Are there EASY Baby Back Rib instructions?

srwaters

Maybe one without the apple juice, boiling and all of that.....just a rub on the spice, cook them and put the sauce on now kind-of-thing?

MrCookingNurse

Yup. Just rub and smoke. I only do St. Louis so maybe someone with baby back experience can chime in.

I used to do a labor intensive juice butter foil and different step thing.

@cazzy did some KISS ribs the other days, just 250 grate until pass the bend test. I did that Monday and were amazing best ever. Pull membrane rub and smoke for around 5 hours.

@mickey does some turbo ones that are great too.

Like I said, I only do St. Louis and don't know how much that matters but someone will chime in.

Griffin

Remove membrane, slather with mustard, liberally apply your favorite rub and cook them at 250 grate level for about 5 hours. Check around 4.5 hours and see if they pass the bend test.

Boiling? Did you just say boiling? Get a rope!

U_tarded

remove membrane, rub of choice (could even be simple salt and pepper).  indirect 250-275 4-5 hours until it passes the 90 degree bend test (pick up one end of rack and when it bends 90 degrees its done).

Budgeezer

Search for turbo ribs.

My method for baby backs is season the ribs with your favorite rub.  Get your egg to 375 degrees and set up for indirect.  Cook the ribs for 1.5 to 2 hours sauce and serve.  Nearly fool proof.  Don't forget your adult beverages while you wait for your awesome ribs.

srwaters

I'm a rookie, so the "bend" test?

 

Griffin

Boiling, really? I guess if you like rib flavored water....

TonyA

get your tongs around about half the rack .. on a full rack the unsupported rack should hang limp - almost straight down

Little Steven

TonyA said:

get your tongs around about half the rack .. on a full rack the unsupported rack should hang limp - almost straight down

Tony, you are gonna start it with that.

Skiddymarker

Little Steven said:

TonyA said:

get your tongs around about half the rack .. on a full rack the unsupported rack should hang limp - almost straight down

Tony, you are gonna start it with that.

Steven - Go to your room!

TexanOfTheNorth

+1 with what Griffin said... although I'm sure he meant to include "indirect". Resist the temptation to open the lid until after the 4 hour mark. I did 2 racks this past weekend just like this and they turned out great!

lousubcap

All good info above-in the event you have to cut the racks in half to fit, then another good finish indicator is the toothpick test-insert in the thickest part of the meat and no resistance in or out and you are finished.  Also look for some meat pull-back on the bones.

bbqlearner

+2 @Griffin. Remove membrane, apply mustard and apply dry rub. Then, I leave it at grate the whole time untouched, no spraying, no foiling, no flipping, indirect dome temp 350F until its' internal temp is around 195-200 and then, I do the bend test like others have said before pulling it off. 

cazzy

srwaters said:

I'm a rookie, so the "bend" test?

 

B-)

Fibrocyte

Is it important to put water in the drip pan?  I did 20lbs of ribs (my first time doing ribs on my BGE XL) on Memorial Day and, while everyone loved them, I was disappointed because they weren't nearly tender enough.  

Mustard & rub 24h in advance, then I did indirect heat at 200-210 for 3.5 hours, then slopped on the homemade bbq sauce and did about 45 minutes at 250-275.

I would love any tips on making them more tender.  I should also note that I bought the ribs from Costco - the membrane was already removed but there was like an extra layer of meat on the ribs making them really thick - I'm not ribologist so maybe this is normal.

Thanks for your help, guys.

cazzy

Fibrocyte said:

Is it important to put water in the drip pan?  I did 20lbs of ribs (my first time doing ribs on my BGE XL) on Memorial Day and, while everyone loved them, I was disappointed because they weren't nearly tender enough.  

Mustard & rub 24h in advance, then I did indirect heat at 200-210 for 3.5 hours, then slopped on the homemade bbq sauce and did about 45 minutes at 250-275.

I would love any tips on making them more tender.  I should also note that I bought the ribs from Costco - the membrane was already removed but there was like an extra layer of meat on the ribs making them really thick - I'm not ribologist so maybe this is normal.

Thanks for your help, guys.

My guess would be they were underdone. If you got them at costco with the membrane removed, that's usually their St. Louis cut. Is that what they were?

200-210 is very low...next time, try about 30-50 degrees higher. No water pan needed on the egg IMO.

r270ba

cazzy said:

Is it important to put water in the drip pan?  I did 20lbs of ribs (my first time doing ribs on my BGE XL) on Memorial Day and, while everyone loved them, I was disappointed because they weren't nearly tender enough.  

Mustard & rub 24h in advance, then I did indirect heat at 200-210 for 3.5 hours, then slopped on the homemade bbq sauce and did about 45 minutes at 250-275.

I would love any tips on making them more tender.  I should also note that I bought the ribs from Costco - the membrane was already removed but there was like an extra layer of meat on the ribs making them really thick - I'm not ribologist so maybe this is normal.

