first rib attempt

[jaso]

well this weekend I am gonna give ribs my first try. I hope they turn out as good as everything else has. any big no-no's I need to watch out for ? ? Thanks ya'll will post qview when everything comes off

 

[tlzimmerman]

Don't use freezerburnt ribs......tried my first this last weekend and they were DRY.

Good luck, I am ready to try another set soon to see if it was me, the freezerburn, or both.

 

[thunderdome]

I would try the 3-2-1 for spares, or 2-1.5-1 for babybacks.

225-250 degrees

As long as you apply a rub you like, i can't think of any no-no's

 

[jaso]

thanks yeah I plan on spares from the butcher fresh not frozen. I tried a rub out the other day i really liked so gonna give it a shot! !

 

[the dude abides]

Make sure you remove the membrane off the back of the ribs. I didn't do that on my first batch of ribs and I couldn't figure out why they were imposible to chew.

 

[miamirick]

when you foil them pour some apple juice inside and maybe some spices if you want, that will keep em real moist and tender, then if you sauce em do it at the end maybe last 15 mins or so, rub em the night before with a thick rub and let em sit in the fridge,
when i foil em for the second "phase" i like to use an alum pan covered with foil this seems to always give me a great pull back on the end, usually dont need a knife to cut em up, just pull em apart

 

[grillin_all_day]

Make one more rack then you plan to! They always seem to go quickly in my house. If I make one rack for the family, I can expect to have some "visitors" that somehow know I'm smoking. Also, the 3-2-1 method is great, but whenever I did it, I always got fall off the bone ribs. While they were great, I like to have some pull on mine. So, I leave mine in the smoke for 3-3.5 hrs, then just put them on heat (I'm a gasser though), spritzing them down every 45-60 mins with a mixture of apple juice, cider vinegar seasoned with a little sea salt, fresh cracked pepper, light brown suger, garlic and onion powder and worchestershire sauce.
I've never sauced my ribs, but I will be doing 2 racks of bb's for the super bowl. I'm going to sauce one of them 30 mins before they're done so the sauce has time to warm up a little one them and get a nice little crust. As always, enjoy! A bad day of smoking beats out a good day at work.

 

[new vision]

Good luck on your first rib attempt. Looking forward to the Qview.

 

[rbranstner]

My buddy refuses to remove the membrane when he smokes ribs he says he likes his ribs a little more tuff. But I have to admit we had a little cook off a month or so ago and he had some baby backs and I liked them. I asked if he cut the membrane off and he said no. But then again I have picked up some BB's that already had the membrane removed so maybe that was the case this time. I had his ribs last summer and you had to pull and chew hard to get the meat off the bone then so I know the membrane was on that time.

 

[jirodriguez]

If you do 3-2-1 you might want to check them after they have been in the foil for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Mine were so tender that when I went to pull them out of the foil they started falling apart... lol. Now I do 2-1 1/2-1 or 2-2-1 depending on weather and how the smoker is running.

A lot of ribs is visual. After 2-3 hours check and see if the meat has pulled back about 1/4-1/2" from the end of the bone. That is your que to foil them. Then foil with a little liquid, then back into the smoke for that last hour to firm them up a tad.

 

[denver dave]

Yea what Smoke Fanatic said. Ribs are pretty forgiving and taste great. Enjoy.

 

[jaso]

thanks everyone for the great advice now I am getting excited ! ! ! I won't lie I have been intimidated by ribs and haven't tried them for that reason. Looking forward to it now ! ! !

 

[grillin_all_day]

Nothing to be intimidated about....it's just a piece of meat!! Good luck w/ the smoke. Lookin forward to the qview

 

[mballi3011]

You really shouldn't let anything here intimadate you. We are here to enjoy the fine art of smoking meat. You will do just fine if you listen to some of theses good folks here and do what they say and then you to can be a great outdoor chef.

 

[insight]

Don't the "big boys" smoke their ribs for about 3 hours then a quick mop n' grill for the finish? Is that an infraction of the 3-2-1 method? I will also be making my first batch of ribs this weekend and yes, I am intimidated by the meat! LOL

Also another question. Before I get into making my own rib rub, are there any commercially available supermarket rubs that are decent enough for a beginner....or should I make my own basic recipe? (ain't got one yet). Heard that Jeff's kicks ass though.

Thanks, fellerz!

 

[grillin_all_day]

I've strayed from the 3-2-1 method since everytime I've done it, my ribs have been fall off the bone, and I like mine to have some pull. Since I'm a gasser, I essentially "grill" mine until done. I leave them on the smoke for 3-3.5 hours, take the smoke box out and just leave them on the heat for the remaining time. I mop my ribs every hour after the first 1-1.5 hours until finished. If I'm going to sauce, I'll sauce them 30 minutes before I pull them out, then I'll foil and let them rest for a bit in a cooler. Now, if your a stick burner, you're going to get smoke constantly, so you really want to foil so you don't over smoke your ribs. If you want to take them out and finish on a grill, you can. Just make sure that your temps are the same as in your smoker, and make sure to cook over indirect heat in order to prevent buring your ribs.

As far as rubs, I haven't tried Jeff's rub yet, but its received raved reviews, so you couldn't go wrong with it. Plus, the money he makes off the rub and sauce helps keep this place running. Guess I should do my part and order it too

 

[jirodriguez]

Depends on your local super market, but yeah there generally are some rubs available. For 2 thick racks of spare ribs a realy easy simple way is:

2 C brown sugar (this is the base of your rub)
1/4 C kosher salt
1/4 C cracked black pepper
1/4 C garlic powder or granulated garlic
1/2 C paprika
2 Tbs mustard powder
2 Tbs cummin
1-2 tsp cayane pepper

That is a real basic easy place to start. Then from there you can add or subtract flavors as you want. I like to add fresh ground fenel seed to mine, but everybody has their preferance.

You can either apply the rub the night before and then put them in the fridge overnight, or give them a light slather of yellow mustard and hit them with the rub right before you toss them on the smoker. Don't be shy on how much rub you use - realy work it into the meat.