BBQ Ribs…Yum!featured

When I was in high school I decided that I was going to figure out how to make really great ribs. It wasn’t something that my parents ever cooked and they were just so expensive at restaurants. I knew that if I just put my mind to it I would be able to figure this out. Well I did…

I made these amazingly tender, just falling off the bone, pork ribs. I used a pre-made, store-bought spice mix and a bottled barbecue sauce. I cooked them in liquid for hours in the oven and then just finished them off for a few minutes on a gas grill. Everyone that tried them said they were the best ribs they ever had. But of course, none of those people had ever really had real slow and low barbecue – neither had I. I thought I was doing a great job, but I didn’t know what I was missing.

Fast forward ten years and I found myself married. I was blessed to find a man who loves my cooking, loves to grill, and loves to do these things with me. Hubby had spent quite a bit of time in Georgia and had enjoyed real barbecue while he was there. He very gingerly informed me that although my ribs were good, they were not barbecue and I should try to do better. So we decided that we would figure out how to make great barbecue together.

Along the way we have made some good and some bad ribs. It takes a lot of patience and practice to get it right, but the result is worth it. Nothing can compare to a rack of juicy, smoky pork ribs.

The first thing that I have learned is that you have to start with the best possible meat. I always used to use baby back ribs because I was told that they were more expensive, more tender, and on and on. The problem with baby back ribs is that there isn’t a lot of meat or fat on them and that can lead to the meat drying out and becoming tough. The fat helps to baste and moisten the meat during the long cooking process, without the fat you have to introduce additional moisture by way of a braising liquid – and then you’re not barbecuing anymore.

So I use the full pork sparerib, and then cut it down to what’s called a St. Louis style cut. The full spare rib is an odd-shaped cut of meat, but by removing the side flap of meat (called the rib tips) you will find yourself with a huge, but uniformly rectangular piece of meat. You can also purchase ribs pre-cut into the St. Louis cut, but buying the full sparerib will save you money and assures you that your meat is cut properly. I always keep the extra meat that gets removed and cook it with a little of the rub and sauce…it makes a great filling for a quesadilla later in the week.

The next lesson that I have learned is that you HAVE to remove the membrane from the backside of the ribs. When you leave the membrane on, it will dry out and become leathery. Why would you spend all that time making tender, juicy ribs and leave that tough, leathery tissue still on? At first it was really intimidating to think of how I was going to get this super-thin tissue off the back of the meat, but the trick is getting a good grip on the membrane. I hold a piece of paper towel between my fingers and use that to grab a corner of the membrane. Just slowly pull it back and it should all come off.

Now let’s talk equipment. Until recently, I always did my ribs on a Weber Kettle grill. I cooked them on a rib rack but still followed the process of flipping, rotating and wrapping in foil. As long as you use an indirect cooking set up, it works just fine. Last Christmas we got a Weber Smokey Mountain from my family and that has greatly improved the quality of the ribs. But like I said, ribs will still turn out great on a traditional kettle grill.

About an hour before you are going to start cooking, take the ribs out of the fridge and season them liberally with the dry rub. Do not put the rub on earlier than an hour before cooking because the rub will cause the meat to cure and become gummy. The meat will come to room temperature during that hour which will help with the evenness of the overall cooking process.

You want the temperature around 250 degrees or 275 degrees in your grill or smoker; so do not build a blazing hot fire. Add two good-sized chunks of wood to start; you do not want to over smoke the food because it will create an acrid and bitter taste in the meat.

Cook the ribs meat-side up at first for about 2 hours, then flip them meat-side down and cook for another hour. We use a Rib-O-Lator rotisserie attachment to keep the meat moving and further assist with the evenness of the cook. If you want to read more about that, check out our product review here.

The rest of the cooking time, the ribs need to be wrapped very tightly in thick aluminum foil with additional seasonings and a little liquid for moisture. The most important things to remember about this part of the process is not to allow any pockets of space between the ribs and the foil, this will cause the meat to steam and will lead to tough meat. So squeeze, squeeze, squeeze and make sure that there is no air left. If you end up squeezing so hard that a bone pops through the foil, don’t worry too much and just wrap the whole thing with a second sheet of foil. You should also bend the ribs to check for doneness. If there is a lot of resistance, you can add a little extra to the fire and bring the heat up to 275 degrees, or if the ribs are feeling loose bring the temperature down to about 225 degrees.

Get the ribs back on the grill/smoker meat-side down and cook for another 1-2 hours. The thickness of the meat will vary and thus the overall cook time will also need to vary.

Once the ribs are nice and tender, take them off the grill/smoker. You will need to re-wrap them in fresh foil with warm barbecue sauce and a little dry rub. The sauce will thicken on the ribs as they rest for another 30 minutes at room temperature.

If you like a little additional caramelization on the exterior of the ribs, you could also pop them under the broiler for a couple of minutes, or sear them quickly over a direct fire grill. We like to use our Searzall for this process because it’s super cool to use and it provides so much precision on where the heat is directed and exactly how much caramelization will occur.

At this point the ribs are ready. Simply cut them between each rib bone and serve with your favorite sides. I love potato salad, broccoli salad or coleslaw whenever we make ribs. Don’t forget a little extra warmed up barbecue sauce on the side…or as my father-in-law always says “Don’t forget the sauce for dipping!”