Thanks for your help, guys.

My guess would be they were underdone. If you got them at costco with the membrane removed, that's usually their St. Louis cut. Is that what they were? 200-210 is very low...next time, try about 30-50 degrees higher. No water pan needed on the egg IMO.

@cazzy I have only bought my ribs at Costco and I swear they have removed the membranes already from the baby backs too.  Do you know for a fact they havent?

Fred19Flintstone

I usually boil my ribs when I'm almost done soaking my wood.

cazzy

r270ba said:

cazzy said:

Fibrocyte said:

Is it important to put water in the drip pan?  I did 20lbs of ribs (my first time doing ribs on my BGE XL) on Memorial Day and, while everyone loved them, I was disappointed because they weren't nearly tender enough.  

Mustard & rub 24h in advance, then I did indirect heat at 200-210 for 3.5 hours, then slopped on the homemade bbq sauce and did about 45 minutes at 250-275.

I would love any tips on making them more tender.  I should also note that I bought the ribs from Costco - the membrane was already removed but there was like an extra layer of meat on the ribs making them really thick - I'm not ribologist so maybe this is normal.

Thanks for your help, guys.

My guess would be they were underdone. If you got them at costco with the membrane removed, that's usually their St. Louis cut. Is that what they were?

200-210 is very low...next time, try about 30-50 degrees higher. No water pan needed on the egg IMO.

@cazzy I have only bought my ribs at Costco and I swear they have removed the membranes already from the baby backs too.  Do you know for a fact they havent?

Nothing is for certain. It prolly depends on how your Costco prepares their meat.

My Costco sells pre-packaged 3 packs of baby backs (Swift). Now, our St. Louis cut, they sell them in 3 packs and they appear to open some, remove the membrane, and season them. I never buy them since I prefer to season them myself.

Fibrocyte

cazzy said:

Is it important to put water in the drip pan?  I did 20lbs of ribs (my first time doing ribs on my BGE XL) on Memorial Day and, while everyone loved them, I was disappointed because they weren't nearly tender enough.  

Mustard & rub 24h in advance, then I did indirect heat at 200-210 for 3.5 hours, then slopped on the homemade bbq sauce and did about 45 minutes at 250-275.

I would love any tips on making them more tender.  I should also note that I bought the ribs from Costco - the membrane was already removed but there was like an extra layer of meat on the ribs making them really thick - I'm not ribologist so maybe this is normal.

Thanks for your help, guys.

My guess would be they were underdone. If you got them at costco with the membrane removed, that's usually their St. Louis cut. Is that what they were? 200-210 is very low...next time, try about 30-50 degrees higher. No water pan needed on the egg IMO.

I'm 100% certain they were baby back and the membrane was removed. I will go higher but the internal temp of the ribs was already 175+ when I took them off.  I thought 165 was "done" for ribs, but I guess I should use the bendy test, too.

huskdent

r270ba said:

cazzy said:

Is it important to put water in the drip pan?  I did 20lbs of ribs (my first time doing ribs on my BGE XL) on Memorial Day and, while everyone loved them, I was disappointed because they weren't nearly tender enough.  

Mustard & rub 24h in advance, then I did indirect heat at 200-210 for 3.5 hours, then slopped on the homemade bbq sauce and did about 45 minutes at 250-275.

I would love any tips on making them more tender.  I should also note that I bought the ribs from Costco - the membrane was already removed but there was like an extra layer of meat on the ribs making them really thick - I'm not ribologist so maybe this is normal.

Thanks for your help, guys.

My guess would be they were underdone. If you got them at costco with the membrane removed, that's usually their St. Louis cut. Is that what they were? 200-210 is very low...next time, try about 30-50 degrees higher. No water pan needed on the egg IMO.

@cazzy I have only bought my ribs at Costco and I swear they have removed the membranes already from the baby backs too.  Do you know for a fact they havent?

It must be region specific then because I just bought a 3 pack of spares (were already trimmed to St. Louis cut) from Costco and the membrane was still on.  Smoked them for Memorial Day and were delicious.  

I smoked them simple like the guys above are saying and went about 5 hours.  No mustard, foil, flipping, nothing.  Just peeled the membrane, rubbed and put on at 250-275.  Much better than the ones I have foiled in the past and much easier!!

cazzy

Fibrocyte said:

cazzy said:

Fibrocyte said:

Is it important to put water in the drip pan?  I did 20lbs of ribs (my first time doing ribs on my BGE XL) on Memorial Day and, while everyone loved them, I was disappointed because they weren't nearly tender enough.  

Mustard & rub 24h in advance, then I did indirect heat at 200-210 for 3.5 hours, then slopped on the homemade bbq sauce and did about 45 minutes at 250-275.

I would love any tips on making them more tender.  I should also note that I bought the ribs from Costco - the membrane was already removed but there was like an extra layer of meat on the ribs making them really thick - I'm not ribologist so maybe this is normal.

