Pork Ribs -- Baby Back and Spare

[Daddy-A]

At my last cooking class I was given the task of cooking a nice rack of pork spare ribs for the next class. Consulting The Virtual Weber Bullet site I chose the "Best Ribs in the Universe."

Step 1 - Breaking down the ribs.

The whole rack and nothing but the rack.

Same rack, rotated 180°. The cartilage is being separated on the right.

edited to correct an anatomy error

Once the cartilage & the skirt were cut away from the rack, I needed to pull of the tough membrane from the inside of the ribs. This stuff is tough! It comes off easily however.

The spare ribs (cut into two pieces so it would fit in the Bullet). In the back there is the skirt and some off cuts marinating for a little snack. On the right is the fat that was rendered the next day.

The pork dusted in "Bob's Rub". The cooking method is to smoke them at 225°F (107°C) for about 3 hours, and then crank the heat up to 250-275°F (121-135°C) for 2 more hours or until the meat falls away from the bone. Glaze is added during the last 1/2 hour. I used mesquite for this smoke.

At the turn ...

Just off the smoker. I'll admit, the meat wasn't falling away from the bone. But in my defense, I didn't start this until 5pm and by 10 we were getting a bit hungry Saturdays can get away on you like that.

Smoke Ribs (sort of) w/ Daddy-A's Honey-Q Sauce (riffed from Ron Shechuck), Grilled Asparagus, Apple-Fennel-Celeriac Slaw & Coconut Rice.

Wine was a Golden Mile Cellars Road 13

The ribs were excellent, but not fall-off-the-bone excellent. I know if I gave them the proper amount of time they'd work out just fine. The real surprise for me was just how good the sauce tastes when you just brush it on at the end! Rather than all burned like it would have been had I glazed the ribs sooner, this was nicely caramalized and very tasty.

I'll be doing the spare ribs in a couple weeks.

A.

edited to correct an anatomy error it turns out what I was cutting away from the spare ribs was the cartilage from the sternum end of the spare robs, and NOT back ribs. Like I said, I'm no butcher!

edited again because there was aparently a pre-existing rib thread

Edited May 17, 2006 by Daddy-A (log)

[Ben Hong]

Must be something I missed. You started off with a rack of side ribs and ended up with back ribs. You must let me know how you did that.

Edited May 16, 2006 by Ben Hong (log)

[LaurieB]

Ribs are on the menu for next weekend at my house! How about sharing the recipe for the apple/fennel slaw?

All looked delish.

Laurie

[the g-man]

Nice ribs, Arne.

A good trick is to wrap them in foil for an hour or so after 3 or 4 hours of smoking, then remove the foil and slather on the sauce at the end. It creates a steaming effect that gets the ribs really tender.

[Daddy-A]

Must be something I missed. You started off with a rack of side ribs and ended up with back ribs. You must let me know how you did that.

←

Actually, it was the whole rib section Ben. The instructor cut the back ribs really short, so it doesn't look like there's much in the way of back ribs ... unless of course I have the terminology wrong. I'm a rib rookie remember? Please feel free to correct any erroneous errors

Laurie, PM me & I'll forward the recipe ... unless you have the Moosewood Cooks at Home cookbook, then it's the Asia Slaw dressing on apple, fennel and a little bit of celeriac shave really thinly. I also added carrot & reb pepper for colour.

A.

Edited May 16, 2006 by Daddy-A (log)

[Abra]

I must be anatomically challenged. That, or you're the master of rib transmogrification. I see no bones in your finished ribs! That meat, however, whatever, looks delicious.

I've never undertaken to peel all the membrane. How long did it take to do a whole rack?

[Daddy-A]

I must be anatomically challenged.  That, or you're the master of rib transmogrification.  I see no bones in your finished ribs!  That meat, however, whatever, looks delicious.

I've never undertaken to peel all the membrane.  How long did it take to do a whole rack?

←

Abra ... yep, there were bones in there ... or at least those of the "cartliage" variety

See - lower right side.

Peeling the membrane off the spare ribs was actually really easy. Just start at the end closest to you in the picture, and lift off a portion with a butter knife. Then just peel away, keeping your free hand close to the point where it's peeling from the ribs. It also helps to use a paper towel to hold onto the membrane while you pull.

