Smoked or grilled ribs

Mo Smoke · Post by **Mo Smoke** » July 12th, 2020, 4:06 pm

Seems like most folks like to slow smoke ribs. Some like to wrap in foil and some don’t. Some pull the membrane. But what about grilling them direct over the fire. Not saying it has to be hot and fast, just grilled over the fire instead of smoked indirectly. I had some ribs once that had a crispy texture on the surface like bacon. They were awesome! Not sure if he grilled them but it kinda seemed that way. Anyone cook their ribs like that. ?

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mp4 · Post by **mp4** » July 12th, 2020, 4:33 pm

There's a guy that cooked some over a flip flop grill at my place once. People liked them, I thought they were kind of tough but they did have good flavor. He did have quite a few rubs that he layered them with.

The 1st couple times I cooked ribs it was on a gas grill, of course I wouldn't be caught ever doing that again!

Ranjer59 · Post by **Ranjer59** » July 12th, 2020, 5:17 pm

I prefer a smoked rib- sauced or not. But I have done them on a santa maria grill- started off -seasoned, wrapped in foil with just a bit of white vinegar, beer, apple juice etc.... check for pull back and tenderness. Pull from foil- meat side down to get color - while this is happening, paint with a thin sauce, flip when they tack up, paint meat side. Do at least one more flip, finishing with a fresh painting on the meat side. Serve it up. Not smoked- but still very tasty- and not 4 hours.

towtruck · Post by **towtruck** » July 12th, 2020, 6:32 pm

I've bbq'd baby back ribs before and they are good if you get the sauce right. They will be dryer though so pulling them at just the right time is key.

I do a 4 hour smoke/wrap/grill thing now. I pull membranes, I use rubs, and I crutch with butter and apple juice. My sauce is my own creation.

Mo Smoke · Post by **Mo Smoke** » July 12th, 2020, 6:57 pm

Smoked and wrapped makes great ribs but man..4-6hrs sucks. I’m expirmenting with hot and fast on the next batch. I think toughness will be my biggest challenge

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Post by **Big T** » July 12th, 2020, 9:14 pm

I live in lower Alabama and most of the BBQ joints around here cook on brick pits where the meat is probably 3-5 feet above the fire. They normally have a fire pit to the side that they burn the wood down and add coals to the pit as needed with the occasional log on the fire for flavor. They usually mop the meat with some type of homemade mop sauce which is mostly vinegar based. It isn't as tender as meat that's cooked on a smoker but I wouldn't consider it as tough, it does have a little chew. It has a totally different flavor/texture than meat that's cooked on a smoker, it sometimes has a little char on the butts that adds to the flavor. My family loves my spare ribs from my RF but we all agree that the pit cooked ribs are also great.

Mo Smoke · Post by **Mo Smoke** » July 13th, 2020, 12:23 am

My RF was built out of a stubby 125 gallon propane tank so it’s deep enough to grill direct over coals when I want. Meat isn’t 3 feet above the fire like a brick pit but high enough not to burn as long as I don’t rush it. I usually smoke my ribs around 225-250 but I’m next time I’m lettin em kiss the fire just a lil bit. Prob shoot for 250-275 and see what happens. My gut tells me if I can keep em moist they might turn out even better than the low and slow.

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tinspark · Post by **tinspark** » July 13th, 2020, 1:38 am

I have a buddy that tailgates at all of the Raiders games and has won their weekend tailgate competition out of several hundred people.
He calls his setup a smoker, but it is actually a char-grille. He keeps a fire in the corner to seer his meat, which locks in the juices, then takes them to the side off of the direct heat and closes the lid. He does have a stack to let smoke out, but no baffle plates or tuning plate etc. so the fire is directly under his food. His meat is exceptional, and we had him do the meat at our 25th anniversary party a few years back, but I would put my smoked meat up against his any day of the week. But....... He too doesn't like the idea of a 4-6 hour cook time and even longer in some cases. So there is the trade off I suppose.. That's why a GF seems like a good deal. Set it and almost forget it!! IMHO

Post by **Pete Mazz** » July 13th, 2020, 4:51 am

Friend of mine braises his ribs and then throws them on his grill, reverse sear style.

Mo Smoke · Post by **Mo Smoke** » July 13th, 2020, 8:03 am

Yeah I thought about tossing them on a hot grill after smoking them to get the best of both worlds...but there goes even more time, setup, and cleanup ! Great idea for days when I’m sick of my wife and would rather be anywhere than in the house !

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Dirtytires · Post by **Dirtytires** » July 13th, 2020, 11:23 am

I’m late to the party but I definitely pull the membrane, dry salt brine followed by a simple rub over olive oil. Hit the smoker for 5-6 hours at 240-250 and pull when they pass the “bend test.” Do not flip, rotate or wrap my ribs. Sometimes a bit of sauce during last hour, sometimes not. We like them both ways and my rub has enough flavor I don’t need the sauce.

Mo Smoke · Post by **Mo Smoke** » July 13th, 2020, 2:42 pm

So Dirty T you keep cooking em until they bend huh.. they don’t dry out or get tough if you cook them too long? Do you mop? Spritz?

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Dirtytires · Post by **Dirtytires** » July 14th, 2020, 11:36 am

I don’t mess with the tiny ribs you get at most grocery stores. I buy exclusively from Costco and anyone who has ever had their ribs knows the difference. They are thicker, have more meat and already have the membrane pulled.perfect balance of meat and fat and always cook up awesome. And for anyone who doesn’t know this, if you go ask the butcher for a case, he will pull one out of the back walk-in and give you the case price which is almost a dollar per pound cheaper than off of the meat counter.

Drying out has never been a problem. I don’t mop, baste, wrap, use a water pan, or even touch my ribs once on the rack. (As mentioned, I sometimes lightly brush with bbq sauce but not always.) I’m convinced that the key is to start with a quality piece of meat and keep you temp in the 225-275 range. My ribs take right at 5 hours most of the time to cook.

To be fair, I do wrap my bigger pieces of meat like shoulders and briskets as they take considerably longer to cook.

tinspark · Post by **tinspark** » July 14th, 2020, 2:36 pm

Dirtytires wrote: ↑
July 14th, 2020, 11:36 am
I don’t mess with the tiny ribs you get at most grocery stores. I buy exclusively from Costco and anyone who has ever had their ribs knows the difference. They are thicker, have more meat and already have the membrane pulled. perfect balance of meat and fat and always cook up awesome.

Ditto on the Costco ribs.

Mo Smoke · Post by **Mo Smoke** » July 14th, 2020, 7:33 pm

I’ll give Costco a shot on my next batch. Sams is my go to. Usually get good quality slabs for a good price. I wrap most times but I’m wanting to develop a new style to cut down on time and cost but not sacrifice quality of end result.

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