OT: Grillmasters, How do you marinate and grill your ribs?

[pepband99]

A lot of good suggestions in this thread. Here are a few things I would add to make perfect ribs.

1. Buy ribs that have the paper like membrane removed. It is on the bone side and will prevent any rub or marinade from actually getting to the meat. You can remove the membrane yourself, but it can be tedious. Try using some pliers.

It sounds crazy, but paper towel works wonders for that membrane, once you start a little piece of it. it helps you keep grip.

 

[UconnFanNVa]

Many on here I can tell smoke allot of ribs! My method is very similar.

I usually get the st Louis style racks from Costco, and if I can't get those I make the rack into a st. Louis style rack (just a few Cutts)
Peel the membrane off the underside. Cover in yellow mustard. Generously apply rub of choice. I tend to mix my rub generously with brown sugar. Put those in seran wrap and put in fridge over night (when in doing a pork butt I put it in the fridge for two nights, otherwise almost the same process).
Fire smoker up to around 225. I like the 3,2,1 method. 3 hours on the rack. 2 hours foiled (some put some mop in the foil, this is good if you like the fall off the bone texture ), and then 1 hour back on rack without foil. Works every time for me. Nice pink some ring. Lots of smokey hickey flavor, nice and tender with a little crunch on the outside.

 

[tjhusky]

You see the theme here...
Mine is simple:
Dry rub

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup paprika
2 Tbs Kosher Salt
2 Tbs Chili Powder
1 Tbs Garlic Powder
1 Tbs Onion Powder
1 tsp Cayenne

Low and slow on Weber charcoal indirect (i.e. Ribs over a pan, coals on the sides). 3-4 hours.

Serve with sauce on the side if desired.

 

[August_West]

Many on here I can tell smoke allot of ribs! My method is very similar.

I usually get the st Louis style racks from Costco, and if I can't get those I make the rack into a st. Louis style rack (just a few Cutts)
Peel the membrane off the underside. Cover in yellow mustard. Generously apply rub of choice. I tend to mix my rub generously with brown sugar. Put those in seran wrap and put in fridge over night (when in doing a pork butt I put it in the fridge for two nights, otherwise almost the same process).
Fire smoker up to around 225. I like the 3,2,1 method. 3 hours on the rack. 2 hours foiled (some put some mop in the foil, this is good if you like the fall off the bone texture ), and then 1 hour back on rack without foil. Works every time for me. Nice pink some ring. Lots of smokey hickey flavor, nice and tender with a little crunch on the outside.

Here is the thing with 3-2-1. You sound like you know what you are doing, but I don't recommend it for beginners as there is a propensity for the wrap process to turn the ribs to mush is you're not careful. When I was cooking in competitions years ago I almost always would wrap as it gives you ample opportunity to adjust flavor profiles and add some complexity to the flavors but when I cook at home I rarely if ever wrap , for example a pic of those ribs earlier in the thread were never wrapped. I just rub and smoke . I'm a bark fiend and I prefer my bark unwrapped. It has a natural crust texture you never get back in the 3-2-1 . Apple juice in the water pan keeps things plenty moist and tender without wrapping.

At very minimum I at least recommend becoming VERY proficient doing unwrapped rub cooks before moving on to wrapping so you have a baseline of experience to deal with the issues that will arise the first few times you wrap.

I also am a " bite mark" guy. I do not like my ribs falling off the bone , you should be able to take a bite and there should be just a tinge of resistance where an imprint of your bite is left on the rib. Wrapping unless you are spot on with it will always put you closer to falling off the bone. I understand many people like it falling off the bone. That's just not my personal taste.

 

[Northbound]

Big green egg

I love my egg, but am moving to a conventional 275 gallon oil tank cut in half die whole hog smoking. Obviously a BGE can't do whole hog plus I need the room for multiple racks, butts and briskets at a time.

The BGE is real easy

 

[Northbound]

Here is the thing with 3-2-1. You sound like you know what you are doing, but I don't recommend it for beginners as there is a propensity for the wrap process to turn the ribs to mush is you're not careful. When I was cooking in competitions years ago I almost always would wrap as it gives you ample opportunity to adjust flavor profiles and add some complexity to the flavors but when I cook at home I rarely if ever wrap , for example a pic of those ribs earlier in the thread were never wrapped. I just rub and smoke . I'm a bark fiend and I prefer my bark unwrapped. It has a natural crust texture you never get back in the 3-2-1 . Apple juice in the water pan keeps things plenty moist and tender without wrapping.

At very minimum I at least recommend becoming VERY proficient doing unwrapped rub cooks before moving on to wrapping so you have a baseline of experience to deal with the issues that will arise the first few times you wrap.

