Barbecued Ribs

[urban1]

Boil the ribs in Coca-Cola. You can boil them for up to 3 or 4 hours. You can then reduce the cola even further and use it as a sauce when the ribs are on the BBQ.

[Cerebral]

Believe it or not, boiling ribs in Pepsi works extremely well. Grab a two litre bottle of pepsi, mix it with some water and toss the ribs in until they're nice and cooked - I just made some up a couple of weeks ago and they were amazing.

[sadora]

Season your ribs with a little salt & pepper, place them on a baking sheet and roast them in low heat (225 to 250) for about two hours. (You could also cook them at about 350 for about 45 minutes to an hour and a half).

Once cooked, take them out of the oven and let them rest about 10 minutes. While you're waiting, make yourself some miripoix (chopped onion, celery, and carrots...make sure everything is roughly the same size. Place the miripoix at the bottom of a deep pan, then your ribs on top of that followed by some bbq sauce. Add as much as you want but don't go overboard, don't be cheap either. Then add about a cup of chopped pineapple and a couple of bay leaves...fresh if you can find any. Add enough water to cover everything then cover with tin foil, tight enough that no steam can escape. Set the oven to 350 and cook for about 45 minutes. What you're looking for is tender connective tissue, where you can stretch the bones without too much resistance and the meat is just coming off the bone. It might take longer than 45 minutes, depending on your oven and just keep checking them.

Now that your ribs are soft, take them out of the jus and set them aside, covered with tin foil. drain the jus but don't throw anything away. Pick the bay leaves out and blend everything together. Put your pureed vegetables on a pot with as much of the jus as you want. Boil that while you mix it, making sure that it doesn't stick to the bottom, and just let everything reduce...you could add a little white wine to this if you wanted to, preferably a nice Pinot Griggio. The sauce should have a nice consistency after about half an hour...if its a little thin, you can add a little slurry (water and cornstarch), making sure you stir the sauce as you add the slurry...add a little bit at a time until you get a nice velvety consistency.

To finish, you can grill your ribs, adding on your bbq sauce near the end...or you could also bake them with the sauce on, for about 10 to 15 minutes.

[sclitheroe]

Temperature is the key - get two good digital thermoters, one to watch the temperature inside the BBQ, one to watch the internal temp of the meat. I slow cook them on a raised rack in the BBQ with the air temperature hovering around 200 degrees until the ribs are at 160 internally. Actual time doesn't matter - it's all about temperature. Then, crank the heat up, drop the ribs onto the grill, and add your finishing sauce, raising the internal temp to around 170-180 for 20-30 minutes (air temp of 300-400 will get you there). What you are aiming for is slow cooking the meat evenly, and the final temperature increase further breaks down (melts, I guess) the collagens in the meat without overcooking them, making them tender.

If you want to get really nuts about it, it's actually a good idea to pull the ribs out of the BBQ before the high heat finish, to let the proteins in the meat relax as they cool, as they will naturally bind up from the cooking process (think of what happens to scrambled eggs as they cook, the same thing is happening inside your meat).

If you don't want to run the BBQ for hours, and don't want to lose flavor by boiling them, get a good size crockpot, and slow cook them in that for 6-8 hours. I find it doesn't kill the flavor the way boiling does. You can also place a shallow pan of water in the BBQ, below your racked ribs, to keep the humidity inside the BBQ higher, which helps prevent the ribs from drying at the tips from the hours of slow cooking. It also helps stabilize the temperature if the wind picks up, because you have more thermal mass in the BBQ.

Find any of Alton Brown's Good Eats episodes dealing with meat, or his book, which explains a lot of why this works. It applies to roasts in the oven as well. Once you understand some of the science behind the cooking process, you can replicate every style of restaurant cooking. I can do ribs and roasts up how people like them every time now (some people don't actually like ribs that are too "fall off the bone", and most people don't want them too tough either)

-Scott

[GreenTeaFrapp]

Originally Posted by sclitheroe

Temperature is the key - get two good digital thermoters, one to watch the temperature inside the BBQ, one to watch the internal temp of the meat.

A good digital thermometer will be able to track both the internal temperature and the air temperature by itself.

[Five-hole]

Originally Posted by sadora

awesome recipe

I will try this.

[GoinAllTheWay]

Originally Posted by prarieboy

I'm going to try the boil method (GoinAllThe Way), 2hr Slow and low (Slava) and Smoked (Guzzy). I'll bump the thread later in the summer to proclaim my favorite. Thanks for all the input, really big help.

Someone should put together a Calgaypuck Cook-Book from all the good recipes posted on this site.

Just so it's clear, I said pressure cooking, not just boiling them in water. Big difference.

Just at tip as well if you didn't already know, Earls can and will sell you their precooked ribs at a slightly reduced price. Super easy to finish off, just brush with BBQ sauce (I use Cattle Boyz Original, best store bought BBQ sauce IMO) and chuck on the BBQ for maybe 8 minutes or so on medium heat. SOLID dinner to have at home.

[prarieboy]

Originally Posted by octothorp

I'm a member of the rub school of rib-cooking; boiling just takes too much flavour out. I've got a rub that uses about a pound of turbanado sugar, paprika, salt, pepper, garlic and lemon zest. Cooking temperatures are key, because you want the sugar to carmelize but not burn. I don't like ribs that are soaked in sauce... a good rub and properly cooked ribs are all you really need.

