Even though I've made ribs and they turned out good (or maybe "good enough") tonight was the first time I made ribs that knocked our socks off. This was completely different. Deliciously different.
Every other time, I simmered the ribs for about an hour, and then put on the barbecue sauce to grill them for a few minutes. This time I looked up a variety of online recipes. Most said to boil the ribs as I'd always done. But some recipes said not to; one said that you boil all the flavor out so that you have great broth but not-great ribs.
The trick is to cook them very very very long on very very low heat. Neither Gary nor I wanted to tend the grill for the whole day. So I applied a rub (some sugar, salt, spices) to both sides of the meat and let it sit for an hour. Then the racks of ribs were laid on large pieces of foil. I poured on barbecue sauce and sealed up the foil into a tight package. Then those packets baked at 250 for about six hours. When it was nearly time to eat, I opened the packets, poured on another tablespoon or two of BBQ sauce, and popped them under the broiler for a few minutes.
These were the best ribs I've ever eaten in my life. I've never been much of a rib person, but I could definitely have eaten more than my share of the meat tonight!
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I've heard this can be done on the grill, and I have tried it, but have never gotten them to the point where the ribs broke down and became tender. They had a nice smoky flavor but were a bit like eating beef jerky. I still would like to master getting them to that point on the grill.
ReplyDeleteChris, I think a person would need to be an excellent griller to manage such a low heat for such a long time. And that wouldn't be me or Gary. :-)
ReplyDeleteSusan, we can't get ribs for cheap here, so I have cut up boneless pork loin in 1 1/2" strips and cooked them for three hours at 350 with onions and covered in foil...same awesome taste without the bones!
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