How To Prepare A Rack Of Baby Back Ribs
Before you start cooking, it’s important to prepare the meat properly. There is a thin, shiny membrane on the back of the ribs that should be removed. Use a knife to pry up a corner of the membrane, then grab it with your fingers or a paper towel and carefully pull it off of the entire rack of ribs. It may tear, so keep working it off until its all gone. By removing the membrane, your ribs will be more tender and will easily absorb that deliciously smoky flavor from the grill.
What Are Baby Back Ribs
Back ribs are cut from the top/back part of the rib, where it meets the spine. They are called baby back since they are shorter than the other rib cuts. They will usually be 10-12 ribs that are 4-5 inches give or take a little and usually weighs 1 ½ to 2 pounds.
Since they are meatier and in higher demand, they will cost more but well worth the price.
How To Grill Ribs Fast And Still Make Them Taste Good
Because they contain a lot of bone and connective tissue, pork ribs benefit from low-and-slow cooking applications. But what if you dont have that kind of time?
Whether youve waited too long to defrost the ribs or you just decided to pull them off the supermarket shelf, heres how to grill ribs fast so that you can have dinner ready on schedule.
Contents
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Tenderizing And Flavoring The Ribs
Directions: How To Prepare Baby Back Ribs On A Charcoal Grill
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How To Wrap Ribs
Another hour later, check on the ribs. We want them to curve slightly without breaking. If theyre yet to reach this point, allow them to cook for a little longer. However, if they are bending nicely then double wrap the ribs in aluminum foil. We do this to help increase the internal temperature of the meat while also holding in moisture, making them extra juicy.
Place the wrapped ribs back on the grill. Check on the coals and water again. Dont add more wood chunks this time as the ribs will have absorbed enough smoke.
How Do You Know When Your Ribs Are Done
Pick them up with your BBQ gloves and give them a slight bend. When the ribs easily start to break you know you are about finished. This should take upwards of 5 or 6 hours. In fact, dont be surprised if this takes 10 plus hours. It all depends on your average temperature and when you smoke on a charcoal grill you will have violent temperature fluctuations. The dome temperatures can easily fluctuate from 225, 250, 300, 275, and 177 after 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 hours of cooking respectively. So if you average in the lower 200s you will need extra time. If you average 250 or 275 you can finish your ribs in about 6-7 hours or maybe less. Just dont average over 300 degrees of you will lose the tender fall off the bone effect that makes this meal worth it!
When you have almost 1 or 2 hours left, start making your barbecue sauce. You can use any sauce you like but Ill share this sauce because it is simply the best. The recipe comes from my BBQ mentor Joe.
Ingredients in Joes barbecue sauce:2 cups ketchup¼ cup apple cider vinegar¼ cup worcestershire sauce1 tsp ground white pepper1 tsp ground ginger 1 golden delicious apple which has been peeled, cored and finely grated 1 small onion
Cut them up and they are ready to serve! Perfect baby back ribs!
If youre looking for an easy side dish to make with your ribs check out these BBQ Grilled Spaghetti Squash Rings
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Grilled And Tender Foil Wrapped Baby Back Ribs
As the summer sun begins to rise in the sky, the grilling season has begun. And sometime during that season you might just have grilled baby back ribs on your mind.
Me too.
Tender foil-wrapped baby back ribs, juicy and delicious.
And perhaps some Grilled Elotes, Baked Beans, Cole Slaw, and Skillet Cornbread on the side not to mention a plethora of veggies mixed together with a vinaigrette that would serve as a giant salad.
Perfect for any sunny weekend.
I love to grill ribs in foil. It absolutely traps that juicy flavor. Even though it seems unorthodox to diehard grilling fans its absolutely delicious! It cuts grilling time by more than half.
While debates brew among grill enthusiasts over which rub to use Memphis or Kansas City Style wet rubs or dry rubs weve been happily making ribs with a dry rub for quite some time. While, honestly, they are both fantastically delicious, we prefer the dry rub when grilling with foil packets. We like the crust it develops and the enhanced flavors.
