Baby Back Ribs

LiL Smokie · January 04, 2008, 04:50:48 PM

Guy's,
Could you give me an easy recipe for baby back ribs. I just happen to be in the store today and purchased some. I usually do pretty good with them on the grill but thought I would try to smoke them. I do not have any special rubs or anything. I need prep, temps, times, How to keep them from drying out. This is stupid but on some other posts I read that a membrane has to be removed? Where is it? What is FTC. Thanks for any help. This will only be my 2nd time using my smoker.

HCT · January 04, 2008, 05:02:48 PM

Hiya Smokie, there is a thin whitish membrane on the bone side of the ribs. It is a real pain in the butt to get off but when off it lets the rub spices penetrate into the meat. The best way I found so far to remove it is to start at one end and try to slip a spoon tip under it til you can get ahold of the membrane to rip it of. Patience and slow pulling is prolly the best thing I can offer you. There are alot of rubs you can search for here, find one you think you'll like. One thing I always do is put a rub on it and let then sit in apple cider/juice overnite. Others will help you with the temps and timing. I never found FTC'ing any help with ribs. I don't like them to sit and have the meat fall off the bone. Ribs should have a little resistence with the bone. Just my preference.
Mike

Wildcat · January 04, 2008, 05:06:54 PM

I responded to this on the other thread. Sometimes there will not be a membrane, but it is a thin skin-like membrane on the back side of the ribs. To keep them moist (assuming you will cook start to finish in the smoker) spritz with apple juice every time you open the smoker. I recommend cooking at 210 F box temp or less until done. Do not rush it. Time will vary so give plenty of time and simply FTC to keep hot. See your other thread for the rest of my response.

Most importantly, there are no stupid questions on here. We are all in different stages of experience and learning.

Ribs are probably the hardest to perfect. Good luck and let us know how they turn out.

hillbillysmoker · January 04, 2008, 05:13:03 PM

This is the process used to remove the membrane. Hope this helps and good luck.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hks-J1pJ7xQ

LiL Smokie · January 04, 2008, 05:13:56 PM

I will Thank you

Consiglieri · January 04, 2008, 05:41:44 PM

Lot's of variations with ribs. I will remove the membrane and then decide how to season them. I find that I come back to two rub styles (1) mustard slathered and rubbed with a hot/sweet rub; (2) rubbed with garlic, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. If I'm cooking a large volume I may do both.

About 3 to 4 hours into the smoke, rotate your racks and spray or brush with apple juice (or the mop of your choice).

If I'm going to "sauce" the ribs, I'll put on one coat about an hour before I figure they'll be done, and another at the 30 minute mark. If I'll be FTC'ing the ribs, I'll throw in a bit more apple juice and sauce.

Good luck. Here's a couple of posts that may be helpful.

Iceman's competition rib technique: http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=4290.0

A compilation of information I've gathered (mostly here): http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=5348.msg49957#msg49957

And a rib "doneness" test summary (mostly from here too): http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=5228.msg48579#msg48579

LilSmoker · January 05, 2008, 02:51:35 AM

Lot's of spot on advice already given here, but there's no such thing as "too much info" where ribs are concerned. ;)

Ribs can be one of the most difficult things to perfect with the BS, because there are so many things to take into account. Quality of the meat?, rub/marinade time?, rub ingredients?, smoke time?, cook time?, wood used?, cook temp? FTC?.

So i would suggest whatever method you go with, write down everything you do, then if you're happy with the end result, you have yourself a great method/recipe for ribs, if not, then you have a base to adjust from.

Here's how i do mine (taken from old post):

First of all remove the membrane from the ribs, always do this otherwise the ribs will be chewy :o if you're using a rub you can now apply it. I like to rub the ribs an hour or two before smoking, some like to leave them overnight, i think it depends on the ingredients, as sometimes i've found leaving the rub too long can make the ribs dry, so best to experiment.

When you're redy to smoke, let the ribs get up to room temp, whilst you're waiting you can start peparing the BS ready fo smoking.

Place hot water in the BS water bowl, preheat to about 250f or higher depending on ammount of ribs, i aim for a cooking temp of 200f-205f, so the temp will drop when the ribs are added.

Ok, put the ribs into the BS, close the door and load your bisquettes, i use 3-4 hours of smoke depending on wood type. At this stage if you have "Bubba pucks" add 3, or 2 + 1 wood puck.