I also am a " bite mark" guy. I do not like my ribs falling off the bone , you should be able to take a bite and there should be just a tinge of resistance where an imprint of your bite is left on the rib. Wrapping unless you are spot on with it will always put you closer to falling off the bone. I understand many people like it falling off the bone. That's just not my personal taste.

August is right on here with wrapping. As far as ribs falling off he bone - KCBS will tell you that fall off the bone is over done. Needs to have some tooth to the rib.

 

[UconnFanNVa]

Here is the thing with 3-2-1. You sound like you know what you are doing, but I don't recommend it for beginners as there is a propensity for the wrap process to turn the ribs to mush is you're not careful. When I was cooking in competitions years ago I almost always would wrap as it gives you ample opportunity to adjust flavor profiles and add some complexity to the flavors but when I cook at home I rarely if ever wrap , for example a pic of those ribs earlier in the thread were never wrapped. I just rub and smoke . I'm a bark fiend and I prefer my bark unwrapped. It has a natural crust texture you never get back in the 3-2-1 . Apple juice in the water pan keeps things plenty moist and tender without wrapping.

At very minimum I at least recommend becoming VERY proficient doing unwrapped rub cooks before moving on to wrapping so you have a baseline of experience to deal with the issues that will arise the first few times you wrap.

I also am a " bite mark" guy. I do not like my ribs falling off the bone , you should be able to take a bite and there should be just a tinge of resistance where an imprint of your bite is left on the rib. Wrapping unless you are spot on with it will always put you closer to falling off the bone. I understand many people like it falling off the bone. That's just not my personal taste.

I'm with you, I've done it both ways and I definitely don't like mushy rack (well not the bbq kind anyways lol). I think it works well for beginners though only because they get closer to what they think is the measure for of good ribs which has been defined by the term fall of the bone (aka mush). I found that over time I started skimping on the 2 part and changing it. Now I'll light wrap and not use a mop. And because my smoker is vertical I'll put two wrapped racks on lower shelves and an unwrapped one on the upper shelf. But yeah not a fan of mushy ribs and if not done correctly 321 will cause that. I knew it wasn't perfect when I found myself putting the ribs in the grill after it was done to crisp it up so I've since made some changes.

I haven't attempted brisket yet, got any tips on that. I may try for the first time next weekend.

 

[Bliss]

I'm doing 6 racks tomorrow in my Big Green Egg smoker. 3 racks of baby back and 3 racks of spareribs. I got them at Costco which has worked fine for me in the past.

1. Peel the membrane on the spare ribs.
2. Coat the ribs in a thin layer of yellow mustard. This helps the dry rub stick to the ribs. The mustard burns off and does not effect the taste.
3. Generous coating of dry rub (recipe withheld)
4. Wrap in saran wrap and foil and let them rest overnight in the fridge
5. Next morning, fire up the egg and include smoke chips.
6. Cook for about 3- 3/12 hours at 235-250
7. Drink cold beer (the colder the better-I'm on a Stella kick the last couple of months)
8. Add apple juice to the drip tin under the ribs. Tent tightly with foil. Continue cooking for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
9. Drink more cold beer
10. Sauce the ribs. Leave the ribs on the smoker for about 30 min so sauce begins to carmelize.
11. Time for another beer
12. Serve ribs

Smoking/grilling without cold beer is a violation of Missouri state law.

 

[August_West]

I'm with you, I've done it both ways and I definitely don't like mushy rack (well not the bbq kind anyways lol). I think it works well for beginners though only because they get closer to what they think is the measure for of good ribs which has been defined by the term fall of the bone (aka mush). I found that over time I started skimping on the 2 part and changing it. Now I'll light wrap and not use a mop. And because my smoker is vertical I'll put two wrapped racks on lower shelves and an unwrapped one on the upper shelf. But yeah not a fan of mushy ribs and if not done correctly 321 will cause that. I knew it wasn't perfect when I found myself putting the ribs in the grill after it was done to crisp it up so I've since made some changes.

I haven't attempted brisket yet, got any tips on that. I may try for the first time next weekend.

Make sure it is a whole " packer". I've cooked separated flats and points before for smaller cooks, but there seems to be some alchemy to cooking the whole sucker together,
Trim the fat to about a 1/3 of inch. Use a good beef rub ( I sometimes just do kosher salt and pepper, but my traditional is all powders : sugar, garlic, onion , chili, cayenne, in addition to the s and p). Simple. You want to taste beef, but get a little bark.

Brisket I DO wrap. Always. Unwrapped until 150 , wrapped for rest of cook ( I get it between 201-205)

Be ready for the stall ( usually right after wrap) and don't sweat it, it will start going again eventually even if doesn't seem it.

