Lets make some ribs

And lets make em right.

Its hard not to like ribs- Ribs are delicious. Though lately Ive been seeing some ribs get posted here, that while they LOOK delicious (and im sure ARE)- Well..

I see em over cooked a lot.

Now, maybe thats what some people prefer- And Im not going to tell anyone their preference is wrong, but

Its wrong.

(Thats a joke, dont kill me)

Ribs are typically cooked at a lower temperature (Around 250-300 degrees), and the ribs themselves need to be brought up to around 200~ degrees. So the concern for "over cooking" ribs isnt that youll overly burn them- but that youll cook them too long and over tenderize them.

Now Sidways, I hear you say- Isnt tender meat a GOOD thing?

Yes- It is. To a degree.

However

The thing with overly cooked (ie: Tender) ribs is that they become moosh, and what you end up with is less a "rib" and more "pulled pork". Which is fine, thats still delicious. But IMO if you want pulled pork, get pulled pork. If you want ribs, make ribs.

So with that in mind, lets cook some ribs and lets cook em good.

First step is finding the type of rib you want. In the US theres 3 common cuts of ribs youll find in MOST stores for ribs like we’re about to do:

Spare ribs, St Louis ribs, and baby back ribs.

Tonight were going with St Louis style ribs.

Once youve got your ribs picked out- the first thing youll want to do is remove the silver skin from the back of the ribs. This is a membrane that wont render or cook down well, and will be chewy. Use something like a spoon or a regular knife (I used the one on the far left here)- and try to get it between the membrane and the bone. Pry it up a little and work it loose, then grab it with your fingers or a dry paper towel if its too slippery and peel it away. The silver skin will USUALLY peel off in 1 or 2 good pieces without much trouble.

From here well want to trim up and shape our ribs where necessary

First up- St Louis ribs are usually well marbled with fat, and IMO that makes them some of the best tasting. Because of that we dont need much surface fat. I take a sharp knife, and trim it down to, or close to, the meat.

Next is to trim off any "extra" bits and shape up the ribs. St Louis ribs tend to have a "flap" of meat along the back side (silver skin side) for example. I know it sucks, but trim this off (You can however use this stuff in other recipes so it doesnt have to go to waste). Well be cooking over heat for a couple hours, any "bits" will just over char and burn, and the surrounding areas wont cook as evenly either because of this.

Trim this stuff off, and sqaure them up. Your ribs WILL cook better because of this.

Now were ready for seasoning.

Ill be keeping mine pretty simple today-

The only real seasoning im going to be using today is Lucille's Rib Rub. Yes- Lucille's the restaurant. I just found out that Lucille's sells the same seasonings and BBQ sauces they use in the kitchen, so I wanted to give them a try. This whole bottle was only 5 bucks, and from what Ive seen will let me do about 6-8+ racks of rib of this size. So thats not bad in my books. The BBQ sauce is pretty much the same price for a 20 oz bottle. Again, hard to beat.

I also like a sweeter rib personally- So were going to add some honey, and dark brown sugar.

Its common to use a very light layer of mustard on ribs as a binding agent to help the seasoning stick to the ribs. I find honey works pretty damn well in its place- And just helps even more for bringing the sweetness I like.

(You can also opt for nothing if you dont like either of these- They help, but its not critical.)

So Ill rub a thin layer of honey on, sprinkle it with brown sugar- And then add the seasoning.

Now this is where I see a lot of people being too cautious.

Dont be.

Lay that seasoning on, and lay it on thick. its pretty difficult to over season ribs with MOST rib rubs (Rib rubs are typically made with this in mind and are intended to be laid on heavily)

Get the sides, then the back, then the top. I typically do the top last, because were going to put these in meat-side up.

Give it a pat, and then let it sit for a bit.

The meat will start to sweat from the salt and will work its way into the outer layers of the meat. While this is happening lets get our smoker going

Ill be using my pellet fed treager tonight for this. It has a digital control that lets me set the temp and not have to think about it.

Once the fire is going, set it for 275- and leave it there.

275 is, IMO, the magic number for ribs. I find its the best temperature to really break down the meat at just the right rate. Anything drastically lower and the ribs take too long to cook. Much higher and they tend to burn by the time its cooked properly.