Heres how we do it.
Do You Grill Ribs Meat Side Up Or Down
Lay the ribs meat side down on the sweet concoction with the meat side down bones up. Return the ribs to the smoker and continue to cook for another 2 hours or so. When the meat has pulled back and exposed the bone about 1/4 inch the ribs are done. Remove the ribs from the foil and sauce or glaze them at this point.
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How To Grill Ribs Fast
Although its preferable to cook ribs for several hours over a low fire, its possible to prepare them more quickly over a charcoal fire. It helps if you use baby back ribs, which are leaner and cook more quickly as a result. You can also speed the process along by par-cooking the ribs beforehand in boiling water or the microwave.
Should Ribs Be Wrapped In Foil When Grilling
Wrapping the meat in foil will limit the amount of smoke on the surface of the meat thus yielding a better color and flavor on the final product. It also adds moisture and speeds up cooking time. Wrapping should be done about half way through the cooking process or when internal meat temp is 150-160 degrees.
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Feel Free To Marinate The Ribs Before Grilling
If you really, really need tender grilled ribs, then you need to marinate them.
This is done mostly so the meat will remain tender, and also replace a dry rub .
When marinating, youre going to let the ribs sit in there for a whole day before grilling them.
An example of a good marinade for grilled baby back ribs would be :
- half cup beef stock, or 2 beef boullion cubes
- 5 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 5 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons smoked paprika
- 2 tablespoons mustard seeds, powdered
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 tablespoon black pepper
Remember, this mostly replaces the dry rub. The flavors will have time to penetrate the meat and make it nice and savory to the bone.
The marinade will also tenderize the meat, as the vinegar is a mild sort of acid. The meat will remain tender, since the vinegar will very slowly break down its bonds.
This method also works with red wine, but it wouldnt suit grilled ribs.
Now, get a very large bowl, and mix all the ingredients. Place inside the bowl the ribs, and make sure to completely cover them.
If youve got good, large Ziploc bags, use those instead of the bowl. Add the ribs in the bags, evenly distribute the marinade in each bag, and do your best to push out all the air in those bags before closing them.
But if youre using a bowl, you just need to saran wrap it very well, and make sure no air escapes.
Whichever method youre using, you need to store the meat in the fridge for up to 24 hours. A minimum of 8 is needed.
Should Ribs Fall Off The Bone
For the love of God, NO! Rib meat should not fall off the bone. Fall off the bone ribs are simply overcooked ribs. This phrase was invented by crappy restaurants who’s ribs fall apart during the exceptionally long holding period before they are served. Any pitmaster worth his salt aims for the meat to be like an exceptionally tender steak.
The meat should gently come clean from the bones when pulled, but NEVER should fall off the bone on its own. Rib meat falling off the bone will be mushy, featuring an egregious lack of texture.
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Rib Meat Taking Away From The Bone
Smoking ribs is a real labor of affection, but you dont require some nice smoker to get the task done. All you require is an original charcoal grill, mutual awareness, and little simple to pursue steps to develop mouth-watering, succulent, and delicious smoked baby back ribs in your backyard.
I understand this because the grilling lover I reside with is lovely passionate about smoking ribs. According to David, it is tough to whack a shelf of flawlessly smoked baby back ribs slathered in sauce.
How To Get Smoked Flavor
A lot of people will argue the best way is to use a smoker. You can also use a smoking pouch. You fill the smoking pouch with wood chips and follow the instructions on the packaging. Some require direct heat on the burners or coals of the grill. Some dont.
You can also create your own smoking pouch using foil.
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How To Prepare The Ribs
The key to any good round of ribs is proper preparation. This stage can make or break the success of your meal and neglecting good prep will give you bland, inferior ribs. Simply throwing them as you bought them onto the grill isnt going to cut it.
For your rib choice, I suggest going for pork. And then there are 2 varieties: Spare or baby back ribs.
