Real Moist Heat Ribs
Sounds like my Moist Heat Brothers had a rib-o-licious week...I am no exception. You can't pass up baby backs when they are on sale.
As I continue my BBQ education by synthesizing information from my team mates and other sources, I decided to try a true moist heat experiment yesterday. Although my ribs have been getting more tender with each attempt, I wanted to venture to the end of the rib continuum and find out what it takes for some near "fall off the bone" ribs. I decided to introduce the oven.
The ribs enjoyed a good 6 hour rub before they were brought to room temperature and then smoked for two hours at 250 degrees with hickory wood and apple chips. At this point, I had been placing them in foil with some sauce or cider and brown sugar and putting them back on the grill a while longer. Yesterday, however, I decided to give the ribs a cider steam for half an hour in the oven. I elevated the ribs with a broiling plate, put cider in the base of the pan and covered it tightly with foil. Notice how they really pulled back from the bone when I took them out.
Fifteen minutes before taking them out, I started a second small chimney of coals to finish them on the grill. The results were a hit. The meat came away from the bone gently and easily (no bone gnawing needed). The family encouraged me to repeat this method in the future.
Now that I am narrowing down the cooking methods, I need my MH Brothers to keep putting those sauce, glaze, and rub recipes on the blog. It's time to start introducing my meat (and family) to more variety of flavor. Flamb-Ed's sticky ribs and the maple glaze ribs sound enticing. Also, the coffee crusted tenderloin is another one I have to try.
As I continue my BBQ education by synthesizing information from my team mates and other sources, I decided to try a true moist heat experiment yesterday. Although my ribs have been getting more tender with each attempt, I wanted to venture to the end of the rib continuum and find out what it takes for some near "fall off the bone" ribs. I decided to introduce the oven.
The ribs enjoyed a good 6 hour rub before they were brought to room temperature and then smoked for two hours at 250 degrees with hickory wood and apple chips. At this point, I had been placing them in foil with some sauce or cider and brown sugar and putting them back on the grill a while longer. Yesterday, however, I decided to give the ribs a cider steam for half an hour in the oven. I elevated the ribs with a broiling plate, put cider in the base of the pan and covered it tightly with foil. Notice how they really pulled back from the bone when I took them out.
Fifteen minutes before taking them out, I started a second small chimney of coals to finish them on the grill. The results were a hit. The meat came away from the bone gently and easily (no bone gnawing needed). The family encouraged me to repeat this method in the future.
Now that I am narrowing down the cooking methods, I need my MH Brothers to keep putting those sauce, glaze, and rub recipes on the blog. It's time to start introducing my meat (and family) to more variety of flavor. Flamb-Ed's sticky ribs and the maple glaze ribs sound enticing. Also, the coffee crusted tenderloin is another one I have to try.
3 Comments:
At 7/31/2006 10:37 AM,
Joe-Be-Wan said…
You can't deny the results, and using the wrapping technique does 2 things: gives the steam to the meat, ensuring very moist, gender ribs, and keeping the outside from burning. Overall, with proper fire management, you will get the exact results on your grill.
Finishing on the grill is a great technique- it crisps up the skin, which can get a little soggy in the wrap, and it allows you to "paint" on some sauce without having it there too long and burning the sauce. Especially for "sticky" ribs, where you want the sauce to adhere to the rib.
Great job, but don't love on the oven too much.
At 7/31/2006 2:17 PM,
T-Bone said…
At the risk of offending Master Joe-Be-Wan, you have to consider my rig (weber kettle). Fire management is difficult when smoking on the weber. The proximity of the fire to the meat means I am using considerably less coal to maintain a good smoking temperature (250). Where you have two pieces of equipment to smoke and then finish, I have one.
To get heat distributed evenly to ribs in foil, I can no longer use the rib rack (all the contents would settle at the end of the bones instead of remaining on the meat). I simply don't have the greal estate to lay the ribs flat in foil. After meditating on the Pork and its ways, I was visited by the oven vision. The Oven Cider Steam allowed me the time to remove my hot grill, remove the last of the coals used for smoking from their basket, and start a small chimney of coals for the finishing stage.
So just come off that hight horse slick and give me my props for thinking outside the rib.
At 7/31/2006 3:11 PM,
Joe-Be-Wan said…
You forget that I have only had my smoker for about 2 months. I did many a smoking on my kettle, and have even gotten decent results on my gas grill. It can be done
Just be sure to rotate the ribs occassionaly. Being on the side will work fine- you overestimate having the juices pool on one side- you will still get the "cider steam" you're talking about.
In the end, you did good work and then finished on the grill, which will give the best results. Sounds like you're ready to step up to the next level. Buy the Char-broil Santa Fe. $108 and much more space. You can even eventually rig up a side box like Andiken.
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