Welcome to the EGGhead Forum - a great place to visit and packed with tips and EGGspert advice! You can also join the conversation and get more information and amazing kamado recipes by following Big Green Egg to Experience our World of Flavor™ at:
Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Instagram  |  Pinterest  |  Youtube  |  Vimeo
Share your photos by tagging us and using the hashtag #BigGreenEgg.

Want to see how the EGG is made? Click to Watch

How do you like your ribs? WET or Dry?

Options
Ladeback69
Ladeback69 Posts: 4,482
in Forum Feedback
I prefer my ribs dry with just the rub for flavor and sauce on the side in I chose to. I have sauced them before, but it is just to messy to me and I like the flavor of the rib meat with just the rub I used. I was just wondering after a rib class I just had. I know that ribs get sauced during competitions, but this question is about what is your personal preference. :-/
XL, WSM, Coleman Road Trip Gas Grill

Kansas City, Mo.
· Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
«1

Comments

  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,351
    Options
    +1 with dry ribs.  I offer sauce on the side (or will sauce a rack at the end of a cook) if I know that's the guest preference.
    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • gamason
    gamason Posts: 406
    Options
    Yes! I l like ribs. Wet/dry who cares. Give me ribs. Yum, yum!!!

    Snellville,Ga.

    LBGE

    Minimax

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Phatchris
    Phatchris Posts: 1,726
    edited October 2014
    Options
    Depends on my mood :D and my guests...
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • ksmyrl
    ksmyrl Posts: 1,050
    Options
    Personally...for me, I like em a little wet. Not sloppy and dripping in sauce, but a little sauce at the end that has caramelized...mmm I'm getting hungry.
    Fish, Hunt, Cook....anything else?

    1LBGE, 1MMBGE, somewhere near Athens GA
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Skiddymarker
    Skiddymarker Posts: 8,522
    Options
    I like a dry rib, SWMBO likes sauced ribs, but then she grew up in a household where ribs were slow cooked into oblivion and you had to pick up each rack with at least two sets of tongs, treating it like a spent fuel rod from the crock pot nuclear reactor. It was so fall off the bone, just moving the rack resulted in what looked more like pulled pork than ribs. Often the sauce was just dumped into the pot to coat everything. 
    I split each rack in half, fits better on the MBGE and she gets her half sauced for the last hour while mine continues to season the bark. 
    Delta B.C. - Whiskey and steak, because no good story ever started with someone having a salad!
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • DMW
    DMW Posts: 13,832
    Options
    Yes. :D
    They/Them
    Morgantown, PA

    XL BGE - S BGE - KJ Jr - HB Legacy - BS Pizza Oven - 30" Firepit - King Kooker Fryer -  PR72T - WSJ - BS 17" Griddle - XXL BGE  - BS SS36" Griddle - 2 Burner Gasser - Pellet Smoker
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Woody
    Woody Posts: 125
    Options
    I think it is all personal taste.

    But, I like my ribs, brisket, butts simply dry rubbed.  If done right with a rub you like, this method lets the flavor of the meat come through.  I think the sauces tend to mute/cover up the flavor of the meat and rub.

    +1 on the saucing for the SWMBO and son.
    Woody in Northville, MI
    Large BGE with AR R & B Oval Combo w/Extender and Sliding D Grid, Kick Ash Basket, Smokeware Cap, Wok, Grill Grates and Kettle Q
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • jcaspary
    jcaspary Posts: 1,479
    Options
    I prefer wet but if there is no sauce I won't ask for it either.  Both will be cleaned to the bone.
    XL BGE, LG BGE, and a hunger to grill everything in sight!!!
    Joe- Strongsville, OH
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Bojangles
    Bojangles Posts: 118
    Options
    I always do some of both, and end up eating both kinds.... and can't seem to stop devouring.
    Large BGE  |  Blackstone  |  Custom Dísco  |  PolyScience Discovery
    --------------------------------------------
    my Big Green Egg has saved many-a-Sunday that my Miami Dolphins attempted to ruin.
    --------------------------------------------
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Legume
    Legume Posts: 14,619
    Options
    I usually start out shooting for dry and if they miss the mark in some way, I sauce them, but mostly just as a glaze at the end, not in foil.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Foghorn
    Foghorn Posts: 9,836
    Options
    Legume said:
    I usually start out shooting for dry and if they miss the mark in some way, I sauce them, but mostly just as a glaze at the end, not in foil.

    This. 

    Sauce is a good equalizer, but if I can achieve great dry ribs (maybe 50% of the time) that is my preference. 

    XXL BGE, Karebecue, Klose BYC, Chargiller Akorn Kamado, Weber Smokey Mountain, Grand Turbo gasser, Weber Smoky Joe, and the wheelbarrow that my grandfather used to cook steaks from his cattle

    San Antonio, TX

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • smokeyj
    smokeyj Posts: 340
    Options

    I like dry but usually sauce half the rack just to try different sauces and have a different taste.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • blind99
    blind99 Posts: 4,971
    Options
    Legume said:
    I usually start out shooting for dry and if they miss the mark in some way, I sauce them, but mostly just as a glaze at the end, not in foil.
    Dinosaur BBQ in Buffalo does an awesome job of getting the ribs glazed.  it's like a coat of sauce laquer, if that makes any sense.  they're my favorite.
    Chicago, IL - Large and Small BGE - Weber Gasser and Kettle
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Zmokin
    Zmokin Posts: 1,938
    Options
    ksmyrl said:
    Personally...for me, I like em a little wet. Not sloppy and dripping in sauce, but a little sauce at the end that has caramelized...mmm I'm getting hungry.
    I may like 'em wetter than you, but for me the key is "caramelized".  I like mine sticky and finger licking good.  Saucing afterwards just isn't as good as carmelized sauce for my taste pallet.
    Large BGE in a Sole' Gourmet Table
    Using the Black Cast Iron grill, Plate Setter,
     and a BBQ Guru temp controller.

