A quick "HOW & WHY" on ribs to get you started.

[iceman]

How Most Competition Cooks Prepare Ribs

This is some input from forgotten sources and various experts (not me, that's for sure) that visit my house from time to time and many grease stained notes of mine. Hope this kind of explains things enough to get folks started. Have a good time smoking. ;D 
Feel free to add on. Enjoy!!!

First of all understand, we use "smokers" when we cook ribs. :o

The secret to GREAT  :P ribs is to cook them at low temps for long periods of time. In competition, we cook all our meats at around 225 degrees F and it takes 6 hours for ribs, 10 – 12 hours for pork butts and up to 18 hours for brisket.

First let's explode a few myths about ribs:

MYTH # 1

The secret to great ribs is to boil them first!

WRONG!!!... NEVER, EVER boil your ribs!!! I don't care what your mother taught you or what famous chef on the Food Network did. NEVER EVER BOIL ribs!!!  ::)

OK, let me explain what water does to meat. There is a certain degree of osmosis that takes place when you boil meat in water. This is accelerated if you use even a small amount of salt in the water or on the meat. In essence, what happens is... the water goes in and the flavor of the meat goes out. If you doubt this, taste the water after you have boiled something in it. This is the whole concept behind making soup. So, when you boil your ribs, all that wonderful pork flavor comes out (notice how greasy the water is?).  ???

Now, I do agree you will get a tender cut of meat. But, what does it taste like WITHOUT any rub or sauce. Does it look good? Would you even eat it? If you were blind folded, could you identify what type of meat it is? (Most people fail this test!). Next a simple question... would you boil your steaks or chops or burgers? I will gladly share the secret to making tender AND flavorful ribs. BTW, a truly GREAT rib can be tested by using simply salt and pepper... what is called a "dry" rib (a "wet" rib has sauce on it). I suggest everyone try their ribs this way first... then start experimenting with various rubs and sauces.

MYTH # 2

Boiling/ steaming gets the fat out.

WRONG!!!

Yes, it will get rid of SOME of the fat. But very rarely will it get rid of ALL the fat. This is the single biggest problem that folks have with ribs... even after boiling; there are still pockets of fat.  ;)

A quick technical lesson (for sharing over a few cold beers).  :D



Fat can only be rendered in a dry cooking environment over a long period of time and at low temperatures. Here is what happens... the meat must attain a temperature of 160 to 170 degrees F to start the fat rendering process. At these temps, the meat temperature will "plateau"... that is, it will stay at these temps for up to 2 hours on ribs and 4 to 5 hours on butts and briskets. What is happening is, the collagen (connective tissue) starts to break down... this process releases water, which in turn causes a cooling of the meat. So the temps stay steady. This collagen breakdown is what makes the meat so tender. Once this collagen breaks down, the temps will start to rise. It is this process that allows ALL of the fat to be rendered from a rib.

OK... on with it. The night before you should choose your favorite rub... a combination of spices... and apply it to the ribs. Then wrap them in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. You want to keep the air out and the moisture in... besides, who wants the ribs to taste like what's in the refrigerator or vise versa. Here is a good starting rub you can try

1 TBS Garlic powder
1 TBS Onion Powder
1 TBS Salt
1 TBS Cayenne Pepper
1 TBS Black Pepper
1 TBS White Pepper
1 Cup Brown Sugar 
½ Cup Paprika

Simply mix all the ingredients together. This may be a little hot for some folks, so just cut back on the cayenne.

The day you are to cook, take the ribs out about 1 hour prior to cooking.

Pre heat your smoker to 225 degrees F.

Place your ribs bone side DOWN... you will NOT turn these over (this allows the fat to travel through the meat and leave all that flavor behind). Place them on a wire rack directly over the drip pan... you want to catch the drippings in this pan.

After 1 ½ hours of smoking / cooking with your favorite wood (NOT BEFORE)!!! spritz or mop the ribs with a mixture of apple juice and 1 part oil or any mopping sauce you prefer. Do this every ½ - ¾ hour until the ribs are done.

To test for doneness, you can look at the bones and watch for the meat to be pulling back from the ends or use the tooth pick test... insert a tooth pick between the bones and if it goes through easily they are done.
At this time you can spritz them once more and FTC (see note).


Finally you can apply sauces 20 minutes prior to serving or serve it on the side for dipping.

That's it your done. You can toss them on the grill for a minute or two if you prefer or save them for the next day and reheat in the oven or grill wrapped in foil ;D


Note:
F = foil
T = towel
C = cooler
Lets say after smoking a pork butt for 4 hours or so then keep it cooking until it reaches the desired temperature 195f / 210f ? or there and about. It could take 10 or 12 hours. Just depends on the amount of meat you're cooking.

You then take it out of the smoker and wrap it in aluminum Foil (maybe add some apple juice or whatever).

Then wrap it in a few layers of old Towels (like beach towels or old bath towels).

Next stick it in an old Cooler you have laying around (NO ICE! You're trying to keep it warm).

Let it sit for a couple of hours so the passive heat can do its magic and you will end up with some VERY, VERY tender, juicy meat.

I like to use a combo of hickory / apple, or oak / apple for ribs.


ICEMAN / Patrick Gbur

[Habanero Smoker]

Thanks for the detailed instructions. For me ribs are the hardest thing for me to smoke and have it come out right.

[icerat4]

Serious habs.One would have not thunk that.

[TomG]

Yeahbut Iceman, where do the smoke flavor come from??? ;D ;D ;D

[asa]

Iceman -
Thanks for putting together Ribs 101 for all. I agree with emphasizing trying ribs with just the dry rub and no sauce - that's what one should aim for, in my opinion. And the importance of what happens between 160 and 170 cannot be overemphasized. I think understanding that is the key to a lot of this type of cooking.

It will be valuable to be able to refer back to this in the future when people want to know how to get started. I'm wondering if you also remove the membrane. And I'm guessing Tom's question has to do with what kind of wood you use/recommend. That might be good to add too.

Regards,
     Art

[TomG]

Art, Iceman- I'm probably blinded by hysteric euphoria, but I couldn't find any mention of actually "smoking" either the ribs or the butt in the recipe.  8)

[MWS]

Tom, I see your teetering on the brink of 'Full Member' status.  ;)

[manxman]

Excellent post iceman, thanks.  :)

[Wildcat]

Good lesson.  I already knew that low and slow made meat tender, just did not truely understand the science behind it..  I used to slow smoke deer and goats in a home built pit perfectly like I was taught by my an uncle long ago, but never understood the science behind it.  This knowledge is really going to help.

[TomG]

COWABUNGA!!!! Thanks for the headsup Mike and damn if it isn't my birthday.   :D

[iceman]

COWABUNGA!!!! Thanks for the headsup Mike and damn if it isn't my birthday.   :D

Happy Birthday Tom G. ;D :D P.S. I added the smoke and wood type to the post. Good call. Thanks oh OLD and wise one. :D ;)

[LilSmoker]

Thanks for a great post iceman, i love ribs, can never have too much info where ribs are concerned  ;)

[icerat4]

wow tomg moving up in the ranks i see.Thanks for all the great advice here and ideas. ;)

[kiyotei]

What about beef ribs?  You ever try them?  Does anyone have advice?

[haellc]

Iceman
so when you set the temp for 225 what does it drop to after the mea is in and how long do you smoke? Do you judge length of time to cook from the time the meat reaches 165-170 till they have been at that temp for 2 hours?
This sound like a great idea I will try to duplicate it this weekend.
haellc