# ribs::bone side up or down?



## johnnyreb

was at the book store and was looking at the Neely's book and they say they cook theirs bone side up to let the juice pool in the concave and that constantly bastes them. I have been cooking mine bone side down. What say you?


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## fire it up

Well firstly I would say NEVER trust The Neely's when it comes to BBQ, anyone who boils their ribs at their restaurant is mighty suspicious as a Q cook in my book.

As for the ribs, I have always done mine bone side down.


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## pepeskitty

I do bone down,  the juice may keep things moist but when it pools it will not allow any smoke penetration where it is pooled up.  Even with bone down,  I have never had a dry rib.


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## tasunkawitko

i start mine bone-side up - i don't give a dang where that information comes from - the neely's the pitmasters, the japanese parliament - myself, i read it on the BBQFAQ. 

anyway, i do it for exactly the reason stated, becasue of the basting effect and the retention of the juices. i baste it a couple of times across the ribs during cooking to prevent the problems that pepe mentioned. somewhere in the cooking process, i flip them over, and i ALWAYS finish and glaze them bone-side down for a nice presentation.


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## johnnyreb

the smoke will not penetrate the meat side ?


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## johnnyreb

it does seem like that the juices sitting in there would baste the meat


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## bigdale

Bone side down here but I also use 3-2-1 method so basting is not a problem


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## chisoxjim

I sometimes start mine for the first hour meat side down per the book Low and Slow.  Other times I go bone side down the whole time.  Depends how I feel that day.  today will be meat side down for the first hour, then flip.  No foil for any part of the smoke


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## johnnyreb

i used to do the 3-2-1 thing to but for ME it makes the meat to mushy
i have graduated to the no foil method


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## bbq engineer

PK tells it like it is...Bone down, so the smoke will penetrate the membrane side too...
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






If there is a pool of liquid sitting in the concave portion of the ribs with the bone side up, then smoke will never get to the meat, as the liquid will block it.


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## johnnyreb

i have 2 racks of baby backs for today...i will do one up and one down to compare!!


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## seenred

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
What he said, I second!


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## ddave

I stand mine up on end so I get the best of both worlds. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





 Just kidding.

What about the meat facing down? Won't the smoke penetrate that surface? 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





I don't know about all your smokers but it seems that in my SnP, the smoke pretty much wafts all around inside the chamber and pretty much touches all surfaces of the meat. Plus on the UDS, the smoke is coming up from the bottom. I do them bone side down and have no problem getting smoky flavor.

And what I really want to know is if there is a pool of liquid sitting in the *concave* portion of the ribs with the bone side up, how the hell is it going to baste anything?? If it is in a concave area it isn't going to go anywhere. It will just sit there in a pool.

I sense another "fat cap up/fat cap down", "foil/no foil" discussion with no real definitive answer so my recommendation would be to do it both ways and see if you notice any difference. Then do it the way you liked best.
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Dave


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## jamminjimi

Make sure you report back. I am putting my first rack ever on at 1:00 PM. It will be bone down.


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## meandmytwodogs

My ribs spend most of their "being smoked life" bone side down. But I do flip them over for a bit just to darken up the top side. I've found that they get a better bark when they get the more direct heat for a bit. I also foil them after a few hours too so they don't need to baste because they braise instead. 
Potato Poetato. Let's call the discussion off!

Dave


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## rickw

I do my ribs bone side down because, well because that's what I do


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## mballi3011

Always bone side down and leave them alone and let the smoke do its wonders and then they have always turned out yummo.


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## pepeskitty

If the meat is facing down leaving the meat "cupped" up as the juices pool up, that liquid will set in the middle of the rib and as the smoke circulates around the meat it will touch the meat everywhere except the meat under the liquid.  That pool of juice creates a water barrier from the smoke therefore that part of the rib will not get smoked.   The rib still may taste plenty smoky overall but if you took a bite of the rib where the juice was pooled, it won't be as smoky as the rest.  This is just my opinion,  I am not saying definately that bone down it the only way to go.   By trying different things and doing things differently is how we learn new things.


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## chisoxjim

was going to put the slab of BB's I am doing today meat side down for an hour like i sometimes do before flipping.   forgot,  bone side down just seems more natural to me.


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## old poi dog

I agree that if there is enough smoke in the smoker, it'll find its way into the meaty part of the rib.  That said, I smoke my ribs no foil, bone side down, from start to finish.


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## johnnyreb

ok... 1 hour into the smoke..not that much liquid in the curve

dont think it would prevent that much smoke from getting in there


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## tasunkawitko

johnny, you just eared some poinsts for today from me. i applaud your sense of experimentation and learning what works for you.
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






my advice on the bone-side-up ribs, brush the "juices" now and then across the ribs with a basting brush in order to prevent any pooling and penetration questions!


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## gnubee

I put them in the smoker the best way they will fit. I don't give a whit whether or not they are bone up or bone down. I don't think my taste buds do either. I turn out ribs that are crazy good. They never last more than 10 minutes or so. 

I too have graduated to the no foil method. It takes the same amount of time, and I like the finished product. 

Some Smoker Questions with no answers.........
Bone Up or Bone down.
Foil or No Foil
Soak the wood or not Soak wood
Water pan or no Water pan.
Water or Sand
Stick burner, Gasser, or Charcoal burner or a combo of the above.
Briquettes or Lump 

These and many other questions have no definitive answer none of them are wrong but none of them are fully right either, I have finally come to the conclusion that the answers do not really matter if byt the method you are using you are turning out good Q. 

The real value in unanswerable questions is that we all learn from the discussions they generate.


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## johnnyreb

decided to do both racks bone side up for 1 hour, flipped over at the 1 hour mark....meat side got a nice color from the heat 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Onion sausage fatty will be goin on in a few miutes


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## johnnyreb

EXACTLY..im making ribs for me not the KCBS 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





so far so good i like the way they are lookin!!


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## pepeskitty

Nice looking ribs Johnny.  You are right, not much juice there.  Smoke shouldn't have any problems with getting through there. 







You are getting them for experimenting and sharing.  I hope they turn out as good as they are looking thus far.  

I think the only thing that is strictly a no-no around here is NO BOILING.


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## azrocker

*I agree smoke is smoke and heat is heat I do both with great results. I would never go by "The Neeley's" Not to start the foil no foil thing again but I don't foil.


*


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## ddave

Dang, those look good. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Dave


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## johnnyreb

ok heres the "coming off" pics with a fattie

i dont like the neely's show on food network, that geena(Sp) is way to much...(she dont like herself to much does she) cant stand to hear her talk..but these ribs were done 1 hour bone side up rest of the time bone side down


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## eaglewing

*I gotta go with the big man on this one... that's the way I suggest...*


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## blackened

45 minutes bone down, 45 bone up, 45 in foil, and 45 back in the smoke comes out perfect every time in my drum.


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## ddave

Lots of different methods my friends. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





And as we have seen, many different ways to turn out tasty BBQ.

BBQ shouldn't be judged by the method but by the end result. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Dave


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