membrane on ribs

[TuscaloosaQ]

I am at work tonight and just thought I would open a can of worms. Truly does it really matter if you leave the membrane on ribs??? I have never taken it off!!! Is it a fad or is it an ego thing or is it a competition thing. I am not trying to pee anyone off but I can assure the BBQ joints where I live Ain't fixing to screw with taking the membrane off. I truly beleive if I blindfolded someone and said is it on or off you would guess right some of the time but not all of the time.
I did try recently and said to H></ with this it aint worth it. I am truly wondering if you owned a BBQ joint would you actually pay someone to do it. It is going to be virtually impossible to make me beleive it truly matters.

[Frank_Cox]

it really does make a huge difference in tenderness!
Q joints may not pull them off but most all of them score them with a knife to make the membrane tear easier.

[Gizmo]

I GRILLED ribs with the silverskin on for years - no problem - personal preference

It is mostly a comp thing ...

however ...

...it does improve the effectiveness of the rub you put on to help penetration/flavor - especially if you use dual rubs
...it reduces your consumption of dental floss when you're done eating those ribs
...it matters to the folks wearing dentures

Rib racks do vary but once you've properly pulled a silverskin off you'll always do it after that - it is just that quick and easy ... Our team still has a cook that hasn't quite got the "hang" of it yet and she's prolly going on 20 racks so far ...

FWIW

[DUAYNE B]

i was wondering about that myself TQ, so, how would one go about properly removing the silverskin,,,,,,,, ,,,, happy weekend by the way, a few more days and my daughter will be intown, then off to Japan for a couple yrs.. cant wait to see her

[Frank_Cox]

[DUAYNE B]

ask and yee shall recieve, Thanks Frank

[Frank_Cox]

no probs buddy!

[DUAYNE B]

Excellent imformation,,,, i will do that on my next batch of ribs,,,,,,,,

[Frank_Cox]

it is easier on baby backs. spares are a bit more challenging

[DUAYNE B]

i use the st. louis ribs here, i like the size and meat portion, they are usually on sale more often too..... great info

[TuscaloosaQ]

Thanks Frank I will have to view the video tomorrow, cause my sound at work is muffed up. I know some make take me wrong it just irritated me to death trying to get the membrane off I felt like I was trying to skin a catfish, down here we nail the fishes head to a tree and skin him, felt like my neighbors would call the local mental hospital when they saw me nailing ribs to trees in my yard HA HA. I must say I cook a mean rib with the membrane on, I had never heard of taken it off till I stated visiting web sites. Please do not think that i think everyone else is wrong but I still am not convinced it really matters.

[PvilleComp]

Our local Costco sells the Baby Backs already membrane'd. However the full spates are not. I found it was pretty east to catch the membrane and pull. I've done them both ways and I think the rub does penetrate deeper into the rib without the membrane.

With that said, I've also never seen leftovers either way.

[SoloQue]

The membrane inhibits any seasoning from getting into the meat as keeping smoke from penetrating. Like they said above, if you are grilling you can get away with scoring the membrane but as far as bite through texture for a comp it just has to come off. My 2 cents, but I probably owe someone some change.

[TuscaloosaQ]

PvilleComp brother after seeing your food I can promise there would never be any left overs it left a lasting impression on me . IT WAS OFF THE CHART !!!!!!!!!! That is what I like about this site people can have various opinions and not flame one another to death. The rub I am sure penetrates better and who knows I may be a membrane pulling fool one day

[TuscaloosaQ]

Solo I am sure you are right and one of these days I am sure I will be eating some of your Q and it will be GOOD

[PvilleComp]

PvilleComp brother after seeing your food I can promise there would never be any left overs it left a lasting impression on me . IT WAS OFF THE CHART !!!!!!!!!! That is what I like about this site people can have various opinions and not flame one another to death. The rub I am sure penetrates better and who knows I may be a membrane pulling fool one day

Thank you. Now you got me blushing.

[Tom_Heath]

Had one of my guys from work call me a couple weekends ago asking the same question.

He was fustrated bad, he laughed when I told him to run the butter knife down the rib bone.

He even laughed and said, ya right. And how the heck do I hold on to it to pull it off.

Well after he learned to pry the membrane from the bone and grab it with a paper towel, all was good.
Even said if he had known this, he would have done it to every one in the past.

He knows now. All is good.

[TuscaloosaQ]

When I watch that video Tom maybe I will be better at it I have 0000 patience whn it comes to teadious things. I may have to suck it up and nail that slab of ribs to a tree like a catfish and pull that membrane off with pliers

[rlmax02]

ive done both ways and I must say its not just a comp thing. I prefer not to have that leftover unchewable stuff left in my teeth and hanging off the bone. that is my preference. with that being said....there are a million and 1 ways to do fantastic BBQ. If it works for you to leave the membrane on or score it and peel it after it comes off the pit then do it, sit back relax and enjoy the food. This is a good topic to get the folks talking

[Tom_Heath]

Its really easy after once or twice, honest. Pick out a butter knife and make it ribs only. DONT use a sharp knife, been there done that and it dont work.

The paper towel makes it all good for grip.

I can trim a slab and membrane it in proally just over a minute.

[Frank_Cox]

I use a spoon handle with a rounded end. then after I pull the membrane off I use the spoon to scrape off the excess fat on the bottom

[TuscaloosaQ]

Honestly guys I never remember scoring anything or pulling anything off such as membrane I guess i grew up eating like that and never paid attention. I can really say that that I never ever have even noticed it. I am not being hard headed I am just saying the rib places here aint pulling membrane and archiballs got best in the nation on the national news 2 years ago. That being said I am going to give it a shot and try and learn how, smokerTom I did have a sharp knife when I tried and I am not sure what the heck I was doing but I saw blood and it did not come from a rib. Honestly have yall always did this, just asking???? Please do not think I am a smart AAAAA Im not I am just not sold on it yet and I believe in all my heart You all are excellent cooks no doubt about it. But I believe I am too.

[SoloQue]

I wouldn't sweat it TQ, my dad about fell out when I first told him we had to "prep" the ribs. As far as he was concerned prepping ribs meant boiling them for 30 minutes before tossing on the grill. Needless to say I heard a whole bunch of mumbles when I talked him through the process. hehe Of course 6 months later he was the authority of everything concerning ribs as far as his coffee club buddies were concerned. I gotta admit it makes me pretty happy to see him with his "Irv's Smokehouse" BBQ team shirt on and explaining just how wrong all his old time buddies are when it comes to real BBQ. He lives in Illinois and therefor is quick to tell them all that real BBQ is a southern thing (we can chalk that up to parental bragging so no offense to any of y'all north of the Mason Dixon). All this coming from a guy who logged in some apprentice time on hellish rainy night at a comp with me 2 yrs ago. I wouldn't trade that night for a whole stack of cash, I reckon he wouldn't either cause he will relive it any chance he gets. After all that rambling the bottom line to the story is that now he is a silver skin removing king. Just arm him with a paper towel and a butter knife.

[TuscaloosaQ]

Yall rascals are going to convert me yet, I will be singing "I saw the light" DC do not tell me I told you so!!!!! an d get a bigger BRA!!!!!

[DUAYNE B]

Gotta love it,,, one thing BBq does,,,,,, i t brings out some good stories and good friends