Cheesecake factory Beef ribs

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flyhigh123

Smoke Blower
Original poster
Sep 30, 2009
93
11
So i had the beef ribs at cheesecake factory, i kno who would have thought... lol

but they were fantasic. I'm a big fan for fall off the bone, super tender beef ribs...

How do I make them that tender? I read some people boil them for a while first...

Can I boil them to soften them and then smoke?

Or, can i just slow smoke and get the same effect?

I've had beef ribs at a lot of places and just love fall off the bone tender beef...
 
No.........please never ever boil your ribs, I mean you can if you want but I wouldn't ever recommend it.
Sure it will make them tender but they will lose all of their flavor which is why folks who boil their ribs drown them in sauce.

My best bit of advice to make them more tender is to let sit with rub overnight and to wrap in foil with some liquid for a few hours while you are smoking them, the longer they are foiled the more "fall off the bone" they will become.
 
hmm... i know what you mean... i know the boiling will lose some flavor.. but if i can get it that soft, i may be willing to sacrifice...

if i just slow smoke, is there anyway to get them that soft and fall off the bone? its knifetender, meaning, i just use a fork/knife to get them to fall off easily..

i'm sure its not the typical smoke, but if i can mimic it, it's worth it for me...
 
Boil and you are banned! Babybacks and beef short ribs uses a 2-2-1 method and you will never go back to such a place. Go to the 5 day smoking tuturial. Use the resources here and you will be transported to smoking/eating heaven.
 
i will try the foil technique...

the 321 has worked well for me on babybacks and spareribs...
 
lol.. i know...

i've smoked some really good briskets and pulled pork... i know boiling is the cheating method.. and really washes out some flavor... but those fall of the bones are like crack!
PDT_Armataz_01_36.gif
 
Try foiling for half an hour longer or shorter depending on how they come out, keep at it and you will figure out how you like them and will get them tender, you could also try marinating for a few hours, certain things like acidic fruit juices will break the meat down and help tenderize as well as impart a bit more flavor so you could always give that a try.
 
NEVER BOIL.

Opps shouting, sorry.

The correct method would be braising until you get the desired results. That can be done in the smoker, oven, roaster or crock pot.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braising

Good luck.
 
NO BOILING allowed here please. I mean you can cause we cannt see into your kicthen yet. Obama's still working on it. Boiling will take every drop of flavor out of your ribs, Just use the 2-2-1 system and your be fine just remember to add alittle of your spritzing fluids to your foil and your be a really really big fan of beef ribs.
 
A dear friend of mine boiled his ribs and I must say there is a huge difference in the taste when you do this.

After learning of the 2-2-1 method I told him to give it a shot and he swears by it now.

He foils his for longer I think he said it is 2-2.5-0.5 now but he loves the difference in taste and from what I can tell the difference in texture between his boiled ribs is very little. Also when he foils he puts 3/4 of a cup ( approx ) of his mop into the foil with the ribs instead of just spritzing them like I do.

Like it was said above, if you keep the foil on longer and let them braise longer you will get more tender ribs and on top of that they are braising in their own juices so you do not lose any of that good meat flavor.

In closing, Hell I say give it a shot get you two racks and try it both ways and see what you think in the end. It's your ribs and your idea of what makes them good that matters the most.
 
Last Saturday I tried some beef ribs for the first time, I did 2-2-1, I was having problems with a leg of lamb and had to lower the temp to 225°, they weren't as tender as I would have liked them, but that was probably due to the temp. What I found is the foiling washed all of the rub off, to be honest I don't know if they were put in bone side up or down, I was distracted by the lamb and was working on the car at the same time.

Could I have put them in meat down and that was the reason or is that what foiling does?

Gene
 
i'll try the foiling...

just never tried beef ribs before... i typically foil my brisket and pulled pork.. :D

thanks guys... lol... i can see the word "boil" is a word to be unspoken of...
 
You'll do well with foiling. As ronp pointed out, its braising that will make your ribs tender. its actually better than boiling for the ribs.

Put in some sauce or juice (some liquid) and you'll be rewarded. increase the foiling time for more tender ribs. You can also foil the ribs meat side down to increase the tenderness.
 
Heres my opinion of the ONLY way to do beef ribs....

Rub em with salt n pepper and smoke for 6-8 hrs. No foil.


By imn88fan

Fall off the bone tender with a wonderful steak flavor!
 
Beef ribs (and chuckies, briskets, etc) seem to take LONGER than their pork counterparts
tongue.gif
This is my opinion but based on at least a couple years "research" (cooking and eating a lot)

Think about it:

3 - 4 lb. pork roast, 4-5 hours, similar sized chuckie - 8 - 9 hours

rack of spare ribs, 5-6 hours - beef short ribs, about 8 hours.

Anywhoo - my point is, like the above post said, you CAN get very tender beef ribs doing them 8 hours or so - without foil - if you have a good technique and know your smoker.

I personally only foil if I need to shave an hour or two off the cook (drank too much fri. night, didn't get up early and started smoking soon enough, you get the idea) because the braising helps accelerate the breaking down process. If done right, you can't tell the finished product was every foiled.

Foiling helps, but it isn't always necessary. However, boiling is the one thing that will get you scolded on this site. It's just bad...

HA!

Enjoy your smokes.
 
Boiling ribs or any other meat and calling it BBQ is a crime against humanity. You can get beef ribs to the tenderness you want by just smoking and not foiling. Here's a pic of some beef ribs I did on my first UDS cook - I smoked these at 325 for 4 hours:
 
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