    Medium BGE in custom modified off-road nest.
    Black Cast Iron grill, Plate Setter, and a Party-Q temp controller.

    Location: somewhere West of the Mason-Dixon Line
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,754
    Options
    back when you could buy happy pappy sauce i liked to pour it in a plate and lay my cut spares cut side down in the sauce and drag them thru it cut side only. it wouldnt ruin the bark that way
    :D mostly i like them dry but a local butcher nearby makes a honey habanaro sauce thats killer
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • mwatts
    mwatts Posts: 122
    Options
    With 2 little ones running around, dry ribs work best for us (Less clean up) But we attempt sauced ribs when we feel froggy.
    Extra Large, Large, DigiQII, Thermapen, Adjustable Rig
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Legume
    Legume Posts: 14,619
    Options
    blind99 said:
    Legume said:
    I usually start out shooting for dry and if they miss the mark in some way, I sauce them, but mostly just as a glaze at the end, not in foil.
    Dinosaur BBQ in Buffalo does an awesome job of getting the ribs glazed.  it's like a coat of sauce laquer, if that makes any sense.  they're my favorite.
    Sounds good indeed.  Also agree with @Zmokin that caramelization is key.  Someone posted recently about a line of sauces called rib candy that are meant to be used as a late glaze.  I need to find that and try it, I think they had 10+ flavors that were all pretty unique.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Legume
    Legume Posts: 14,619
    edited October 2014
    Options
    found it.  http://texaspepperjelly.com/texas-rib-candy/

    anyone try this yet?
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • blind99
    blind99 Posts: 4,971
    Options

    I cooked ribs about 6 times this summer, and tried glazing them with slightly thinned sauce at the end of the cook.  Never got the same finish as dinosaur, but that's why they are pros and I'm not.  I was just looking around a little more and saw the caramelization temperatures of difference sugars on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caramelization#Effects_on_caramelization and on amazing ribs.  Most caramelize significantly hotter temps than I'm cooking ribs, whereas fructose is below. 


    The rib candy sounds really good.

    Chicago, IL - Large and Small BGE - Weber Gasser and Kettle
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • JRWhitee
    JRWhitee Posts: 5,678
    Options
    Dry for me.
                                                                
    _________________________________________________
    Don't let the truth get in the way of a good story!
    Large BGE 2006, Mini Max 2014, 36" Blackstone, Anova Sous Vide
    Green Man Group 
    Johns Creek, Georgia
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • shtgunal3
    shtgunal3 Posts: 5,649
    Options
    I prefer dry but wet ribs have their place too.

    ___________________________________

     

     LBGE,SBGE, and a Mini makes three......Sweet home Alabama........ Stay thirsty my friends .

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • XC242
    XC242 Posts: 1,208
    Options
    Dry.
    LBGE (still waitin' for my free T-Shirt), DIgiQ DX2 (In Blue, cause it's the fastest), Heavy Duty Kick Ash Basket, Mc Farland, WI. :glasses:  B)
    If it wasn't for my BGE I'd have no use for my backyard...
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • HendersonTRKing
    HendersonTRKing Posts: 1,803
    Options
    One rack dry for those who know what's what and one rack wet for the heathens.  Daddy's happy, Mommy's happy.  (And we don't make too many snide comments bc we're too busy eating.)
    It's a 302 thing . . .
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Dobie
    Dobie Posts: 3,364
    Options
    If I happen to order them out, dry so I can pick my sauce. If I'm the cook then mine are served.  sauced.
    Jacksonville FL
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Tjcoley
    Tjcoley Posts: 3,551
    Options
    Dry for me.
    __________________________________________
    It's not a science, it's an art. And it's flawed.
    - Camp Hill, PA
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Gman2
    Gman2 Posts: 421
    Options
    I prefer dry but cook both for the crowd!!!
    LBGE, Mechanicsville, Va., LBGE, Duck, NC, XLBGE Wake, Va.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • SloppyJoe
    SloppyJoe Posts: 406
    Options
    I like my ribs the same way I like my women..... Hoooah
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • DMW
    DMW Posts: 13,832
    Options
    SloppyJoe said:
    I like my ribs the same way I like my women..... Hoooah
    Controlling and manipulative? Wait, I shouldn't have said that...WTH, go see the What are you drinking now thread for explanation....  >:)
    They/Them
    Morgantown, PA

    XL BGE - S BGE - KJ Jr - HB Legacy - BS Pizza Oven - 30" Firepit - King Kooker Fryer -  PR72T - WSJ - BS 17" Griddle - XXL BGE  - BS SS36" Griddle - 2 Burner Gasser - Pellet Smoker
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • SGH
    SGH Posts: 28,791
    Options
    I like them either way. I love ribs across the board. Wet or dry, bring them on brother. The more the better.

    Location- Just "this side" of Biloxi, Ms.

    Status- Standing by.

    The greatest barrier against all wisdom, the stronghold against knowledge itself, is the single thought, in ones mind, that they already have it all figured out. 

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • GATABITES
    GATABITES Posts: 1,260
    Options
    both. sauced with a char, even better
    XL BGE 
    Joe JR 
    Baltimore, MD
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Categories