The whole "butchering" process is outlined on Virtual Weber Bullet.com. There's even a video showing the pulling of the membrane.

A.

[DTBarton]

I use the Weber Smokey Mountain cooker also. Don't miss the 2nd Annual International WSM Smoke Day on May 27th! I'm a registered participant.

http://tvwbb.infopop.cc/groupee/forums/a/t...13/m/1750001014

I've found that I like to do the ribs for about 7 hours at 225 - 235 degrees. A little less if they're small, a little more if they're biguns. Then I take the racks off the cooker, coat them with sauce (I like Bulls Eye regular cut 50/50 with white vinegar and then add a little brown mustard and Texas Pete) and put them in an aluminum pan, covered, in the oven at about 175 degrees until ready to cut and serve.

[Daddy-A]

Must be something I missed. You started off with a rack of side ribs and ended up with back ribs. You must let me know how you did that.

I must be anatomically challenged.  That, or you're the master of rib transmogrification.  I see no bones in your finished ribs!  That meat, however, whatever, looks delicious.

No, I'm the one who's anatomically challenged. It turns out what I was separating was the cartilage from the sternum end of the spare ribs. So it turns out I was indeed working with a rack of spare ribs. I've corrected my initial post to reflect this.

Nothing like making an ass of one's self to finish off the day! Regardless, the meat was really tasty!

A.

[Abra]

Blush not. Just feed me some ribs the next time we see you!

[Daddy-A]

Okay, I know you're all just bustin' to hear how my rib homework turned out.

To Review [CLICK]

I planned on 6 hours to smoke the entire rack (now divided into two sections). I needed to leave for an appointment at 4, and figured I could keep the ribs warm by wrapping them in towels and putting them in a cooler until they were to be served at my cooking class at 6:15.

9am the charcoal was lit, and the bullet prepared. Now, the ribs:

Slathered in mustard, and then sprinkled liberally with "Bob's Rub" ... if you're looking for the recipe, buy Ron Shewchuk's book "Barbecue Secrets". Very worthwhile for beginers and experts alike. I haven't found a stinker recipe yet.

After 3 hours they're starting to get a nice colour. They smell AMAZING ... especially when paired with my morning espresso That's a tray of salt in the back getting smoked at the same time.

The final 2 hours, they got glazed (same glaze I mentioned up thread) and then turned. Repeat this every 45 minutes or so, until the ribs pass the pull-test. Wrap them in foil, then in towels, then off to class.

Nice smoke ring! Really excellent ribs If I do say so myself ... the class seemed to enjoy them as well. I'd like to have left them on a little longer, just to get them that much more tender, but all in all I was happy with this first attempt.

A.

Edited June 8, 2006 by Daddy-A (log)

[snowangel]

Nice work, Arne! Question. I noticed that you smoked yours bone side up. I always do them bone side down.

Wait, make that two questions. I almost never buy baby backs, but they were just under two bucks a pound, so I bought some. How much should I allow per person (adults and hungry teens)?

[Daddy-A]

Nice work, Arne!  Question.  I noticed that you smoked yours bone side up.  I always do them bone side down.

Wait, make that two questions.  I almost never buy baby backs, but they were  just under two bucks a pound, so I bought some.  How much should I allow per person (adults and hungry teens)?

←

Susan ... I turned them several times during the last couple hours, but for the most part they were bone down during the smoke.

As far as serving sizes go ... those two racks fed about 20 people as a small snack. However, I always consult the "Bible" (VirtualWeberBuullet.com) for such matters:

On average, you will get 2-4 servings per slab of spareribs and 1-2 servings per slab of loin back ribs. A lot depends on whether you're serving another barbecue meat along with the ribs, how many side dishes you're offering, how hungry your guests are, and how you present the ribs to your guests.

If my eldest son is in the picture, he counts as two adults right now. I only count as one ... I've given up trying to keep pace!

A.

[C. sapidus]

Susan: with two adults and two pre-teen boys, we have been polishing off nearly a rack of baby back ribs per person. What is the worst that could happen - leftovers?

[BBQ Brian]

Good Job Arne! Ribs look great.

With the turning you did of the racks, did you feel you impacted the bark (the crusting of the rub) - sometimes "regular" movement will remove the rub. For competitions, we usually don't even move the racks - where they started is where they finished.

