Smoking Pork Ribs

[ding]

Oh ... I was going to suggest smoking marijuana instead ... stupid me ...

You can do both plus drink beer!

I bet you've never smoked weed, you're way too uptight.

If you only knew.

 

[Taz]

Oh ... I was going to suggest smoking marijuana instead ... stupid me ...

You can do both plus drink beer!

I bet you've never smoked weed, you're way too uptight.

If you only knew.

Tell me.

 

[ding]

Oh ... I was going to suggest smoking marijuana instead ... stupid me ...

You can do both plus drink beer!

I bet you've never smoked weed, you're way too uptight.

If you only knew.

Tell me.

Maybe one day.

 

[TNHarley]

Seems like overkill for ribs.
I just put some rub(salt pepper ground mustard chili powder garlic cayenne and paprika) on em, and throw em on the grill for 4 hours or so. You cant beat it.

To each his own, TN. I have a hard time arguing against the finished result.

I have no doubt its good. I was just saying it seems unnecessary.
BBQ is more about cooking technique than anything.

 

[Rambunctious]

I use a rub on ribs overnight in the fridge...then stand them up against the sides of a slow cooker and let them cook all day...about 6-8 hours on high...and then take them out to the grill all sauced up with my favorite BBq sauce...and grill them about 20 mins....melts in your mouth good.....no smoker needed...don't put any sauce in the slow cooker or you will end up with rib soup...cook em dry....

 

[Mac-7]

Before brining I rinse the ribs thoroughly. I brine my ribs with 1 cup of kosher salt, 1 cup of brown sugar and 1 gallon of tap water for two hours. You can brine them for longer but the minimum time is 2 hours. As long as you use a 1 cup of salt to 1 cup of sugar in 1 gallon of water ratio you can’t over brine anything whether it be ribs, pork roasts or chicken. You can use a greater ratio of sugar but don’t use less than a 1 to 1 ratio of sugar to salt. 2 cups of sugar to 1 cup of salt is fine in 1 gallon of water. You can use kosher salt or sea salt or Himalayan salt or table salt. You can use white sugar or brown sugar or raw sugar or any combination of the above.

I cut my rack in half so it fits nicely in my brining bucket and my rib rack. If doing more than 1 rack of ribs you can stack them but you will have to add another gallon of brine mixture to cover the ribs. I mix my brine in the bucket before putting the ribs in so it’s good to know how much brine to mix beforehand. The picture below is of one rack of ribs which were cut in half and brined in 1 gallon of my brine mixture.
View attachment 417939

After brining the ribs for 2 hours I rinsed the ribs thoroughly. If you don’t do this the ribs will be saltier. After rinsing thoroughly it is important to dry both side of the ribs with paper towels before seasoning. This is a learning from America’s Test Kitchen and is something that you should do for cooking all meats regardless of the cooking method as it promotes better browning.

If you decide not to brine you should allow the ribs to come to room temperature and rinse and dry the ribs before seasoning. This is also an America’s Test Kitchen learning and it applies to all meats regardless of the cooking method. Brining the ribs with tap water for 2 hours will bring the ribs to room temperature so you can go straight from the fridge to the brine.

View attachment 417941

After brining, rinsing and drying the ribs I season both sides. I season them right before they go in the pit. This too is a learning from America’s Test Kitchen. I used Butt Rub from Costco but I have also seasoned with coarse Kosher salt, black pepper and paprika and get excellent results. What you choose to season with and how liberally you season the ribs is personal preference. I tend to not over do it. You can see from the pictures below how much I seasoned the ribs. Just make sure to season both sides
View attachment 417942

I always use a rib rack because it promotes equal browning and eliminates the need to open the pit to flip the ribs and it serves as a de facto heat shield to force the heat to flow around the sides
View attachment 417943

I use oak whenever I can. I find that oak works really well with everything and is not overpowering. I will typically put the ribs in at 200F and slowly build the heat to 225F. If the heat gets away from me I close the firebox flue and wait for the temp to drop below 225F before cracking it back open
View attachment 417944

Ribs are the only meat I smoke based on time and pit temperature. Typically that is around 5 to 6 hours at 225F. If my temp is running hot or I have the bark I want I may take the off at 5 1/2 hours. If I am making extras, I may take the ones that I am saving for later off at 5 hours. More on that later.

The picture below was taken at 4 hours. As long as my temp was good I never open the pit until at least 4 hours for my first check
View attachment 417945

At 225F ribs are technically cooked after 3 hours but they wil be tough. It’s the extra 2 to 3 hours that the fats break down and the meat gets tender.