Personally, I prefer spare. Theyre cut from the belly-end of the ribs, so are much meatier. Baby back are a little shorter but still an excellent choice. Cooking time tends to be about 4-5 hours for spare and 3-4 for baby back.
Its also important to bear in mind that your grill will dictate the size of the rack that you can cook at once. We want as much of the ribs to be exposed at once, so its not a good idea to pile them on top of each other. As a result, you will probably only be able to fit one rack of spareribs on the grill or two racks of baby back. Keep this in mind when preparing your ribs.
You will then need to cut the ribs down to just the rib rack. If you havent done this before, check out my full guide on how to trim spare ribs.
Start by removing the membrane from the rack. Not a lot of grillers do this, but doing so removes this thin skin off the back of the ribs, allowing them to be tender and packed full of flavor.
Fall Off The Bone Bbq Ribs Recipe
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Grilled low and slow yields Fall off the Bone BBQ Ribs, brush with a tangy bbq sauce for lip-smacking deliciousness. Be forewarned, make a double batch of these bone tender ribs after making these dozens of times there are never any leftovers. Perfect for grilling season or any time you want easy entertaining!
These are great with honey butter corn but go equally well with Green Chili Au Gratin Potatoes for a full meal!
This Fall off the Bone BBQ Ribs Recipe will amaze you at how simple and how little time it will actually take you to make them. Seasoned with just a few ingredients These grilled baby back pork ribs work with or without barbecue sauce!
This easy BBQ ribs recipe is ideal for entertaining you can spend about 15 minutes prepping the ribs, then put them on the grill to cook.
More time with your family and very little clean-up. Sounds like a win/win in my book.
After reading this youll have the tips to know how to make ribs tender and guaranteed way for fall off the bone baby back ribs!
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How Long Do You Cook Pork Ribs On The Grill
Normally I would recommend using an instant read thermometer to gauge the doneness of meat on the grill however, that method can be a little tricky with this method. Its recommended that pork is done around 145°F, but you need to cook pork ribs to around 190°F to 200°F to really break down fat and collagen, resulting in a tender finished texture. Also, given that the ribs are wrapped in foil, its hard to figure out where to put the thermometer without unwrapping the ribs.
Ive tested this recipe several times and have found that 1 hour over direct medium heat will give you tender ribs that dont fall off the bone . Just make sure youre maintaining 350°F 400°F within the covered grill, and the ribs will turn out great every time.
In this recipe, the ribs go back on the grill uncovered for 10 to 12 minutes longer to allow them to soak up hickory smoke and a barbecue sauce baste. Youre not really cooking the ribs during this phase just infusing them with flavor.
How To Apply Bbq Sauce
When the ribs are approaching done, apply your BBQ sauce. Be careful here: as tempting as it might be to thickly paste on the sauce, I strongly recommend spreading it in thin layers. Doing this will give us the satisfying and sticky surface of our ribs.
If we apply it to thickly then it wont have the chance to dry, giving us a disgusting wet coating.
Layer carefully by applying a thin layer on one side, before turning over and doing the other side. Once both sides are coated, close the lid on your grill and leave for 5 minutes before repeating the process again. Repeat 4-5 times in total. Once done, remove from heat and put to one side.
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How Long To Smoke Baby Back Ribs On A Smoker
Smoking ribs in a smoker takes about 5 hours. When smoking baby back ribs in a smoker, follow a “2-2-1” hourly schedule. First, the smoker should be preheated to 225 F, and during the cooking process, the temperature should be kept between 225 and 250 F. First, the ribs should be placed directly on the grate and smoked for two hours. Then, take the racks off the grill and wrap the racks tightly in foil before returning them to the smoker to cook for another 2 hours with the lid tightly closed. Before the last and final hour of cooking, carefully remove ribs from foil, place them back onto the grate and brush on several coats of barbecue sauce every 15 minutes or so while the ribs cook for an additional hour.
