Cook's Illustrated has an unusually good (for a non-BBQ specialist) article
on Texas-style BBQ beef ribs. It's not up on their web site yet, but
basically they said:

- find meaty ribs (not easy in the Boston area where they are)
- leave the membrane on to retain moisture
- rub is s + p + chile powder
- BBQ at 250-300° (lower dries it out, higher cooks too fast to make it
tender)
- indirect heat (coals on one side of a kettle, meat on the other)
- serve with a fairly conventional tomato-molasses-onion-vinegar sauce

They prefer briquettes for low and slow; they have a hard time maintaining
lower temps in a kettle with lump charcoal. They do say to stay away from
lighter fluid or Match-Light. Probably reasonable if you're cooking low and
slow in a kettle.

I think it's probably worthwhile trying beef ribs at 275°.

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Louis Cohen
Living la vida loca at N37° 43' 7.9" W122° 8' 42.8"

Louis Cohen wrote:
> Cook's Illustrated has an unusually good (for a non-BBQ specialist)
> article on Texas-style BBQ beef ribs. It's not up on their web site
> yet, but basically they said:
>
> - find meaty ribs (not easy in the Boston area where they are)
> - leave the membrane on to retain moisture
> - rub is s + p + chile powder
> - BBQ at 250-300° (lower dries it out, higher cooks too fast to make
> it tender)
> - indirect heat (coals on one side of a kettle, meat on the other)
> - serve with a fairly conventional tomato-molasses-onion-vinegar sauce
>
> They prefer briquettes for low and slow; they have a hard time
> maintaining lower temps in a kettle with lump charcoal. They do say
> to stay away from lighter fluid or Match-Light. Probably reasonable
> if you're cooking low and slow in a kettle.
>
> I think it's probably worthwhile trying beef ribs at 275°.


I read that article too, as I've been a subscriber of theirs for the past 6
years. I love the magazine, but I find the recipies should be taken with a
grain of salt (not literally! ) They tend to favor their New England
palates when creating the "perfect" recipie. A great example was their
recipie for Tacos. The frying of the corn tortillas to make homemade taco
shells was a great idea and hands down beats anything you'll find out there
(use white corn tortillas for an awesome difference). But the taco meat
itself was bland and overpowered by a few spices.

I do love the articles for the science of cooking, stuff you'd never find
anywhere else. And I'd be willing to give their beef ribs a shot just to
see how they turn out.