I need HELP!

Lots of well known restaurant chains do them that way.

Hello Maree101,
I've got two big charcoal/wood smokers that I've made wonderful ribs in and you're right...it takes about 4 hrs. to do a double rack. This is without par-boiling.
Recently I wanted to do some ribis for some unexpected guests so I fired up my Weber charcoal kettle(read:reliable workhorse) and split the coals down the middle to have a zone in the middle of the grate to put 2 racks on top of each other. A good rub went on first.Then I laid on the soaked hickory chips, Put the cover on, and flipped the stacked racks about every half hour. In about 2 1/2 hours, they were done and superb. Frankly I was surprised. The thing I was careful of was to not let the ribs burn on the edges and keep a relatively hot fire. Also, I used the coal "buckets" you can buy from Weber that conform to the inside of the kettle to keep your coals split. This is indirect cooking and can be done on a gas unit too if you have separate burners and controls. You know the drill...fire up one side and place the ribs on the other.
I hope this was helpful.

Maree - One thing to think about here (my opinion anyway) is that when you parboil you are loosing a LOT of flavor. Fat and meat juices are quickly removed from your ribs during this process. You may have never tasted how very good your ribs MAY be. Mom used to parboil her ribs and I thought they were great. Now that I am "really" smoking ribs, well, that's about the only thing I can cook that tastes better than hers.

All for hat it's worth!

Oh my gooness.............

You are parboiling? Oh my gooness....Not in Cookshack country.

Well, that boiling aside, you can do very well with a long, slow smoke (dang, they used to say that in college).

Tender and delicious.
And, I think the result is superior. As the previous entry suggested, the boiling takes something away.

But, try it out. (Who am I to say...)

....if you have the time, that is. Good luck.

Maree101...

Parboiling ribs will make them tender, and grilling them after will give you a nice bbq sauce glaze if you do it right. You do live in the NE, if I take your "Washington" to mean Washington state. If that will sell in your part of the country, I say go for it.

With that said, there is a whole 'nother better way to do ribs, and you've made your first step by posting on this forum. It DOES take some effort to tenderize ribs, but there are a few ways to go about the process. I like low and slow, over hickory. Do it right, and you don't need a grill or BBQ sauce. My customers agree!

we all have our ways of doing ribs, all of them great i'm sure. however, we all have different situations. your answer is in the wind.haha...
hey, your hubby built that unit for you 'cause he likes your ribs, right? if it aint broke, dont fix it. plus, keep it simple. the more you mull over the little stuff, the less you will enjoy what you are set out to do. i suggest you just do what you do, and have fun at it....
insert your method into your new setup, then experiment if you want. but only make subtle changes at a time. personally, i have never preboiled ribs. what i do is over-smoke them, then steam them tender with a mop. i prefer this way 'cause they are just as good three days later....

Thank you so much you guys. You have givin me a great deal to think about. Maybe I should just get a charcoal grill and see how long it would take me to make the ribs. I can experiment now. Thank you so much for helping me. I may have to come back for more help though. =) Thanks again- Maree

In your opinion, who makes a good grill? Thank you, Maree

Maree,
As I mentioned earlier, the Weber kettle (22") is a dependable workhorse, cheap ($79.95 at Walmart) and versatile. There are alot of accessories available for it. I personally like the coal "buckets" that allow you to have your hot coals on either side of the kettle giving you a nice indirect area in the middle. These are cheap too...about $12.00 a pair. Go to the Weber site and see what I'm talking about.

The only problem with the Weber Kettle is I wouldn't be able to make may ribs at one time. I thikn I would have to go wtih onle of the larger smokers after I decided whether or not I can smoke. Since I'm not experienced in that area. I'm going to look at some of the smokers and I'll prob. have guestions about how to go about setting it up with the wood and charcoal. Bare with me. I'm really not that dumb, so I hope I can get this whole thing figured out. Whatever I do I'll have to purchase the smoker at Walmart and I, think if Im not mistaken, the one that I really liked a was a Brinkmen (sp?) What do you think about them? Thank you Maree

Maree101,

Something to think about is that at an event it will be difficult to keep up boiling and grilling ribs. If you smoke them ahead of time and refrigerate you can us the grill to rewarm. If you slow cook them rather than boiling them, they will maintain more moisture and reheat better. Just a thought.

