BBQ Beef Ribs

[oogabooga]

to all the more seasoned chef's (and all the wannabe's out there) i need your help.

I have about 3lbs of Beef BBQ short ribs in the fridge, unmarinated, but desiring to be.

1) How should I marinate this stuff?
- The general consensus seems to be the meat HAS to be marinated, but with what and for how long? I was thinking soysauce, brownsugar, onions, garlic, and i've even heard kiwi to help tenderize the meat? I was thinking about doing it overnight

2) How do i cook it?
I don't have many resources, nor much time (ie i can't be grilling with coals for 10 hours..) so whats a pretty time efficient way to cook the meat. I've heard you can cook it in the marinade in the pot, and then finish it off on the grill/oven. Was wondering what you ATOT people see as a good idea.

thanks in advance for any good ideas looking to cook the ribs sometime tommorow.

 

[Ulfwald]

Marinades are good, let the meat soak for about 4-6 hours in the marinade. Then cook ribs 1 of 3 ways.

1: Direct heat: Place ribs directly over glowing bed of charcol/ wood and cook until done.

2: Indirect heat: move coals to one side of grill, and slow cook for more tenderness.

3: SMOKING!! If you can do this, this is the BEST way to prepare ribs: This would involve a low and slow method of cooking. Maximum tenderness, smokey flavor to meat, lots of time to sit back and crack a few beers, Basically, you would want to get a 2 chambered grill, one side is the fire box, and the other side is what I call the smokehouse. Now, get some good charcol, and a few small chunks of hardwood, Place the charcol in the firebox, light and wait until they are all greay in color. Now add the hardwood and close off all the vents to the firebox. This will produce a low smoldering fire with low heat and LOTS of smoke. When the Smokehouse side reaches about 200-225 in temprature, let it set for a few minutes. Enjoy the smell of aged wood smoking away. Now that smell, if the wood is good, you should almost be able to "taste" the flavors in the smoke that it will be giving to the meat. Ok, here is the most important part. Place your ribs, bone side up, on the grill in the SMOKEHOUSE side of the grill. and close 'er up fast. allow the ribs to smoke for about 4-6 hours. Spraying with some sort of liquid every so often to keep the meat from drying out. But do it quick and even so the temp of the smokehouse stays around 225. Now, after the 4-6 hour cooking, flip the ribs so the meat side is up, begin basing with your favorite sauce, add spices/flavor enhancers. Now, for really tender ribs, wrap the ribs up in tin foil and place back on the grill for about 2-3 more hours. This helps to lock in the flavors you just added, as well as seal in juices. This tenderizes the ribs even more.

after all is done. ENJOY!

 

[dsfunk]

you can boil them first and then finish them on the grill

 

[suse920]

Originally posted by: Ulfwald
Marinades are good, let the meat soak for about 4-6 hours in the marinade. Then cook ribs 1 of 3 ways.

1: Direct heat: Place ribs directly over glowing bed of charcol/ wood and cook until done.

2: Indirect heat: move coals to one side of grill, and slow cook for more tenderness.

3: SMOKING!! If you can do this, this is the BEST way to prepare ribs: This would involve a low and slow method of cooking. Maximum tenderness, smokey flavor to meat, lots of time to sit back and crack a few beers, Basically, you would want to get a 2 chambered grill, one side is the fire box, and the other side is what I call the smokehouse. Now, get some good charcol, and a few small chunks of hardwood, Place the charcol in the firebox, light and wait until they are all greay in color. Now add the hardwood and close off all the vents to the firebox. This will produce a low smoldering fire with low heat and LOTS of smoke. When the Smokehouse side reaches about 200-225 in temprature, let it set for a few minutes. Enjoy the smell of aged wood smoking away. Now that smell, if the wood is good, you should almost be able to "taste" the flavors in the smoke that it will be giving to the meat. Ok, here is the most important part. Place your ribs, bone side up, on the grill in the SMOKEHOUSE side of the grill. and close 'er up fast. allow the ribs to smoke for about 4-6 hours. Spraying with some sort of liquid every so often to keep the meat from drying out. But do it quick and even so the temp of the smokehouse stays around 225. Now, after the 4-6 hour cooking, flip the ribs so the meat side is up, begin basing with your favorite sauce, add spices/flavor enhancers. Now, for really tender ribs, wrap the ribs up in tin foil and place back on the grill for about 2-3 more hours. This helps to lock in the flavors you just added, as well as seal in juices. This tenderizes the ribs even more.

after all is done. ENJOY!