I took these ribs off after 5 1/2 hours because the meat had pulled away from the bone and I had the bark like I like it. At 4 1/2 hours I put corn into the pit and roasted it.

The picture below is the finished product and they were amazing.
View attachment 417946

Everything I mentioned above can be used whether you are smoking ribs on a pit or cooking them in an oven or an outside gas grill.

I have tried multiple methods; wrapping after 3 hours, basting, etc. and this is the method I believe produces the best results consistently. It doesn’t matter if you use baby back ribs, spare ribs or St Louis style spare ribs. This method works.

Lastly, sometimes I will purposely cook more than we are planning to eat for the express purpose of saving leftovers. When I do that I will take the ones I am planning to save our of the smoker 30 minutes early. I do this so that when they are reheated they are as moist as the ones we ate that day. I wrap them in Saran Wrap twice then vacuum seal them and store them in the fridge. They will keep this way safely for 30 days. Then when I reheat them I put the vacuum sealed bag in a hot water bath for 10 to 15 minutes, and they are just as good and juicy as the day I cooked them.

Enjoy.

That looks so good its only a matter of time before libs in the blue states find an excuse to ban it

 

[ding]

Seems like overkill for ribs.
I just put some rub(salt pepper ground mustard chili powder garlic cayenne and paprika) on em, and throw em on the grill for 4 hours or so. You cant beat it.

To each his own, TN. I have a hard time arguing against the finished result.

I have no doubt its good. I was just saying it seems unnecessary.
BBQ is more about cooking technique than anything.

America's Test Kitchen is predicated on small differences making a difference. From my own experiences, I would agree with them as I have done my own testing to see what works the best. Some things don't seem to make a difference while others do.

 

[TNHarley]

I use a rub on ribs overnight in the fridge...then stand them up against the sides of a slow cooker and let them cook all day...about 6-8 hours on high...and then take them out to the grill all sauced up with my favorite BBq sauce...and grill them about 20 mins....melts in your mouth good.....no smoker needed...don't put any sauce in the slow cooker or you will end up with rib soup...cook em dry....

I did country style ribs in the crock pot with bbq sauce once. It took me about 4 days of scrubbing and scrubbing to get all the burnt shit off the pot.
I no longer put bbq sauce on them and i always use an oven bag now lol

 

[Rambunctious]

I use a rub on ribs overnight in the fridge...then stand them up against the sides of a slow cooker and let them cook all day...about 6-8 hours on high...and then take them out to the grill all sauced up with my favorite BBq sauce...and grill them about 20 mins....melts in your mouth good.....no smoker needed...don't put any sauce in the slow cooker or you will end up with rib soup...cook em dry....

I did country style ribs in the crock pot with bbq sauce once. It took me about 4 days of scrubbing and scrubbing to get all the burnt shit off the pot.
I no longer put bbq sauce on them and i always use an oven bag now lol

I never sauce them in the slow cooker and I spray the slow cook pot with olive oil pam to make clean us a breeze...but yes there is more clean up with this than a smoker...but I don't have a smoker....

 

[TNHarley]

I use a rub on ribs overnight in the fridge...then stand them up against the sides of a slow cooker and let them cook all day...about 6-8 hours on high...and then take them out to the grill all sauced up with my favorite BBq sauce...and grill them about 20 mins....melts in your mouth good.....no smoker needed...don't put any sauce in the slow cooker or you will end up with rib soup...cook em dry....

I did country style ribs in the crock pot with bbq sauce once. It took me about 4 days of scrubbing and scrubbing to get all the burnt shit off the pot.
I no longer put bbq sauce on them and i always use an oven bag now lol

I never sauce them in the slow cooker and I spray the slow cook pot with olive oil pam to make clean us a breeze...but yes there is more clean up with this than a smoker...but I don't have a smoker....

I had oiled the pot but it didnt help. All that sugar from the bbq sauce burnt.
I have a stand up charcoal smoker but i rarely use it. If it fits on my weber kettle, thats what im using.

 

[Rambunctious]

I use a rub on ribs overnight in the fridge...then stand them up against the sides of a slow cooker and let them cook all day...about 6-8 hours on high...and then take them out to the grill all sauced up with my favorite BBq sauce...and grill them about 20 mins....melts in your mouth good.....no smoker needed...don't put any sauce in the slow cooker or you will end up with rib soup...cook em dry....