Cheers,

[Marlene]

I think I may have to try smoking ribs again this weekend, since my first attempt was not all that successful. Arne, can you elaborate on the glaze and what's in it?

[Toliver]

After 3 hours they're starting to get a nice colour.  They smell AMAZING ... especially when paired with my morning espresso That's a tray of salt in the back getting smoked at the same time.

←

How did the salt turn out? How "smoked" does it taste?

[Pontormo]

FYI: About a week ago I made rhubarb jam with crystallized ginger, and then prepared a BBQ sauce from that (using standard ingredients, such as sweet onions, garlic, vinegar). This was slicked over a rack of St. Louis style ribs that had been marinading with a dry rub.

Results? Quite tasty, though I am sure the wonderful dry rub overpowered the sauce. I also think that I should have made either a rhubarb chutney, or roasted some of the rhubarb to mix with just a little bit or something sweet plus chopped Jalepeno, red onion, etc. for a salsa.

In other words, you really couldn't tell there was rhubarb in the sauce.

Any suggestions or feedback are/is welcome.

[Marlene]

I'm open to suggestions for rubs as well. I know everyone like's Klink's Dry Rub, but I didn't really care for it that much. I do know that I want a rub and then a glaze at the end,

[Pontormo]

Marlene, I highly recommend this.

As I said, it just overwhelmed my rhubarb sauce, but was very, very good. I also liked the concept of uniting two rival cities with my Kansas City rub and St. Louis-style ribs.

Peace out.

[Marlene]

That looks interesting! Now for a nice glaze. Come on people, cough them up!

[Daddy-A]

With the turning you did of the racks, did you feel you impacted the bark (the crusting of the rub) - sometimes "regular" movement will remove the rub.

Considering I was "slathering" with sauce towards the end, I doubt there would have been much bark anyway. I was following the "Best Ribs in the Universe" recipe from VirtualWeberBullet ... so sauce was requested and used. The rub did add a good flavour however. Next time I'll do some with bark and for those, no I wouldn't turn them.

I think I may have to try smoking ribs again this weekend, since my first attempt was not all that successful.  Arne, can you elaborate on the glaze and what's in it?

It's a 1/2 and 1/2 mix of honey (clover) and my own rif on Rockin' Ronnie's Barbeque sauce. I PM'd a copy to Susan a while back, so she may be able to PM you ... I'm too lazy to re-type it right now.

How did the salt turn out?  How "smoked" does it taste?

Funny you ask ... I know others have been discussing this exact subject in another thread. I always wait a day before I judge the salts since I'm usually so smokey right afterwards I can't tell how much smoke gets in.

My experience is that the salt smells really smokey, but doesn't taste too smokey. "C" restaurant in Vancouver sells it's own line of smoked salts, and they really taste smokey. My suspicion is that they're cold smoked for a day or so, rather than hot smoked for 6 hours.

A.

[Marlene]

It's a 1/2 and 1/2 mix of honey (clover) and my own rif on Rockin' Ronnie's Barbeque sauce.  I PM'd a copy to Susan a while back, so she may be able to PM you ... I'm too lazy to re-type it right now.

A.

←

Ok Susan, hand it over. I picked up rib racks after my last rib disaster and I've got two racks of St. Louis style ribs. Sat is supposed to be a gorgeous day, so perhaps I should be brave and try this again.

[Toliver]

How did the salt turn out?  How "smoked" does it taste?

Funny you ask ... I know others have been discussing this exact subject in another thread. I always wait a day before I judge the salts since I'm usually so smokey right afterwards I can't tell how much smoke gets in.

My experience is that the salt smells really smokey, but doesn't taste too smokey. "C" restaurant in Vancouver sells it's own line of smoked salts, and they really taste smokey. My suspicion is that they're cold smoked for a day or so, rather than hot smoked for 6 hours.

A.

←

My salt experiment in my brother's WSM turned out the same. Smelled nice but had no discernable smokey flavor. Needless to say I was bummed it didn't turn out.

I know vanilla beans can impart flavor to sugar crystals when put into the same container. I wonder why the smoke isn't getting into the salt crystals, unless as you suggest, time is a factor.

[Marlene]

So bullet experts. Using rib racks, should I have them on the bottom rack or the top rack of the bullet?