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Wife has 'challenged' me on ribs

NewEnglandEgger
NewEnglandEgger Posts: 104
edited August 2012 in EggHead Forum
So...my wife surprised me this evening by informing me that she was going to 'kick my ass' in the rib cooking department. She has expressed a desire for the old 'fall off the bone' experience, and I prefer my ribs with a bit of tug. She has hinted at what she has in mind...and while the thought of wasted ribs pains me, I think I need to let her learn a little lesson. She is planning some sort of vinegar brine, and then she intends to cook the ribs at 250 for 6 to 6.5 hrs. I guess she thinks that longer cooking time equates directly to more tender ribs, on some sort of endless linear scale. Given her competitive nature, I learned years ago there is no teaching her in advance...so it should be interesting :) What do you all think the outcome is likely to be? NewEnglandEgger
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Comments

  • NewEnglandEgger
    NewEnglandEgger Posts: 104
    The are Baby Backs...btw
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  • BYS1981
    BYS1981 Posts: 2,533
    If not foiled.. expect burnt ribs, lol.
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  • LizzieSamps
    LizzieSamps Posts: 894
    Well I would say play along, I know for me, I have to learn the hard way! I guessit is that stubbornness in me! What about just doing 1 rack her way and 1 rack your way, on the egg and compare them side by side?
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  • SteveWPBFL
    SteveWPBFL Posts: 1,327
    Happy Wife = Happy Life! (Jeff Allen)
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  • BBQBeerman
    BBQBeerman Posts: 62
    She wins with ribs you win later
    Life is short,love what you do or do something else
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  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    i think her ribs will fall off the bone.  longer is more 'fall off'.  i cook my ribs 5 or six hours and they pull clean, but not fall apart.  250 dome

    vinegar can make the very surface of the ribs a little mushy i find, if marinating.  i think everyone tries the orange juice or vinegar marinade at least once.  key word being 'once'.  you can't really tenderize meat that way, and all it does is par cooks and eats the surface (acid).  think ceviche.

    you didn't mention how she was cooking them.  on the BGE? anything without smoke would be a fail to me.  if it is (god forbid) in the oven or in a crock pot, she loses the moment she starts :))
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
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  • cazzy
    cazzy Posts: 9,136
    "Finish Her!!"
    Just a hack that makes some $hitty BBQ....
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  • gdenby
    gdenby Posts: 6,239
    Maybe if she mops them every 20 minutes that will cool both the ribs and Egg enough that it could stretch to 6+ hours. Otherwise, gotta think charred.
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  • cazzy
    cazzy Posts: 9,136
    6 hours may be like 5 if she opens the egg often...assuming she's going beat you w/ egg and not the oven 8-}
    Just a hack that makes some $hitty BBQ....
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  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    nah  250, you cant char them in 6 hours.  even foiling, which shortens a cook, is a five hour cook.

    i'll say again, almost impossible to truly 'dry out' ribs or butts
    very forgiving.

    i accidentally went 9 hours on loin back ribs (put them on with an overnight butt, instead of in the morning as planned), and they were falling off the bone (i like a little tooth to them).  other than falling apart, they were among the best i ever did.  that much time in the smoke, and a great surafce, they certainly weren't charred or ruined.
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
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  • gdenby
    gdenby Posts: 6,239
    But the surface may already be pre-cooked from the vinegar.  Kind of hard for meat like that to hold much moisture.
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  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    ribs and butts don't have much 'moisture' (from water) when cooked to those temps anyway. it's the collagen and fat that make it slippery.
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
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  • NewEnglandEgger
    NewEnglandEgger Posts: 104
    Results are in! My wife's first low and slow on the BGE was a success. She did some more reading on her own after I posted, so she did not do a vinegar marinade. She made her own rub based on a recipe she found online. I helped her get the Egg stabilized at 250 and she did the rest. She cooked them for about 6 hrs, only opening the Egg 3 or 4 times to spritz with an apple juice/cider vinegar mix. Overall, they came out really good. Slightly over cooked in some spots, but I thoroughly enjoyed a full rack!
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  • hopkinsusmc87
    hopkinsusmc87 Posts: 250
    edited August 2012
    Good deal. I think it's great she is involved. My wife just eats what I cook. I think it would be fun to do a husband/wife cook off.
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  • mizeatl
    mizeatl Posts: 13
    edited August 2012
    I cook mine about 5 hours an they are always fall clean off the bone and tender. I may have to think about brining.
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  • bud812
    bud812 Posts: 1,869
    So did she( KICK YOU ASS) or was it a tie??

    Not to get technical, but according to chemistry alcohol is a solution...

    Large & Small BGE

    Stockton Ca.

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  • Baysidebob
    Baysidebob Posts: 489

    She's happy.  You should be very happy.  It don't happen often.  Now is the time to introduce the idea of "His and Her's" Eggs.

    My actuary says I'm dead.
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  • NewEnglandEgger
    NewEnglandEgger Posts: 104
    I really got her thinking when I told her we would always remember this as the day our competition BBQ team was born :). I don't actually plan to do competition....but it was great to see her reaction.
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  • Hungry Joe
    Hungry Joe Posts: 1,567
    edited August 2012
    I have no comment on the vinegar thing because, 1, I never heard of it before which brings me to 2, I have never tried it. With that said last Saturday I put some baby backs on at 9:30 am and they were not done until 4:30 cooked at 250. So I don't see time being an issue here.
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