I did country style ribs in the crock pot with bbq sauce once. It took me about 4 days of scrubbing and scrubbing to get all the burnt shit off the pot.
I no longer put bbq sauce on them and i always use an oven bag now lol

I never sauce them in the slow cooker and I spray the slow cook pot with olive oil pam to make clean us a breeze...but yes there is more clean up with this than a smoker...but I don't have a smoker....

I had oiled the pot but it didnt help. All that sugar from the bbq sauce burnt.
I have a stand up charcoal smoker but i rarely use it. If it fits on my weber kettle, thats what im using.

Yeah sugar burns...that's why I cook them dry and add sauce before I grill them....it works great!....

 

[ReinyDays]

Maybe one day.

"Purple Trainwreck" grown at Green Acres Farms ... tested by MW Labs at 22.6% THC and 0% CBD ... I was just checking to see if Magic Mushrooms were available at retail yet ...

 

[Dick Foster]

Oh ... I was going to suggest smoking marijuana instead ... stupid me ...

You can do both plus drink beer!

If I can't fit it into a tortilla ... then it's not food ... I've a strictly taco diet ... Qué Paso amigo ...

Pulled pork is an excellent substitute for carnitas.

 

[Dick Foster]

Seems like overkill for ribs.
I just put some rub(salt pepper ground mustard chili powder garlic cayenne and paprika) on em, and throw em on the grill for 4 hours or so. You cant beat it.

Better cooked low and slow in a proper smoker. Barbeque is all about low and slow cooking tougher cuts of meat so they break down and tenderize. The tougher cuts are typically the tastier cuts so haste makes waste and sauce hides the great flavor of the meat you've worked so hard to get. If you go smearing sauce on beef brisket in Texas you're liable to be strung up.

 

[TNHarley]

Seems like overkill for ribs.
I just put some rub(salt pepper ground mustard chili powder garlic cayenne and paprika) on em, and throw em on the grill for 4 hours or so. You cant beat it.

Better cooked low and slow in a proper smoker. Barbeque is all about low and slow cooking tougher cuts of meat so they break down and tenderize. The tougher cuts are typically the tastier cuts so haste makes waste and sauce hides the great flavor of the meat you've worked so hard to get. If you go smearing sauce on beef brisket in Texas you're liable to be strung up.

When i do pork ribs, i do half sauced and half dry. Most of the time.
Sauce doesnt touch my beef ribs, though!
Beef ribs are 10 times better than pork.

 

[Taz]

Oh ... I was going to suggest smoking marijuana instead ... stupid me ...

You can do both plus drink beer!

I bet you've never smoked weed, you're way too uptight.

If you only knew.

Tell me.

Maybe one day.

You have nothing as usual.

 

[OldLady]

I might be going to Savannah next October. I've been down south twice for short vacations, and the one thing I've not had the chance to sample is real bbq.

Is there bbq in Savannah? What kind? What is it like and what should I look for if it exists ?

 

[ding]

Oh ... I was going to suggest smoking marijuana instead ... stupid me ...

You can do both plus drink beer!

I bet you've never smoked weed, you're way too uptight.

If you only knew.

Tell me.

Maybe one day.

You have nothing as usual.

Time will tell.

 

[ding]

I might be going to Savannah next October. I've been down south twice for short vacations, and the one thing I've not had the chance to sample is real bbq.

Is there bbq in Savannah? What kind? What is it like and what should I look for if it exists ?

I've never been there so I can't help. Maybe someone else can. What I can say is if the parking lot is crowded, it's probably good. Of course, not sure about the post covid world.

 

[Dick Foster]

Seems like overkill for ribs.
I just put some rub(salt pepper ground mustard chili powder garlic cayenne and paprika) on em, and throw em on the grill for 4 hours or so. You cant beat it.

Better cooked low and slow in a proper smoker. Barbeque is all about low and slow cooking tougher cuts of meat so they break down and tenderize. The tougher cuts are typically the tastier cuts so haste makes waste and sauce hides the great flavor of the meat you've worked so hard to get. If you go smearing sauce on beef brisket in Texas you're liable to be strung up.

When i do pork ribs, i do half sauced and half dry. Most of the time.
Sauce doesnt touch my beef ribs, though!
Beef ribs are 10 times better than pork.

I like both but it's hard to find decent beef ribs to cook and good luck finding an honest to God butcher anymore. When I go to what passes for a butcher counter in any of the stores these days and ask for plate ribs I get blank stares. All they ever have in the case are shiners (aka back ribs) which I refuse to waste money on. I can't even find chuck ribs. If it doesn't come out of a friggin box what passes for a butcher in stores these days won't know anything about it.