Do you love a great barbecued rib? We here at Colorado BBQ Outfitters do as well!
We have all ordered some type of BBQ Ribs at a restaurant. Slathered in sauce and "falling off the bone".
But did you know that ribs should never fall off the bone? We are instilled to believe that by the restaurants. Why would they do that? Well, restaurants do not have the luxury of cooking ribs for 6 hours making you wait that long for your meal. So they take what I call shortcuts.
Restaurants usually boil their ribs. This makes cooking them much faster. The problem is, it also boils the flavor right out of the meat. NEVER, EVER BOIL YOUR MEAT. This is why restaurants slather all that sauce on them. To hide the fact they boiled the taste right out of them. They will also cook them in an oven at a higher temperature. Nothing really wrong with this but this is not barbecuing. Barbecuing involves cooking food with a low temperature over a longer period of time. This method makes the meat literally fall from the bone. BBQ experts will tell you that meat should never just fall from the bone. Competition teams never cook their ribs to "fall off the bone". Meathead with www.amazingribs.com says the following, "Properly cooked ribs will pull cleanly off the bone with your teeth, but they will still have some resilience and chew, like a properly cooked steak, but not be tough. Remember, boiling meat is the way to make flavorful soup, not flavorful meat."
I use what is called the 3-2-1 method when barbecuing my ribs. I prefer pork baby backs myself. First step is the remove the membrane from the bone side of the ribs. This is very important. Using a dry paper towel, grab a corner of the membrane and pull it completely off.
The night before my cook I put an ample amount of rub on my rubs. I wrap them in cellophane (Saran Wrap) and put them in the fridge overnight. When it's ready to cook them I get my grill/smoker up to 220 degrees (anywhere from 180 to 225 is acceptable) and put the ribs on uncovered. Just straight on the grill/smoker bone side down. I smoke them for 3 hours (hence the 3 part of the 3-2-1 method. After 3 hours I take them off and double wrap them in a heavy duty foil. I put them back on the grill/smoker for 2 hours meat side down. During this time they are cooking in their own fat rendered and sort of steaming which makes them somewhat more tender.
After 2 hours I pull them off the grill/smoker, unwrap the foil, and put them back on for an hour. The last 20 to 25 minutes I will put my sauce on if I choose to sauce them. I will usually turn my grill/smoker temp up to 250 for that last hour.
You know your ribs are done one of two ways. When you take a good pair of tongs and hold them up and the meat "cracks". See picture below. Or, when the meat pulls back about 1 1/2 to 2 inches from the end of the bone tip. You cannot use a meat thermometer as the meat is to close to the bone on ribs.
No need to let them rest. You can take them off the grill/smoker and enjoy them!
Have more questions? Come on down to Colorado BBQ Outfitters at 6850 N. Academy Blvd and we would love to give you more tips. Colorado BBQ Outfitters also has all the accessories and/or sauces and rubs you need to make the best ribs ever!
Want to learn how to make the best brisket, ribs and pork on your grill? Check out our website at www.719bbq.com for information on our BBQ classes.