:thumbsup:

 

[Ulfwald]

Originally posted by: dsfunk
you can boil them first and then finish them on the grill

AHHHH!!!!!!!!!!NNNNNOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!! Sacrilige!!!! You should be taken out and flogged with a bloody cows tail for that.

Boiling ribs just stops all the spices from truly getting into the meat. Ohh and by the way, spices should enhance the flavor of the meat, not hide , change, or overpower it.

 

[dsfunk]

Originally posted by: Ulfwald

Originally posted by: dsfunk
you can boil them first and then finish them on the grill

AHHHH!!!!!!!!!!NNNNNOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!! Sacrilige!!!! You should be taken out and flogged with a bloody cows tail for that.

Boiling ribs just stops all the spices from truly getting into the meat. Ohh and by the way, spices should enhance the flavor of the meat, not hide , change, or overpower it.

he said fast

and I don't think you can produce a bloody cow's tail

 

[BRObedoza]

mmm boiled ribs like Tony Roma's

 

[spidey07]

While smoking is best and then indirect heat...you don't have a lot of time.

marinade them for a few hours and throw them in a backing dish/lasagna pan and cover and bake at 300 with copious amounts BBQ sauce. nowhere nears as good, but it will do.

 

[rickn]

you might consider tenderizer for beef ribs. pork is a pretty tender meat, I never tenderize pork at all. I make up my own marinade concoction, I don't cook my ribs by indirect heat cuz I'm always way to hungry to wait, I maritinate for 1-2hrs. I do use mesquite chips. I've never had any complaints about my ribs.

 

[oogabooga]

many thanks to those who have posted

ulfwad, you seriously deserve that elite title.
I have a marinade going, now i'm just thinking about HOW LONG to place the meat in it for. Was going to let it sit for about a day, but in retrospect that may be to long.

also for cooking : i'm looking to get em cooked in ~2 hours. On another day i will try to smoke them or indirectly heat them but tommorow night time will be an issue as i won't get home till 7:00 and grilling/smoking for four hours may not be too good.

at the moment i'll probally use the cook in the oven idea, and then try to finish it off on the grill. I'll have to try smoking another time cause it sounds so good might go buy another rack of ribs for the weekend!

More suggestions/thoughts would be appreciated I'll post back to say how they went.

 

[Schadenfroh]

post pics when you are done

 

[oogabooga]

gah : i didn't get pics, spent more time consuming the meat then not.

the beef ribs turned out alright, using the oven/direct heat method kinda sucked since most of the sauce kinda burned over the coals. definatly going to try some indirect heating methods next time. The meat wasn't quite as tender as i had hoped so i'm guessing somewhere in the cooking or preparation i goofed it up. Or maybe it was bad meat.. i dunno

thanks for all the tips again!
-oogabooga

 

[broon]

No marinade. A dry rub would be better for grilling/BBQ. You don't have the time? Try a crock pot. This is where a marinade/liquid sauce would come in. Boil first for a short amount of time. Then put them in a crock pot with your favorite BBQ sauce or marinade and cook on low. You can run it unattended all day on low. I've found this method the best for beef because it makes them very tender and juicy with little skill required. To get them tender on a grill is more difficult.

 

[PHiuR]

Originally posted by: Ulfwald
Marinades are good, let the meat soak for about 4-6 hours in the marinade. Then cook ribs 1 of 3 ways.

1: Direct heat: Place ribs directly over glowing bed of charcol/ wood and cook until done.

