Gotta go to the freezer. :grin:

HT

[Ohio Transplant]

I'm sorry to report that the ribs tasted delicious. I'm sorry because all thats left of 2 racks is a pile of bones. I even put the sauce on seperately this time.
I might be doing something wrong, but they seem dry this way. Should they be? I baked at 250 for the recomended 4 hours and did the 170 temp change for another 3. I was thinking if I left them for 3 more, they'd really be dry. Any suggestions to keep them moist?

[Ohio Transplant]

Oh, HT, clean up that keyboard bro!!

[Happy Trails]

I cook mine in a smoker at 225 for approximately 5 to 6 hours. I like my ribs where they bite tenderly off the bone, not "fall off in my lap" as some like them. If you like them fall off the bone, then I would foil. The way I tell when they are done to my liking is two-fold: 1) the meat pulls back at the end of the bones about a 1/4 to 1/2 inch; and 2) when I pick up the rack in the middle with tongs it just begins to droop and crack. I've got to stop. With all the moisture on my keyboard it just might short circuit.

HT

[Ohio Transplant]

I really appreciate the fact that with this method, the meat stays on the bone, for sure. I think I might cut back the cooking time a bit next time.

[Happy Trails]

Oh, I might not be the one to listen to on the dryness. My smoker is a really tight, moist cooking oven. In fact, when I do jerky, I've got to leave the door ajar just a little to get proper drying.

HT

[steo]

Well this weekend I made another batch, I followed my original directions including cooking time. After ten hours the ribs looked very dry but once they soaked in sauce my wife loved them. I ate my share with out any sauce. This may not be the best way to cook ribs but as Rex mentioned I really like gnawing the meat off the bone. Because all the fat cooks off they are probably better for you but I know the saying "pork fat rules".

[Happy Trails]

The following is a link for preparation of spares and loin (baby back) ribs that I found most helpful. Rex, I'm thinking that the first time you tried to remove the membrane just may have been that the membrane had been previously removed. This site talks to a look-a-like membrane that lies under the one to be removed that cannot be removed. Also, there is an explanation and the methodology of turning your full sparerib slabs into St Louis and Kansas City style spares that you rib aficionados might find interesting. I did.

http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/ribselect2.html#spareprep

HT

[Ohio Transplant]

very informative G....thanks a ton for that

[steo]

Here's what was a hit for the Super Bowl. I started mid morning with some western style ribs. I took a gallon zip lock bag and added the following black pepper, garlic powder, ramp powder, dried cayenne, dried jalapeno, coriander and cumin. After mixing these all together I put the chunks of meat in one at a time and coated well. Next I used a cast iron skillet with bacon fat to sear each piece; it took three times to get them all done. As they were searing I cut up three large yellow onions into rings. I coated the bottom of a crock pot with onions and Mad Dog Ultimate Hot Sauce then put in the first layer of ribs, then more onions and sauce and so on until I had layered them all in. Last thing was added enough water to almost cover the top layer but not quite. Cooked on high for three hours then low for another three hours. I didn't take the lid off until our company showed up. There was just my wife and I and one couple. We had all kinds of appetizers, jalapeno corn muffins, baked beans etc. I was planning on sending some of the ribs home with them but there were ZERO leftover.

[Wanderer]

Ribs are on the menu for tomorow.:hungry: