FoodBanter.com - Pork Rib Rack

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Hi guys,

Now I've had one play with my new BBQ, oops, sorry, Grill (see previous
posts), I'm going to have a go a smoking a rack of Pork Ribs. Decided to
keep things simple first. I'll pre-heat then leave the burner on under the
solid plate, turning the open grill burners to low, with the ribs above.
I'll put some soaked wood chips in a foil tray on the solid plate to
smoulder and leave for, I thought 1-2 hours. Put the ribs aside and turn
burners up full, wait, grill 3 Aberdeen Angus fillet steaks.

Departure time to start this gastronomical feast is Sunday, 14:00 GMT (after
gym & a game of squash, so as not to feel too guilty!) Any comments advice
before this greatly appreciated.

Also:-

I know Frankie & Benny's border on being fast food etc., however, I do think
their Rack of Ribs are superb. Now any ideas how they are cooked? My guess
is that they boil or steam the racks (perhaps in some stock) for a number of
hours and then quickly char on a griddle to give a great burnt taste in
small areas. Pour over a pre-prepared BBQ sauce and serve.

Regards,

Charles

"Charles Turner" > wrote:
> Hi guys,
>
> Now I've had one play with my new BBQ, oops, sorry, Grill (see previous
> posts), I'm going to have a go a smoking a rack of Pork Ribs. Decided to
> keep things simple first. I'll pre-heat then leave the burner on under
> the solid plate, turning the open grill burners to low, with the ribs
> above. I'll put some soaked wood chips in a foil tray on the solid plate
> to smoulder and leave for, I thought 1-2 hours. Put the ribs aside and
> turn burners up full, wait, grill 3 Aberdeen Angus fillet steaks.
> [ . . . ]

Sounds like a great Sunday dinner in the offing, Charles. One thought. Do
NOT soak the wood chips!! Gives you a creosote flavored smoke. Wrap them in
foil, poke a couple of holes in the packet and drop on the fire. Gives you
a nice smoky flavor.

Enjoy those fillets. Make mine charred, blood rare, please. ;-)

--
Nick. Support severely wounded and disabled Veterans and their families!
I've known US vets who served as far back as the Spanish American War.
They are all my heroes! Thank a Veteran and Support Our Troops.
You are not forgotten. Thanks ! ! ~Semper Fi~

On 2008-06-07 22:48:05 +0100, "Charles Turner"
> said:

> Hi guys,
>
> Now I've had one play with my new BBQ, oops, sorry, Grill (see previous
> posts), I'm going to have a go a smoking a rack of Pork Ribs. Decided
> to keep things simple first. I'll pre-heat then leave the burner on
> under the solid plate, turning the open grill burners to low, with the
> ribs above. I'll put some soaked wood chips in a foil tray on the solid
> plate to smoulder and leave for, I thought 1-2 hours. Put the ribs
> aside and turn burners up full, wait, grill 3 Aberdeen Angus fillet
> steaks.
>
> Departure time to start this gastronomical feast is Sunday, 14:00 GMT
> (after gym & a game of squash, so as not to feel too guilty!) Any
> comments advice before this greatly appreciated.
>
> Also:-
>
> I know Frankie & Benny's border on being fast food etc., however, I do
> think their Rack of Ribs are superb. Now any ideas how they are cooked?
> My guess is that they boil or steam the racks (perhaps in some stock)
> for a number of hours and then quickly char on a griddle to give a
> great burnt taste in small areas. Pour over a pre-prepared BBQ sauce
> and serve.
>
> Regards,
>
>
> Charles

Hi Charles,

Hope the ribs turned out good. Here's a thought for the next attempt:

You could try turning OFF the burners on the open grill side
completely, and just using the burner under the flat plate side at low
or medium. As Nick said, leave the wood chips dry - and use seasoned
fruit wood if you can get it - I find apple works particularly well
with pork ribs. If you have an oven thermometer, try to get the
temperature inside the grill to stay around 225-250 Farenheit and cook
the ribs for four hours or so. This lower, slower cooking method will
let the collagen in the pork break down better and they'll be super
tasty. Four hours might seem to be a long time - but believe me it
makes for great ribs

You could also make up a dry rub using salt, pepper, garlic, paprika
etc - really any spice mix that takes your fancy and coat the ribs in
that a few hours before you put them on the grill. Or mop the ribs with
a barbecue sauce during cooking (personally, I like just a dry rub
while they are cooking, then once I take them off, I mop thinly with my
own BBQ sauce to give them a nice glazed look.

One thing I have found out is that one rack of ribs is never enough in
my house! With three growing boys, I need to cook up four or five racks
at a time....

As for the steaks, you might want to try Rib Eye steak instead of
fillet - some people find it more flavourful and the fat in the meat
keeps it really juicy as you cook.