2: Indirect heat: move coals to one side of grill, and slow cook for more tenderness.

3: SMOKING!! If you can do this, this is the BEST way to prepare ribs: This would involve a low and slow method of cooking. Maximum tenderness, smokey flavor to meat, lots of time to sit back and crack a few beers, Basically, you would want to get a 2 chambered grill, one side is the fire box, and the other side is what I call the smokehouse. Now, get some good charcol, and a few small chunks of hardwood, Place the charcol in the firebox, light and wait until they are all greay in color. Now add the hardwood and close off all the vents to the firebox. This will produce a low smoldering fire with low heat and LOTS of smoke. When the Smokehouse side reaches about 200-225 in temprature, let it set for a few minutes. Enjoy the smell of aged wood smoking away. Now that smell, if the wood is good, you should almost be able to "taste" the flavors in the smoke that it will be giving to the meat. Ok, here is the most important part. Place your ribs, bone side up, on the grill in the SMOKEHOUSE side of the grill. and close 'er up fast. allow the ribs to smoke for about 4-6 hours. Spraying with some sort of liquid every so often to keep the meat from drying out. But do it quick and even so the temp of the smokehouse stays around 225. Now, after the 4-6 hour cooking, flip the ribs so the meat side is up, begin basing with your favorite sauce, add spices/flavor enhancers. Now, for really tender ribs, wrap the ribs up in tin foil and place back on the grill for about 2-3 more hours. This helps to lock in the flavors you just added, as well as seal in juices. This tenderizes the ribs even more.

after all is done. ENJOY!

wow... i can taste the ribs by just reading that!!

 

[radioouman]

Cook them in water for about 3-5 hours at 250

 

[Fritzo]

Beef ribs can be a bit gamey tasting. Try this:

1) Soak in brine:
In a covered bowl, combine:

4qts water
1 cup sugar
1 cup salt (kosher salt works best)

Soak for 1 hour.

2) While waiting, in a food processor or blender combine:
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tsp fresh parsley
1 tsp fresh thyme
1 tsp fresh oregeno
1 tsp fresh basil (you can use dried/bottled spices if you can't get fresh)
6 cloves of garlic
- once combined, mix in with 1/2 cup of brown sugar

3) Remove rib from brine, pat dry, and coat with oil mixture. Cover and refridgerate for at least 1 hour (4 or more is best. I like to do this overnight).

4) Soak two chunks of hickory in water for at least 2 hours. Light grill with a pyramid of charcoal on one side of grill (if using a gas grill, light one side only). After grill is hot, put hickory on top of coals (or wrap in foil, poke holes in foil, and place it directly on the burner if using gas).

5) Place ribs on unlit side of the grill, turn every 30 minutes. Cook for 2-5 hours (depending on heat of the grill). 1/2 way though cooking, coat with your favorite BBQ sauce after every turn. My favorite is Montgomery Inn's BBQ Sauce, available at many grocery stores.

I'm actually making this tonight myself. Hope yours will be as good as mine

 

[Biggerhammer]

Originally posted by: Ulfwald
Marinades are good, let the meat soak for about 4-6 hours in the marinade. Then cook ribs 1 of 3 ways.

1: Direct heat: Place ribs directly over glowing bed of charcol/ wood and cook until done.

2: Indirect heat: move coals to one side of grill, and slow cook for more tenderness.

