3 Steps to Great Ribs!
Everyone has their own special and secret way to Grill Ribs. All that really matters is how they turn out, right? Really, the ways are endless! Boiling, baking, wrapping, special temperatures, secret rubs, mopping, smoking, zone cooking, charcoal, wood, misting, sauces, dry, wet, and on and on. Frankly they are all great and I have done several including Dutch oven Ribs and every way is the right way to cook ribs if that is the way that you like.
My preferred way to cook ribs on the grill is to apply a dry rub and cook them for 3 – 4 hrs, no sauce needed. I have tried wet and dry rubs all to rib blissfulness, tender, tasty and gone. What I have never, up till now, is cooked using a 3 step method for grilling my ribs. I call it 3 step ribs because it uses 3 distinct cooking methods to achieve the desired results.
I am passing on the usual prep techniques that I would normally share so we can just talk about the steps. So get those ribs ready, peal of that membrane and wash em' good cause here we go.
Step one:
Rub and indirect heat.
Rubs are a matter of choice, I like a sweet heat dry rub.
1/4 cup coarse salt
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup paprika
3 tbs ground pepper
1 tbs garlic powder
1 tbs dried onion flakes
1/2 to 1 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp celery seeds
(From Steven Raichlen)
Rib type doesn't matter but I prefer Baby Backs or St. Louis cut pork ribs. Apply your rub at least an hour before it's time to grill.
Grilling for step one is the Indirect heat method,that means there is no heat directly under the rack of ribs. The heat is to the side or the back of the grill. Place a pan under the grill where the ribs are going to cook, you should fill the pan partially with water or apple juice. This will prevent the juices from burning and it will release moisture into the grill by steaming. Cook at approximately 350°.
Smoke needs to be applied during this critical cooking period. Apply soaked wood chips or chucks, they come in many different wood types. Hickory, Cherry and Mesquite are great choices for ribs.
Depending on the size of your rib rack this stage of cooking can go for up to 4 hours.
Step two:
Mopping. Sometimes called Sopping, is a watered down sauce the consistency of water. Why this step? It apply's moisture and flavor to the ribs that are drying out during the long cooking process. The pan of water under the ribs isn't enough to prevent those ribs from drying out. Have you ever eaten rib jerky? Tough old dried meat on the bone? Remember you first attempt at BBQ'd ribs, yes?
Most mops include a blend of water and vinegar to help tenderize your meat, plus many other combinations of spices, juices, beer, liquid smoke, etc. Mopping is applied on a regular basis during the cooking process. Use a Mopping brush, it look like a mini kitchen mop. Mop sauce is dribbled on the ribs liberally.
If you are cooking for 4 hrs then apply your mop sauce 8 times or every 30 minutes. This is just a guideline, I know many cooks who wouldn't think of doing it more than once per hour.
Note: Every time you open your grill you lose heat and cooking time.
Make sure to add more smoking chips as they burn up.
Step three:
The sauce. Now don't go thinking that sauce is sauce and you just slop it on, we are taking it to a different level using a wrap technique. It's simple and very effective at melding that sauce flavor to the ribs. We are going to remove our rack of ribs and place it on a large sheet of heavy-duty Aluminum foil. Apply your favorite BBQ sauce liberally to both sides of the ribs, fold the foil up around the ribs and seal it tight. Place that packet of ribs back on the grill for another hour.
Let it simmer and blend all of that Mopping sauce, BBQ sauce and Rub to mouth-watering bliss. After the final hour, pull the ribs from the grill let set for a good 15 minutes then dig in!
Lets review the steps:
1. Rub then cook using indirect heat. Cook at approximately 350°. Use wood chips for smoke flavor.
2. Mopping/Sopping. Apply mop sauce every 30 – 60 minutes.
3. BBQ sauce. Use heavy-duty Aluminum foil, apply BBQ sauce to all side of the ribs, seal in the foil and cook for 1 last hour.
All of this work and what do you get? Moist, tender, tasty, saucy ribs that are worth the long cooking time. Sure to be a crowd pleaser!
Let me know how it goes!!
