Sunday, September 5, 2010

Ribs, Glorious Ribs!!

Now that you have tasted your Best BBQ Ever you will want to try to make Ribs!! When you go to a party that the host serves ribs are you glad or after tasting them are you disappointed?

  Well to help you have the best party's where your friends are asking who did the catering? You can tell them that it was you and blow their taste buds to the next level!

 The first thing you will want to do is select a set of ribs to serve. I prefer the spare rib for the extra meat and better texture than the baby back. We'll talk about the beef short ribs another time. You will want plenty for each person to enjoy at the least a half rack or full slab depending on their appetite.

 Once you have selected the ribs you will want to prepare them for the rub to marinate them overnight. Select the rub you like the best or make one of your own and lets begin. You will notice a membrane on the back side of the ribs. This you will want to remove. It will not do you well to have a great tasting set of ribs ruined by the membrane on the back getting stuck in your guests teeth.

 To remove the membrane lay the ribs flat on the surface and using a blunt knife to insert it under the edge of the membrane and separate a small area from the end. The flap that you create can be then grabbed with a cloth towel and pulled off. Just grab and pull. The towel will keep the membrane from slipping out of your grasp.

 Once removed then use a small amount of yellow mustard on both sides of the ribs and coat both sides of the ribs with you rub. The rub will penetrate into the ribs when you let them marinate overnight in the fridge. You can let the  ribs marinate for less time if you wish or have a short time to prepare. Wrap the ribs in clear plastic and put into the fridge or a cooler. If you choose to shorten the process you will want to wait at least 3 hours to marinate the ribs allowing the flavors of the rub to penetrate as far as they can.

 When they have marinated to your satisfaction, pull the ribs out and let them come up to room temp. Go and start your smoker and get it up to temp. Select your wood for the flavor you like and get prepared for the best ribs ever! I prefer to use pecan, but apple and hickory work great as well. 

Depending on your equipment and how hot you get your fire you will be enjoying your ribs in as little as 3 hours or about 6 hours at the latest. You will want to keep the temp at about 250 degrees and have your smoke for about half of the cook time. Keep your ribs moist by applying either a spray mixture of apple juice and water, 50/50 is good, or make a thin mop to baste with. You will want to apply the mop or spray about every 30 minutes after the first hour of cooking.

 Your ribs will be done when you attempt to pick them up and there is a slight bend to them in the middle and the meat has pulled back from the ends of the bones. The temp of the meat will be about 160 degrees.

 Now I'm not a big fan of sauces, but I came across a recipe that is wonderful with ribs. I'll share the sauce at another time. If a rib is done correctly it should have enough flavor and moisture not to need a sauce. A sauce should compliment the meat and not cover it up.

 I hope you enjoy making Ribs, Glorious Ribs!