Make a note of the time, and try and get the cook temp at a steady 200f-205f, it will probably take a while to climb, but no problem you can always have a beer or two! ;)

At the 3 hour mark i usually spray the ribs with a mixture of apple juice and honey, and rotate the racks top to bottom, back to front etc, try and do this quickly as the cabinet temp will drop considerably.

At the 4 hour mark, refresh the water bowl with hot water, rotate racks, and spray the ribs again with more juice. I now leave the ribs for about another 2 hours without disturbing them, mine are usually done or almost done after 6 hours, you could add some bbq sauce for the last hour.

Anyway after 6 hours in the BS, if the ribs are not tender enough for you, you can put them into a foil pan, juice them, cover with foil and put them in the oven at 190f for whatever time it takes to get right for your taste, 1-4 hours, they should then be very very tender.

Or you could put them into the crockpot with some juice or sauce until they're right for you. Usually after 6 hours in the BS the ribs are more or less done anyway.

At my place some like the ribs dry, and some like them sticky with sauce, so i do them all dry, and add sauce to half of them after they come out of the BS. ;)

Here's some of my efforts with ribs from a while back:

Membrane removed:

Rubbed:

Ready to go:

All done, sauced (nice and sticky)

Job done!:

Stick with it, you'll soon be churning out great ribs ;)

Also spend some time at this place, there is a wealth of knowledge, and lots of fantastic recipes there, a real must for a Bradley owner:

http://www.susanminor.org/forums/

Lots of help here also, so if you get stuck, just shout ;D

LilSmoker

Wildcat · January 05, 2008, 05:22:19 AM

Great write up LS. My method is similiar. Everything the same except sometimes I use some of Ice's sauce and put on a hot charcoal grill for a few minutes instead of oven or crock.

LiL Smokie · January 05, 2008, 10:44:46 AM

Thanks for the help. I have 6 lbs. of ribs. This morning I found some Famoud Dave's Rib Rub. I thought after removing the membrane I would add mustard and wrap overnight. Thanks for the tip about not added the rub too soon. I do not want dry ribs. I will keep you all posted on how they turn out. I will be trying some bacon soon too. How do you guys hang your bacon. I do not have a bacon comb.

Thanks

NESmoker · January 05, 2008, 11:12:58 AM

I think it's all been said already but the big points to me are these:

Always remove the membrane. I use a butter knife to get under the membrane at one end, then I can usually pull it right off.

Rub the night before if possible and let sit in the fridge. Then take them out in the morning and let them come up to room temp while you are getting the smoker ready.

I have tried mopping with apple juice, apple cider and a mix of the two vs. no mop and there is little difference.

I smoke at 220 to 225F for about 6 to 6 1/2 hours for three racks. The key is to take them out just as the meat hits 200. The meat will fall off the bone!

West Coast Kansan · January 05, 2008, 12:47:26 PM

bacon can go on the racks - marks dont show once it is sliced. If you want to hang any kind of jeryrig will do. - :-[ even running a couple of loops of butcher string through the slab and out the top of the vent or over a dowl or to another rack in the top slot. :-[ Anything that will allow you to rotate it will be the best.

LiL Smokie · January 05, 2008, 08:12:20 PM

Thanks I'll give it a try and let you know how it works out. Bacon will have to wait until next week.......not enough time

DrunkenMick · January 07, 2008, 05:41:29 PM

I see everyone seems to agree 6-7 hours of total cook time with about 4 hours of smoke is the going routine.

The last racks i did i smoked for 4 hours and pulled and FTC'd for about an hour. Could that explain why they were dry? I didn't cook through doneness to tenderness as i keep hearing?

Wildcat · January 07, 2008, 05:54:23 PM

That played a big roll in it. My first ribs in the BS were kind of tough because I took them out too soon.

DrunkenMick · January 07, 2008, 05:59:17 PM

Gotcha thanks for the tip. Plus (I know shame on me) i didn't remove the membrane :( That stuff turns into shoe leather!! I was really feeling down about my first rib load sucked :-\

But there's light at the end of the tunnel. With all the knowledge gleaned from doing nothing but reading and some of icemans rub/sauce on order we'll be set for the next load.

I just got my Maverick in the mail today. I guess there's no way to really measure the meat temp on ribs because of the small area to actually measure?