(As for Frankie & Benny's.......the less said, the better. Once you
master the art of BBQ ribs, you'll never want to order boiled and
slathered commercial ribs again!)

Good luck!

adm > wrote:
> > said:
> [ . . . ]
> Hi Charles,
>
> Hope the ribs turned out good. Here's a thought for the next attempt:
>
> You could try turning OFF the burners on the open grill side
> completely, and just using the burner under the flat plate side at low
> or medium. As Nick said, leave the wood chips dry - and use seasoned
> fruit wood if you can get it - I find apple works particularly well
> with pork ribs. If you have an oven thermometer, try to get the
> temperature inside the grill to stay around 225-250 Farenheit and cook
> the ribs for four hours or so. This lower, slower cooking method will
> let the collagen in the pork break down better and they'll be super
> tasty. Four hours might seem to be a long time - but believe me it
> makes for great ribs

I use an offset. Mostly Kaffir lime wood, some hickory and some alder
(thanks, you know who). I measure the temp at the grate, not the dome. As
Brick says, "When they're done, they're done!" Not by time, but when you
see the meat pulling back off the bones, and when you pick the rack up by
one end and it kind of breaks in the middle, they're done!

> You could also make up a dry rub using salt, pepper, garlic, paprika
> etc - really any spice mix that takes your fancy and coat the ribs in
> that a few hours before you put them on the grill. Or mop the ribs with
> a barbecue sauce during cooking (personally, I like just a dry rub
> while they are cooking, then once I take them off, I mop thinly with my
> own BBQ sauce to give them a nice glazed look.

Like 'adm' says, a dry rub is great. Jun sometimes marinates them, Thai
style, for a little while instead. You can add some cayenne to it if you
want. You can wipe down the ribs with CYM before rubbing them. It'll help
the rub stick and you won't taste it. DON'T mop during the cook!

> One thing I have found out is that one rack of ribs is never enough in
> my house! With three growing boys, I need to cook up four or five racks
> at a time....

Yep. Same here! Jun, me, six kids and seven grandkids. Jun grills and
smokes a lot of other stuff when they're here. The lamb is for me!

> As for the steaks, you might want to try Rib Eye steak instead of
> fillet - some people find it more flavourful and the fat in the meat
> keeps it really juicy as you cook.

We grill the steaks hot and fast. Whatever kind Jun buys. ;-)

--
Nick. Support severely wounded and disabled Veterans and their families!
I've known US vets who served as far back as the Spanish American War.
They are all my heroes! Thank a Veteran and Support Our Troops.
You are not forgotten. Thanks ! ! ~Semper Fi~

> adm > wrote:

> > As for the steaks, you might want to try Rib Eye steak instead of
> > fillet - some people find it more flavourful and the fat in the meat
> > keeps it really juicy as you cook.
>

Oh yeah, Rib Eye is the cut for steaks on the grill. The marbling
protects it from the sear too.

On 2008-06-09 15:58:05 +0100, Nick Cramer > said:

> adm > wrote:
>> > said:
>> [ . . . ]
>> Hi Charles,
>>
>> Hope the ribs turned out good. Here's a thought for the next attempt:
>>
>> You could try turning OFF the burners on the open grill side
>> completely, and just using the burner under the flat plate side at low
>> or medium. As Nick said, leave the wood chips dry - and use seasoned
>> fruit wood if you can get it - I find apple works particularly well
>> with pork ribs. If you have an oven thermometer, try to get the
>> temperature inside the grill to stay around 225-250 Farenheit and cook
>> the ribs for four hours or so. This lower, slower cooking method will
>> let the collagen in the pork break down better and they'll be super
>> tasty. Four hours might seem to be a long time - but believe me it
>> makes for great ribs
>
> I use an offset. Mostly Kaffir lime wood,

hehehe....I'm a WSM man for my ribs. I LOVE the idea of kaffir lime
wood - wish I had an idea of how to get some here (UK) though....

> some hickory and some alder
> (thanks, you know who). I measure the temp at the grate

Yup. Maverick ET73 wireless thermos have done me proud for years - I
can sit and play blues, drink beer (or even sleep overnight) and never
need to worry about temps.

> , not the dome. As
> Brick says, "When they're done, they're done!" Not by time, but when you
> see the meat pulling back off the bones, and when you pick the rack up by
> one end and it kind of breaks in the middle, they're done!

Quite.

It's a feel thing - a bit like when you learn how to judge steaks by
their resistance to being poked.....

Teach a man to fish.....

>
>> You could also make up a dry rub using salt, pepper, garlic, paprika
>> etc - really any spice mix that takes your fancy and coat the ribs in
>> that a few hours before you put them on the grill. Or mop the ribs with
>> a barbecue sauce during cooking (personally, I like just a dry rub
>> while they are cooking, then once I take them off, I mop thinly with my
>> own BBQ sauce to give them a nice glazed look.
>
> Like 'adm' says, a dry rub is great. Jun sometimes marinates them, Thai
> style, for a little while instead. You can add some cayenne to it if you
> want. You can wipe down the ribs with CYM before rubbing them. It'll help
> the rub stick and you won't taste it. DON'T mop during the cook!

