Ribs Two Ways....Wrapped & Unwrapped.......

[1buckie]

 OK...........been thinkin' about EApples questions about ribs, some other postings about ribs, Stupor Bowl coming up, which indicates ribs need to be done (rain or shine)
 
  Ribs were on sale, thought I got the three pack instead of the two pack, in the planning chess game, counting how much.....counts......turns out it was 22-1/2# .....full spares, 4 racks.....hmmmmmmmmm...................


Let's do two now, two different ways......two some other day & perhaps some backribs alongside those.......the original plan was blueberry / chipote backs for the Stupor Bowl, but the general plan seems to be expanding.......

1st, a bit of a trim..............knock off the chine bone & some of the thinner stuff from around the edges.......


A reasonable smattering of garlic powder on both......



The dry ribs get this:



A lightweight jerk rub, the garlic, Italian seasoning (ground fine) & BACON salt...................

The wet ribs get this:



BBQ sauce & bread & butter pickle juice............





3 layers of foil.............coals like so.............





Started at 350f, shut down a daisy vent after a bit to get to 300f..........

Added coals @ 2 hours & checked the packet.............





At two hours, 40 minutes, began the glazing with the sauce from the packet.....





Every 8~10 miutes, pouring a coating of juice over the flat.......yeah, it's messy......I'm a mess.......no wonder the cookers look like they do.....



Last dump:



Result:





Bite thru & gentle pull off the bone @ 3 hrs. 10 min.



Now......what about those "other ribs"?

Started in about 1/2 hour later.......trying to get the wrappers done so the wife could have dinner in some reasonable time ( 6:10 PM....ONE RIB !!!)

This set:





Let it go for a bit, then bridged the gap to the unlit coals............







Rotated the grate & added another part of a row of coals @ 3  or so hours......was this a mistake, a miscalculation, a fopaw?
Don't know......add in some coals & keep moving........



Ran @ more or less 250f for 5 hours, set the spent foil from the other ones under these to keep the bottom from getting blackened.....



Result  (same bite thru & pull as the others....at 6 hours):



Bad Photo....................



However, as Elston Limehouse  says:
"......but when it do......boy....it is a sweet, spicy, smokey, juicy, tender piece of heaven......if I do say so myself......."


PS: Cloudy with semi-threat of rain all day.......................

[jcnaz]

I would be happy to eat either, or both of them!
I like the pickle juice idea. Will have to try that!

[MacEggs]

Excellent write-up, Ken!
I see the difference ... is there a difference in taste? i.e. smoke flavour and such. I would assume there is, eh? 

Regarding the first rack wrapped in foil from the beginning,
I would guess that one could get similar results using an oven ... just sayin'. 

Perhaps Eapples can do that on his Weber gasser? 

[1buckie]

Yeah, you could do them in the oven, but that last half hour to forty-five minutes of glazing over charcoal is what really makes 'em pop !!!!!

The braizing in foil from the start drives whatever flavor liquids / powders you choose INTO the meat, then the glaze added on................

Main deal is that you can get exactly the same texture / tenderness / etc.  while going with radically different times, setups, flavors, methods.....Fun With Food !!!!

[Eapples]

These are GREAT! (Channeling Tony the Tiger)  I noticed that there wasn't a smoke ring on the first batch, I guess, because they were wrapped.  At least, I couldn't see it.  Both look excellent, though, and I'll bet they tasted great, too.

The kind of stuff that you're doing is the level I want to reach.  What I did with the ribs was Barbecue 101.  What you did was post-doctoral.

I'm a firm believer in "KISS."  I'll probably copy some of what you did, but not all.

Anyway, my next scheduled cook is a pork butt on the WSM.

For what it's worth, SWMBO gave a "thumbs up" to the mustard base with the dry rub.

[1buckie]

Thanks, E !!!!!

That's quite a compliment, but I'm sure there's many others here that can do just as well or better !!!!!!


Yeah, no smoke on the wrappers......they can pick up a ring from just charcoal, if started out not in the packet; has to do w/ a chemical reaction with components in the meat, heat & in the fuel........
    The wife, my ma & a few others who may eat some of these don't really go for 'smoked' so I try to span the range so everybody gets something they like ........

Like what I said in your rib thread, what I'm aiming for is to be able to slice w/ a bread knife & have it go wavy thru the piece...... you can see it did that in the last pic........ good tenderness indicator, for me........


The wrapped ones come out real nice & tender, but a little tricky 'cause if they go too, too long in the foil, they'll start to fall apart.......just like a 3-2-1 thing......I think most folks don't go quite as long in foil as the 'standard' states..............