When ready , take it , keep it wrapped, and wrap in a towel over the foil and set it in a cooler ( no ice! ) for a couple hours.

Know your grains! You can cook a perfect brisket but if you don't know how to cut it you'll ruin it. The grains run different directions on different part and can make you insane.

Plan on 12-16 hours

Good luck! Brisket is by far the trickiest cook, but when you nail it you feel like a king.

Oh and I do it between 225-240. I know brisket guys who swear by 275 and higher though. I find that it is harder to mess up the slower you go. 225 is fine, just takes longer . That why I say 12-16 ( including the 2 hour sit at end)

 

[warbler1055]

This thread is hilarious and really informative. As luck would have it, I am planning to do some cooking myself. I got some Pat Lafrieda (NY butcher) steaks, 50 day aged, Prime, 12-15 oz, bone in. I guess no marinate is needed. Do I need to do anything? Don't want to be called stupid by CAHUSKY.

 

[warbler1055]

This thread is hilarious and really informative. As luck would have it, I am planning to do some cooking myself. I got some Pat Lafrieda (NY butcher) steaks, 50 day aged, Prime, 12-15 oz, bone in. I guess no marinate is needed. Do I need to do anything? Don't want to be called stupid by CAHUSKY.

 

[August_West]

This thread is hilarious and really informative. As luck would have it, I am planning to do some cooking myself. I got some Pat Lafrieda (NY butcher) steaks, 50 day aged, Prime, 12-15 oz, bone in. I guess no marinate is needed. Do I need to do anything? Don't want to be called stupid by CAHUSKY.

NO MARINADE!!!
Your favorite seasonings only.

You have a good thermometer?

 

[Bliss]

This thread is hilarious and really informative. As luck would have it, I am planning to do some cooking myself. I got some Pat Lafrieda (NY butcher) steaks, 50 day aged, Prime, 12-15 oz, bone in. I guess no marinate is needed. Do I need to do anything? Don't want to be called stupid by CAHUSKY.

No marinate. Just salt, pepper, and garlic powder. On grill, sear 1 minute both sides then move to indirect heat for at least 10 minutes for nice medium rare. For stovetop use iron skillet coated with some EVOO on high heat, sear both sides 1 minute, then cook both sides at least 3 minutes each, and top off final side with soy sauce.

 

[CTMike]

I'm with you, I've done it both ways and I definitely don't like mushy rack (well not the bbq kind anyways lol). I think it works well for beginners though only because they get closer to what they think is the measure for of good ribs which has been defined by the term fall of the bone (aka mush). I found that over time I started skimping on the 2 part and changing it. Now I'll light wrap and not use a mop. And because my smoker is vertical I'll put two wrapped racks on lower shelves and an unwrapped one on the upper shelf. But yeah not a fan of mushy ribs and if not done correctly 321 will cause that. I knew it wasn't perfect when I found myself putting the ribs in the grill after it was done to crisp it up so I've since made some changes.

I haven't attempted brisket yet, got any tips on that. I may try for the first time next weekend.

I've tried a few brisket flats... Tricky, like August said. Last time I did it it wasn't bad, but I was the only one that ate it, and what the hell is the point then. Haha. Ribs take less time and are always a crowd pleaser.

 

[August_West]

I've tried a few brisket flats... Tricky, like August said. Last time I did it it wasn't bad, but I was the only one that ate it, and what the hell is the point then. Haha. Ribs take less time and are always a crowd pleaser.

It is a risky investment too . 60- 100 bucks ( and more if you go for a higher grade) for a full packer, you ruin that and you want to cry. I've ruined way too many. I've been doing them for years and I still can screw them up, less so when I use the egg. Sometimes when I feel like working and fire management I use the smoky mountain because when you nail it in that it is slightly better ( in my experience, maybe just psycological because I worked harder, but I swear I can taste it) than nailing it in the egg, but not a huge difference and the egg allows me to be lazier. These days I almost always opt for lazy.

 

[UconnFanNVa]

It is a risky investment too . 60- 100 bucks ( and more if you go for a higher grade) for a full packer, you ruin that and you want to cry. I've ruined way too many. I've been doing them for years and I still can screw them up, less so when I use the egg. Sometimes when I feel like working and fire management I use the smoky mountain because when you nail it in that it is slightly better ( in my experience, maybe just psycological because I worked harder, but I swear I can taste it) than nailing it in the egg, but not a huge difference and the egg allows me to be lazier. These days I almost always opt for lazy.

That's what scares me the most. 60 to 100 bucks I want to have something that turns out good. It's damn near impossible to mess up a pork butt or dry out ribs, but even if you did the cost is less than half that of brisket. I'm not hurting for money but I don't want to through 60 bucks down the drain

 

[UconnFanNVa]

Speaking of beer, is this comparable?