(I agee with this - despite my earlier "if you like" advise to the
contrary. Try to keep the lid down for as log as possible during the
cook. Every time you lift it, you'll add 15-30 minues to the total cook
time. KEEP IT CLOSED!

>
>> One thing I have found out is that one rack of ribs is never enough in
>> my house! With three growing boys, I need to cook up four or five racks
>> at a time....
>
> Yep. Same here! Jun, me, six kids and seven grandkids. Jun grills and
> smokes a lot of other stuff when they're here. The lamb is for me!

Shit, Nick - that's some brood you've got there! Mine are still all too
young to give me grandkids (4-9), but they sure like Q.

>
>> As for the steaks, you might want to try Rib Eye steak instead of
>> fillet - some people find it more flavourful and the fat in the meat
>> keeps it really juicy as you cook.
>
> We grill the steaks hot and fast. Whatever kind Jun buys. ;-)

Always hot 'n fast. Then a few minues to stand. The hotter the better.
I'm curently considering one of those 1300F infra red whatsits - I
really want the intense caramelised crust. Or maybe a Kamado....

adm > wrote:
> On 2008-06-09 15:58:05 +0100, Nick Cramer >
> > adm > wrote:
> >> > said:
> >> [ . . . ]
> hehehe....I'm a WSM man for my ribs. I LOVE the idea of kaffir lime
> wood - wish I had an idea of how to get some here (UK) though....

You can dry some leaves and use them for smoke, but at £40/kg, a bit stiff.
If you can get a Kaffir lime (the fruit) at an Asian market, seed it,
germinate the seeds and grow them in pots that you can bring in during the
winter. You might also be able to get some seeds by shmoozing up the folks
at a real Thai restaurant. The only one I know of is:

Dusit Thai Restaurant
49a Thistle Street
Edinburgh
EH2 1DY

Don't ask me how to say, "Lang may yer lums reek," in Thai! ;-D

--
Nick. Support severely wounded and disabled Veterans and their families!
I've known US vets who served as far back as the Spanish American War.
They are all my heroes! Thank a Veteran and Support Our Troops.
You are not forgotten. Thanks ! ! ~Semper Fi~

On 9-Jun-2008, adm > wrote:

> On 2008-06-09 15:58:05 +0100, Nick Cramer > said:
>
> > adm > wrote:
> >> > said:
> >> [ . . . ]
> >> Hi Charles,
> >>
> >> Hope the ribs turned out good. Here's a thought for the next attempt:

<snip a bunch here>

> >
> > Like 'adm' says, a dry rub is great. Jun sometimes marinates them, Thai
> > style, for a little while instead. You can add some cayenne to it if you
> > want. You can wipe down the ribs with CYM before rubbing them. It'll
> > help
> > the rub stick and you won't taste it. DON'T mop during the cook!
>
> (I agee with this - despite my earlier "if you like" advise to the
> contrary. Try to keep the lid down for as log as possible during the
> cook. Every time you lift it, you'll add 15-30 minues to the total cook
> time. KEEP IT CLOSED!
>

< and snip yet another bunch>

I just wanted to comment about that mopping and opening the pit part.
I've been running an offset smoker just five years as of last month, so
my opinion isn't the end all. I did a lot of messing around when I got
started in 2003. I destroyed quite a bit of dead animal pieces while
I was learning. Frankly, I damn near gave up on this offset. Then one
day, I just stopped messing with it. Next thing I knew, it didn't need
any messing with. Now everytime I cook, it seems like it takes less
fuel and is much less effort. I know what it's doing without looking
at it every fifteen minutes. I'm usually cooking a mixed bag of meat.
Usually ribs and butts both, but sometimes a chicken or two at the
same time. In the same pit at the same time, chickens take two hours
or less, ribs four and butts about seven.

If there's chickens in there, I'll check at one hour to see if they're
cooking more on one side then the other. Turn them around if need
be. If the pit is that full the ribs are probably stacked, so I'll shuffle
them at the same time. Based on how the chicken looked, I'll
guestimate when I should check again. It'll be at the 1-1/2 to 2
hour point for sure. I'll stab the birds with an instant read therm
when I check the second time. I check them in several places
because thermometers lie to me a lot. When I open the pit for
the third time, them birds are coming out. Well, at least one of
them is. With my luck, the other bird will want another half hour.
And that's the way it goes.

Birds in the pit is about the worst possible case. With just ribs and
butts, that lid won't open at all under three hours.
--
Brick(Youth is wasted on young people)