275 is the right "low and slow" for ribs. If you DONT have a smoker, 1, why dont you. 2, you can do this in the oven or a grill- If you use the oven you wont get the smokey flavor, but theyll come out the same and still be amazing. Just set it to 275, and cook from there. If you use a grill (gas or charcoal), youll need to monitor the temps and adjust every 15~ or so minutes to ensure youre staying as close to 275 as possible You CAN get a smokey flavor in a grill however- You can take wood chips, toss them into a bit of foil, put a BUNCH of holes in the foil, and then place this directly over the fire. I recommend making quite a few of these in advance, as youll burn through it in about 10-30 minutes depending on the size of what you made. Also if possible on your grill, whether it’s gas or brick, try to NOT cook directly over the heat. Move your charcoal to one side and cook on the other if using charcoal, and if you’re using gas turn on one burner to the side and cook on the other. Rotate your ribs every 15-30 minutes to help ensure they cook evenly.

Once its up to temperature- get the ribs in there, and let them cook.

Were going to let them cook in there at 275 for 2 hours. No more. No less. (Were going to cook these about 4 hours total)

Every half hour Ill come by and mist them lightly with a spray bottle at this stage. This will help prevent them from drying out. If you dont want to introduce any new flavors, just use water. If you want a bit more bite to them apple cider vinegar is one of the most common choices. The BBQ sauce ill be using has a good bite already- So Im just going to use apple juice.

Outside of misting the ribs, refrain from peeking at the ribs as much as you can and keep that lid closed.

Pardon the cheesy saying, but its a good one.

"If youre looking youre not cooking."

What you want to see when you do go in there to mist the ribs however is that above. You want to see the ribs getting some good color to them (This is partially from the seasoning, and partially from the ribs themselves. They just tend to cook red at this point)- And you want to see that seasoning more or less baking into what they famously call a "bark"

That nice crunchy bit of seasoning on the outside of the meat. After 2 hours that bark should be set- Youll know youre there because you should be able to touch the meat with your finger, and not have any seasoning really come off.

After that 2 hour mark, bring the ribs in and start the next step

You should have something that looks like this. Juicy grilled ribs with a beautiful bark and light char just starting to form.

Now we want to focus on getting these ribs the right amount of tender. To do that were going to get some foil ready.

Use 2 BIG sheets of foil. You can use 1, but I really prefer 2. It can be pretty easy to snag the foil, and if you do that while its on the grill any liquid thats in there will drain out, and you want your ribs cooking in that.

Once ive got the foil laid out, I like to add a bit of butter (Adds a bit of flavor and is easy to soak in) where the ribs are going to rest- Ill also typically add just a little bit more honey and brown sugar

Just take the ribs, place them meat side down-

Wrap up your tin foil rib burrito, and put it back in MEAT SIDE DOWN

From here, its just a waiting game as they tender up.

For rib of this size youll want to let them sit in there for ABOUT 2 hours.

Now, big tip for grilling anything. Time is a BALL PARK. Do NOT cook purely by time. Were not baking with exact ingredients. A lot of things can alter the actual cook time. Get yourself a GOOD instant read meat thermometer (If you dont mind spending a little bit of extra money, Thermapen is one of the best. but anything works as long as its accurate), and cook to temp. Doesnt matter if its ribs, chicken, steak- or anything else. If youre not cooking to temp, you should be. If youve ever felt like you struggle to grill things consistently or properly, and youre not using a temp gauge- I promise, this is why. Get one.

Our goal here is 200 degrees. If you want them more on the "tender" side, aim for 202-205. If you want slightly firmer, just under 200 is fine. I prefer them right in the middle. Try not to go out of this range.

For a rack this size, ill start checking about an hour and 40 minutes after theyve been in. For smaller racks ill start checking around the hour and a half mark. Ill check every 10-15 minutes, depending on the numbers ive seen.

Either way- Once theyre 200 degrees, out they come.

Once they come out, ill set my treager as high as itll go for the next step. This gets the smoker to about 450~ degrees.

While this is heating up, well take the ribs inside, get them out- And start painting them in BBQ sauce

As good as these may look (at least to me). Try to resist eating them just yet.

We dont want a wet goopy sauce. We want a sticky caramelized sauce. Within a few minutes the grill should be up to temp.

Put these back in there as is, meat side up. Close the lid and start tacking up that sauce.

This should take about 10-15~ minutes depending on the temp weve got in there.

After about 5 minutes ill check them (Look how nicely the meat is pulled back from the ends of the ribs there), put another coat of sauce on them, and let them finish.

I like to wait until i see the sauce juuuuust starting to bubble at the edges from the heat. Once it does- Theyre done. Bring them in, let them cool for JUST a minute-

And start serving them up.

Now lets add some sides

If youve done things right- The meat should be soft, but NOT be pure moosh. You should be able to tear the ribs *apart* easily, and while you should be able to pull the bones out of the meat if you tried, they shouldnt just freely pull out of the meat with no resistance.

Enjoy.