My best Ribs ever...

First, the offset smoker is great, but of course, you know it needs a lot of work. The Brinkman worked fine, but you could not control the temp and it did leak alot around the lid, gave good results though. The CS is very easy to use, but I find I dont like the appearance of the ribs and sometimes, even with little wood, it leaves a slightly bitter taste (smell the exiting smoke to see what im talking about).

Now, Ive also boiled ribs, but a lot of juices and flavor gets lost in the water, so after research, I found another method.

First, rub your ribs in your favorite rib rub. Now, I then put them on top of foil, wrap it up and around and over the top, making a boat of the foil and covering them completely.

Put them on a cookie sheet or baking pan. Preheat the oven to 310 degrees. Put them in the oven for an hour and 15 mins. What happens is that the ribs are cooking in their own juice and the spices from the rub..thus not losing the flavor, yet making the ribs moist and fall off the bone.

Next take them out of the foil and place them on your med hot bbq grill outside. Cook each side for about 10 mins to get a nice brown crust, flipping as needed to not burn. Then, for another 10 mins put your favorite bbq sauce on them, flipping as needed and adding more.

You are actually only working with them for about 20 mins on the grill.

I have found that the bone is pulled back nicely, they are extremely moist inside from the oven, and have a great bbq flavor on the outside. The only thing you lose is the smoke ring, which you dont get on the CS anyways w/o coal.

Many of you are experienced bbqers and so am I. After many years of ribs, I have finally found my favorite.

Please try this method and report back to me what you think.

Thanks,

david
Tampa

Wanted to see if anyone replied, they haven't so let me throw my thoughts out there. If I remember right, you've done the taste test on ribs so it's something you've been working hard at.

I'm going to have to disagree with this as a method as it's not smoking. I'm sure you figured this would get some responses, so I'm going to be first. Hope you don't mind some thoughts, since you're posting in a Smoking Forum.

Glad this works for you and that you found success, but this method has nothing to do with smoking. I think you're taking a short cut to getting great ribs. I've known some people who just couldn't get smoking solved (because of the smoker they were using, or being unable to control heat or not even liking the taste of the smoke, lots of reasons). That's fine, there are lots of methods that will help them.

Your method is braising the ribs and then grilling the ribs. There is never any smoke flavor. You mentioned a smoke ring as the flavor, but it isn't an indication of smoke flavor, it's an indication of the meat curing from the nitrates.

I've had friends use this method (actually in restaurants, so I'm quite familiar with the concept/taste) The only flavor you get is from the rub and the grill/heat/sauce finishing. I've had friends test me and when we've eaten out at restaurants, when I taste the ribs, I can easily tell if they were boiled, baked, or grilled and not smoked. Smoked ribs have a very unique taste to them. So do boiled. So do braised. Even grilled.

If you're having troubles with ribs, it's okay to take some new methods, but once you've been able to cook ribs right in a smoker and get that flavor of the wood on the meat, then you're talking smoking.

But braising/grilling ribs is certainly a method I've seen before and I think it's a shortcut to getting ribs. Just like boiling. I know people that boil their ribs and love them. If it works for you, great.

We're all about teaching people how to make their smokers work and get the smoke flavor they don't get in restaurants (many of which use the exact method you mention).

For me, there's nothing like a perfect rib coming out of the smoker, with the smoke flavor/taste and all the effects.

Glad you've found a method that works for you. Didn't someone ask in this forum if we were real bbq'ers using a CS? Does cooking in an oven and a grill make us bbq'ers? It's not the process that makes us bbq'ers, it's our love of the concept. While I don't agree with certain methods, if they work for you, that's great.

While it may work for you, I certainly can't endorse a method that doesn't get any smoke flavor. What's the point? Go for the oven or go for the grill. They'll be fine as you attest, but that's not Smoked Ribs to me.

Thanks for the alternative thoughts. Always good to keep us thinking. Hope you can appreciate my views as well.

Smokin'

Sure, I agree...there is no smoke flavor in this, unless you are using a smokey sauce. And I know that the smoke ring isnt the flavor, I was talking strictly in appearance.

I originally posted this under recipes and not specifically for smoking, since its not, but a mod moved it here.

Yes, I had the post about is CS really bbq? Obviously what Im talking about isnt smoking either.

My post was not to convice people not to smoke, but to try something that I have found to be great..

Of course, taste is an opinion. I have had some good ribs from the cooker, and some great ribs using this as well.

david

Chicken--I saw that episide of Good Eats too.