Vision Grills Kamado Pro Ceramic Charcoal Grill S-4C1D1 at The Home Depot - Mobile

 

[August_West]

Speaking of beer, is this comparable?

Vision Grills Kamado Pro Ceramic Charcoal Grill S-4C1D1 at The Home Depot - Mobile

it is. If I had to go out of pocket I'd get that and save 600 bucks

 

[jleves]

We're planning an outdoor kitchen in southern california. Any advice on a built in smoker? I've been leaning toward Fire Magic grills (one gas, one charcoal). Is a charcoal grill with a smoker oven enough or is a dedicated smoker that much better? Really intrigued with the ease of an electric smoker, but I'm sure that would be frowned on by the group in this thread.

 

[CAHUSKY]

This thread is hilarious and really informative. As luck would have it, I am planning to do some cooking myself. I got some Pat Lafrieda (NY butcher) steaks, 50 day aged, Prime, 12-15 oz, bone in. I guess no marinate is needed. Do I need to do anything? Don't want to be called stupid by CAHUSKY.

Get a meat thermometer.

 

[Bliss]

This is my Brinkmann Gourmet Electric Smoker about which I previously posted. Yeah, it's small but very effective. I used to use a large stick burner and it was a giant PITA. Do your really care about what anyone else thinks, jleves?

 

[CAHUSKY]

View attachment 14294

Here is the thing with 3-2-1. You sound like you know what you are doing, but I don't recommend it for beginners as there is a propensity for the wrap process to turn the ribs to mush is you're not careful.

3-2-1 is also only the formula for full rack of spare ribs. Use that method on St. Louis or baby backs and they will be destroyed quickly. When I wrap St. Louis I usually go 2.5 - 1 - 45 or something like that. Learn the "bend test" for donenss. And then when you really get addicted, build your own smokers.

 

[jleves]

This is my Brinkmann Gourmet Electric Smoker about which I previously posted. Yeah, it's small but very effective. I used to use a large stick burner and it was a giant PITA. Do your really care about what anyone else thinks, jleves? View attachment 14293

I honestly don't know enough to have my own thoughts. Basically, I see two camps - one that says for the best bbq, you have to use charcoal and another that says electric is so close and so much easier that it's not worth going with the charcoal solution. And then I'm going to be building an outdoor kitchen, so I have options for grills and smokers and generally just want information, opinions and ideas. In the end, I'll make up my own mind but right now, RFI seems a good idea.

 

[Northbound]

Smoking/grilling without cold beer is a violation of Missouri state law.

Having lived in KC I'd say doing anything without a cold beer is in violation of Missouri state law.

 

[Northbound]

That's what scares me the most. 60 to 100 bucks I want to have something that turns out good. It's damn near impossible to mess up a pork butt or dry out ribs, but even if you did the cost is less than half that of brisket. I'm not hurting for money but I don't want to through 60 bucks down the drain

So if you screw up a brisket, cube it and sauce it and call it burnt ends and be done with t. Yeah it's not true burnt ends, but not also not miles and miles from the real burnt ends that you'd get called out for it - unless you live in KC.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Along with brisket another cut of meat try is Tri Tip.

It's a cut built for low and slow. And oh so delicious.

More popular out West, you may need a butcher to make the cut for you.

What is a Tri-Tip and why is it so good for the grill?

 

[Chin Diesel]

Too damn hot and humid in the Sunshine state to grill.

So, it was Chorizo on a cast iron skillet for lunch today.

 

[UconnFanNVa]

So if you screw up a brisket, cube it and sauce it and call it burnt ends and be done with t. Yeah it's not true burnt ends, but not also not miles and miles from the real burnt ends that you'd get called out for it - unless you live in KC.

Problem for me also is that I'm a regular at the local bbq spot which is pretty damn good. Their burnt ends are on point. In sure my failure wouldn't come close to what I buy there. But I'll still probably try at least once.

 

[August_West]

Problem for me also is that I'm a regular at the local bbq spot which is pretty damn good. Their burnt ends are on point. In sure my failure wouldn't come close to what I buy there. But I'll still probably try at least once.

You definitely should. Just go in with a good plan.

 

[CAHUSKY]

Along with brisket another cut of meat try is Tri Tip.

It's a cut built for low and slow. And oh so delicious.

More popular out West, you may need a butcher to make the cut for you.

What is a Tri-Tip and why is it so good for the grill?

No, no, no, no, no, no!!! Tri tip is built for grilling. Direct heat (450 ish) for roughly 15 minutes on the fatty side, flipped and cooked on indirect heat until you hit about 125 internal. Try Bobby flays 6 hour marinade. If you can't find tri tip on the east coast ask your butcher for a triangle steak. That's what some call tri tip