Rib report

Barrett's Last Privateer · #1 10-25-2005, 05:27 AM

Prompted by this thread and the subsequent 'discussion' between jake and GovmentCheese regarding the appropriate way to cook ribs, thought I'd have a crack at the recipe GovmentCheese included in his post.

Probably fair to say I've always preferred smoked ribs to those cooked as GovmentCheese recommened. I would actually rather that my ribs don't fall straight off the bone, but thought at least this way I'd be speaking from a position of experience, and have a good excuse to drink some margaritas.

So I basically followed the recipe to the word, adding some salt and pepper in a couple of spots where it wasn't.

Only thought to take photos once it was all done, all the colour certainly came from the sauce, as the ribs just had a cooked pork colour when I took them out of the oven.

Anyway, onto the important stuff. The taste. They were great. Quite sweet, but that would be expected from the honey, OJ, sugar in the rub etc.

There wasn't actually lots of liquid left in the foil when I took the ribs out of the oven, so I sort of gently 'deglazed' the foil with a touch more OJ, and put all of that in the sauce. The sauce was great, I put ground coffee in (rather than instant) and I could just pick up a hint of the coffee in the sauce, as well as a hint of the orange juice.

They were also fall off the bone tender. I wasn't actually a huge fan of this. Basically just reinforced that I do like a bit of chew in my ribs, so as much as I'm a fan of Alton, think I'll stick with Steven Raichlen for the 'cue from now on.

samjjones · #2 10-25-2005, 08:42 AM

Did you finish them off on the grill, or in the broiler?

StevieG · #3 10-25-2005, 09:21 AM

nicely done, B'sLP

#4 10-25-2005, 12:29 PM

thanks for the report.

...when I've made them, I typically have a *lot* of juice left from the braising - and consequently, have a lot more reducing to do. I like the fact that you use the meat drippings in the final sauce.

theghost · #5 10-25-2005, 12:34 PM

Those look good. Alton Brown is the man.

slamdunkpro · #6 10-25-2005, 03:49 PM

If you have a smoker – Smoking is the way to go. If you’re going to braze them you might as well boil them. – Yuk

The biggest errors people make in smoking ribs are: Temp too high: Not smoking long enough: Too much smoke: or (this is tricky) not enough fire, so you get incomplete combustion of the wood which will give the food a bitter taste.

Done right, smoked ribs are the best.

#7 10-25-2005, 04:07 PM

boiling does not equal braised.

slamdunkpro · #8 10-25-2005, 04:20 PM

[ QUOTE ]

boiling does not equal braised

[/ QUOTE ]

I never said it did.

samjjones · #9 10-25-2005, 04:22 PM

[ QUOTE ]
If you have a smoker – Smoking is the way to go. If you’re going to braze them you might as well boil them. – Yuk

The biggest errors people make in smoking ribs are: Temp too high: Not smoking long enough: Too much smoke: or (this is tricky) not enough fire, so you get incomplete combustion of the wood which will give the food a bitter taste.

Done right, smoked ribs are the best.

[/ QUOTE ]
True, and I don't think anybody is arguing this point. However, there are many people who would like to eat their meal in a reasonable amount of time...not 6-12 hours later in the day.

Ulysses · #10 10-25-2005, 08:09 PM

Goddamn, those look good. I had an open-faced turkey sandwich w/ mashed potatoes and gravy today. My first real food since getting my wisdom teeth out on Thursday. I cannot wait to dig into a steak or some ribs or something.