Details man, Details!!!!

[icarus]

Originally Posted by urban1

Boil the ribs in Coca-Cola.

Originally Posted by Cerebral

Believe it or not, boiling ribs in Pepsi works extremely well.

How about Dr. Pepper?

[Winsor_Pilates]

I have never eaten ribs

this thread is really making me want to go get some

[GoinAllTheWay]

Originally Posted by Winsor_Pilates

I have never eaten ribs

this thread is really making me want to go get some

You poor, poor man (or woman), head to Earls for lunch TODAY and order up some of the cities finest.

[bigtmac19]

Originally Posted by Winsor_Pilates

I have never eaten ribs

this thread is really making me want to go get some

Oh my, never eaten ribs!!! Unbelievable.

Are you vegetarian?

Ribs are the best, a guilty pleasure though, since they are not healthy at all.

[bigtmac19]

Originally Posted by octothorp

I'm a member of the rub school of rib-cooking; boiling just takes too much flavour out. I've got a rub that uses about a pound of turbanado sugar, paprika, salt, pepper, garlic and lemon zest. Cooking temperatures are key, because you want the sugar to carmelize but not burn. I don't like ribs that are soaked in sauce... a good rub and properly cooked ribs are all you really need.

Definitely agree, I prefer the dry rub methods for a lot of meats.

Yours sounds delicious.

What is Turbanado sugar?

[octothorp]

Originally Posted by bigtmac19

Definitely agree, I prefer the dry rub methods for a lot of meats.

Yours sounds delicious.

What is Turbanado sugar?

Turbanado sugar is sometimes labelled as sugar in the raw, big yellowish crystals, comes in brown paper packets at coffee shops. You can get a .5kg container of it at safeway in the spice isle.

These quantities make about enough for four racks of 3lb ribs, you can scale it up or down depending on your needs:
.5 kg turbanado sugar
4 garlic cloves, minced
zest from two lemons
1/4 cup salt
1/4 cup freshly ground pepper
2 tbsp fresh ground thyme
2 tbsp paprika

just mix all those things together, and coat your ribs in olive oil before applying the rub. I like to put my rub on the night before... As I mentioned before, keeping the cooking temperature low is really key.

[bigtmac19]

Originally Posted by octothorp

Turbanado sugar is sometimes labelled as sugar in the raw, big yellowish crystals, comes in brown paper packets at coffee shops. You can get a .5kg container of it at safeway in the spice isle.

These quantities make about enough for four racks of 3lb ribs, you can scale it up or down depending on your needs:
.5 kg turbanado sugar
4 garlic cloves, minced
zest from two lemons
1/4 cup salt
1/4 cup freshly ground pepper
2 tbsp fresh ground thyme
2 tbsp paprika

just mix all those things together, and coat your ribs in olive oil before applying the rub. I like to put my rub on the night before... As I mentioned before, keeping the cooking temperature low is really key.

Wow, this sounds great!

Thanks so much, I am going to try this on the weekend.
Really appreciate it!

[redforever]

This is the rub I use, got it from a recipe called slow baked Memphis ribs from Fine Cooking magazine.

1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated garlic (not garlic salt)
1/2 cup salt
1/2 cup paprika
2 Tbsp granulated onion
1 Tbsp dry mustard
1 Tbsp Creole seasoning
2 Tbsp chili powder
1 Tbsp cayenne
1 Tbsp cumin
1 Tbsp coriander
1/8 cup coarse black pepper

Stir together all ingrediends and store in an airtight container.

Use extra meaty back ribs. Remove the filmy membrane from the backside of the ribs. Liberally coat both sides of the ribs with the rub, I do this on wax paper for ease of clean up. Lightly cover with plastic wrap and let sit for an hour. Place ribs on racks on large baking sheets. Bake at 300F for 2 to 2.5 hours, turning ribs once.

Turn oven to 350F. Baste with your favorite barbecue sauce. Bake 15 minutes. Turn over and baste other side of ribs and bake another 15 minutes. You can finish the ribs on the barbecue if you wish, cooking just enough so the sauce is browned but not burned.

[prarieboy]

Originally Posted by GreenTeaFrapp

You're not cooking them long enough at low heat. Try 225 for at least 2 hours and then grill them.

Holly #@$% Serve these to your friends!!!

I tried this tonight and they turned out great.
2hrs at 225 lightly seasoned with salt and pepper in a 1 1/2" pan covered in tinfoil. After that I let them stand on the counter for 45 minutes.
Next I sauced them up with Tony Romas "Carolina Honeys" sauce and gave then about 4 minutes per side on medium heat on the barbecue.

These were the best ribs I've ever cooked at home!!! Thanks for the tip.

I'll try boiling in sauce next time.

[Cowperson]

I must take this opportunity to correct something or my life will be forfeit . . . . Mrs. Cowperson is back in town and was aghast that I was telling people she boils ribs . . . . . actually she bakes them first in about an inch of water, about 1.5 hours for half a rack and 2.5 hours for a full rack, with various herbs, garlic, etc . . . . then onto the barbecue for a quick grill.

Cowperson