Thanks for your help, guys.

My guess would be they were underdone. If you got them at costco with the membrane removed, that's usually their St. Louis cut. Is that what they were?

200-210 is very low...next time, try about 30-50 degrees higher. No water pan needed on the egg IMO.

I'm 100% certain they were baby back and the membrane was removed. I will go higher but the internal temp of the ribs was already 175+ when I took them off.  I thought 165 was "done" for ribs, but I guess I should use the bendy test, too.

No...don't look at ribs like a steak or a chop. It's not a fine cut. You need to break down the collagen in the ribs and 165 may not get the job done the majority of the time.

I honestly have never temp checked ribs. I look for a few things when I do ribs to know they're done. I look for bone pull pack and I see how they feel. I will do the bend test sometimes. I did the test last time cause I thought it would be a cool pic...I new they were done cause they looked done.

r270ba

Check this out (specifically the 5th post):

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-113067.html

"The ones our Costco has been sellling from Swift for the last few months already have it removed. If you are not sure you can always make 3 big X's with a knife from top to bottom of the rack which will make any remaining membrane pull away while cooking."

cazzy

Oh, you might not get that type of pull back on BB ribs. The pic from above was a very special cook that I hope to repeat consistantly from this point forward.

BB rib pull back

cazzy

r270ba said:

Check this out (specifically the 5th post):

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-113067.html

"The ones our Costco has been sellling from Swift for the last few months already have it removed. If you are not sure you can always make 3 big X's with a knife from top to bottom of the rack which will make any remaining membrane pull away while cooking."

Not sure...I have never gotten a 3 pack of Swift ribs with the membrane removed. I removed the membrane from the last batch I did so I know it was there.

I honestly don't always remove them. Some of the best ribs I've eaten from BBQ spots still have the membrane intact. I've asked the pit masters about it and both spots have told me they feel it locks in the juices. Who knows.

JRWhitee

I found that 250 to 270 turns out the best ribs, one time I did them at 225 and although they seemed done they were not as tender as when I do 250 minimum. I have never used water and don't see the need for it. If you want them to fall off the bone foil them for 1 hour after 3 hours of smoke then remove foil and back on for an hour. This works every time for me.

Fibrocyte

Okay, thanks all.  It seems like I need to keep it at 250-275 and don't even bother peeking for doneness until hour 4.  I'm going to do baby backs every weekend until I get this right.

BTW, here's a pic of the ribs when they were done - that is only 1/2 of the 20lbs.

bbqlearner

@Fibrocyte I usually check for doneness when internal temp is around 195/200. I've heard in this forum or others maybe where the collagen starts to break around 165 or 170 so yeah, I wouldn't pull it off at 165. Never had any issues with tenderness when I pulled at the higher temp.

TFols

r270ba said:

cazzy said:

Fibrocyte said:

Is it important to put water in the drip pan?  I did 20lbs of ribs (my first time doing ribs on my BGE XL) on Memorial Day and, while everyone loved them, I was disappointed because they weren't nearly tender enough.  

Mustard & rub 24h in advance, then I did indirect heat at 200-210 for 3.5 hours, then slopped on the homemade bbq sauce and did about 45 minutes at 250-275.

I would love any tips on making them more tender.  I should also note that I bought the ribs from Costco - the membrane was already removed but there was like an extra layer of meat on the ribs making them really thick - I'm not ribologist so maybe this is normal.

Thanks for your help, guys.

My guess would be they were underdone. If you got them at costco with the membrane removed, that's usually their St. Louis cut. Is that what they were?

200-210 is very low...next time, try about 30-50 degrees higher. No water pan needed on the egg IMO.

@cazzy I have only bought my ribs at Costco and I swear they have removed the membranes already from the baby backs too.  Do you know for a fact they havent?
I've bought plenty of BB's from Costco and the membrane is removed ( I believe they come from Farmland). This past weekend I bought the St Lois Spares and did not think to look for the membrane and was disappointed to find out that after I cooked them there was in fact a membrane. Live and learn.

boatbum

Number one rule on ribs - cook them till they are done.

Don't boil.

Put them on, start them slow, then you can take the temp up.   The key is not time - but tenderness.  Time is only a guideline.

Two tests - 1 is the bend test as referenced above.  Second is the probe test, when you can poke a toothpick in and it slides in and out like butter - pull them.

Foil will speed things up.

Focus on knowing when they are done - then experiment wiht rubs, glazes, sauceing till you find what you like.

When you see the meat starting to pull back on the bones, start probing and seeing how they bend...

 

SteveWPBFL

I've tried most of the methods listed and have settled on turbo ribs. I take a pack of baby backs from Costco, put on a rub, and cook indirect at 350F grid with smoke until ribs reach 210F internal temp. They're 'butt done', juicy, flavorful, tender, and not a lot of work. This method takes a little over an hour.