Oh. I didn't know you could do that. I thought they would be too dry if I tried dsomething like that. Is that tipically what people do when cooking for a croud? I always wondered how other people did it in that situation. Thanks you guys!!!!

how mant racks of ribs do you need to turn? a weber kettle with the rib rack can hold 4-5 racks per cook... it can take as little as 2.5 hours to do baby backs. with 2 kettles you can put out 10 racks every 3 hours. double foil when they're done and you can hold them hot in a cooler for hours. finish off back on the grill when you serve.

Maree,
I mentioned the Kettle as a jumpoff unit. I don't know your experience level using charcoal or wood. Anyway...I also have a New Braunfels Bandera that I bought at Walmart for around $250.00. I really like mine. It has an offset firebox and a large upright cooking chamber. It also came with rib racks, meat hangers, and three cooking grates. It doesn't come with a thermometer. But there is a pre-drilled hole w/snapin cover in the cooking chamber door. I installed a high quality analog thermometer that works very well. This unit deserves a peek.
Good luck.

Thank you Phil. I am headed to Walmart this morning, and I'll let you know what I find. I think I know what smoker you're talking about. I'll take a look at all of them. Where does a person get the wood? Is it best to use a combination of wood and charcoal? It sounds like most people use both together. Either way, when my husband gets home I'll be going to get a cooker of some sort!!!Thanks again you guys.

As far as wood and charcoal goes, I generally start my fires w/charcoal and use hardwoods to maintain the fire. I don't know the extent of yours and your husbands experience w/wood but don't use any evergreen woods like pine, cedar, etc. It can be toxic. A general rule of thumb is if the wood smells good burning, it will flavor your meat well. Fruit and nut bearing woods are best. Personally I favor hickory, pecan, and apple. Depending on what part of the country you live in, these can be easy to obtain. It works to talk to people...put feelers out as to where others are getting their wood. You can buy over the internet but it comes out to about a buck a pound. Not good. I live in North Carolina and talked to some co-workers about needing these woods for cooking. A month later my shed is full of good quality cooking woods. It pays to talk to people.
There's a website called: FAQ of the Internet BBQ List that has a load of good info for people just getting into charcoal/wood barbecue. I downloaded the entire file to my PC and still use it as a reference. Check it out.
Ok...'sorry to be so long winded but I like to pass on any help I can.

Maree, here's a link to a picture of the Bandera. Hope this helps. Bandera

That looks like a nice smoker/cooker. I like the simplicity. I bet it will generate alot of smoke, and would be good for hanging long racks of ribs or long sausage.

GLH,it's a fair entry level cooker but that's about all. I own one and wish I'd saved my money and bought a CS. Yes it has a lot of capacity and is good for hanging ribs and sausage. Hard to control the tempreature though. I had to completely rework the inside of the firebox, the damper and the cooking chamber to got it to really perform properly. Actually, if Maree wants to get started small the Weber Kettle is probably the best bet. Easy on the pocket book well designed and a good performer. Also it makes a good copanion to a Smokette when you decide to upgrade. Just ask ol' Woodburner, he uses 'em both.

Your absolutely right, EZ. I had to modify my Bandera also but the changes worked well. It's a good entry level cooker and reasonably priced. I'm pretty happy with it. I also have a Brinkman Cimmarron, Brinkman "All-in-One" gas fired water smoker, and a Weber kettle. These babies take up alot of real estate so I'm in the process of building a "cookhouse" out back to do my magic in. It should be done next week weather permitting. It'll be a great place to hide and burn pig and cow parts!