3: SMOKING!! If you can do this, this is the BEST way to prepare ribs: This would involve a low and slow method of cooking. Maximum tenderness, smokey flavor to meat, lots of time to sit back and crack a few beers, Basically, you would want to get a 2 chambered grill, one side is the fire box, and the other side is what I call the smokehouse. Now, get some good charcol, and a few small chunks of hardwood, Place the charcol in the firebox, light and wait until they are all greay in color. Now add the hardwood and close off all the vents to the firebox. This will produce a low smoldering fire with low heat and LOTS of smoke. When the Smokehouse side reaches about 200-225 in temprature, let it set for a few minutes. Enjoy the smell of aged wood smoking away. Now that smell, if the wood is good, you should almost be able to "taste" the flavors in the smoke that it will be giving to the meat. Ok, here is the most important part. Place your ribs, bone side up, on the grill in the SMOKEHOUSE side of the grill. and close 'er up fast. allow the ribs to smoke for about 4-6 hours. Spraying with some sort of liquid every so often to keep the meat from drying out. But do it quick and even so the temp of the smokehouse stays around 225. Now, after the 4-6 hour cooking, flip the ribs so the meat side is up, begin basing with your favorite sauce, add spices/flavor enhancers. Now, for really tender ribs, wrap the ribs up in tin foil and place back on the grill for about 2-3 more hours. This helps to lock in the flavors you just added, as well as seal in juices. This tenderizes the ribs even more.

after all is done. ENJOY!

By the end of this post I was drooling. If you had put a few more paragraphs I'd probably be stiff. I have gotta try smoking some ribs now!

I'm handicapped with a gas grill- I presume that aged hardwood on the heat-spread rocks will accomplish the same result?

 

[Fritzo]

Originally posted by: Biggerhammer

Originally posted by: Ulfwald
Marinades are good, let the meat soak for about 4-6 hours in the marinade. Then cook ribs 1 of 3 ways.

1: Direct heat: Place ribs directly over glowing bed of charcol/ wood and cook until done.

2: Indirect heat: move coals to one side of grill, and slow cook for more tenderness.

3: SMOKING!! If you can do this, this is the BEST way to prepare ribs: This would involve a low and slow method of cooking. Maximum tenderness, smokey flavor to meat, lots of time to sit back and crack a few beers, Basically, you would want to get a 2 chambered grill, one side is the fire box, and the other side is what I call the smokehouse. Now, get some good charcol, and a few small chunks of hardwood, Place the charcol in the firebox, light and wait until they are all greay in color. Now add the hardwood and close off all the vents to the firebox. This will produce a low smoldering fire with low heat and LOTS of smoke. When the Smokehouse side reaches about 200-225 in temprature, let it set for a few minutes. Enjoy the smell of aged wood smoking away. Now that smell, if the wood is good, you should almost be able to "taste" the flavors in the smoke that it will be giving to the meat. Ok, here is the most important part. Place your ribs, bone side up, on the grill in the SMOKEHOUSE side of the grill. and close 'er up fast. allow the ribs to smoke for about 4-6 hours. Spraying with some sort of liquid every so often to keep the meat from drying out. But do it quick and even so the temp of the smokehouse stays around 225. Now, after the 4-6 hour cooking, flip the ribs so the meat side is up, begin basing with your favorite sauce, add spices/flavor enhancers. Now, for really tender ribs, wrap the ribs up in tin foil and place back on the grill for about 2-3 more hours. This helps to lock in the flavors you just added, as well as seal in juices. This tenderizes the ribs even more.

after all is done. ENJOY!

By the end of this post I was drooling. If you had put a few more paragraphs I'd probably be stiff. I have gotta try smoking some ribs now!

I'm handicapped with a gas grill- I presume that aged hardwood on the heat-spread rocks will accomplish the same result?

Many hardware/home improvement stores that sell grills sell a cast iron box for gas grills that you can put wood chips in. It's important to soak the wood though so it doesn't just simply burn- it's there so it will smoke

 

[Jzero]

Originally posted by: Fritzo
Many hardware/home improvement stores that sell grills sell a cast iron box for gas grills that you can put wood chips in. It's important to soak the wood though so it doesn't just simply burn- it's there so it will smoke

Because of the size of most gas grills, it's useful for adding smokey flavor to the things you grill, but it's not useful for "smoking" meats. You will be able to do methods 1 and 2 effectively but for method 3 it's too hard to keep the wood chips hot enough to smoke but the other side of the grill cool enough to not cook the meat too fast. The firebox really needs to be isolated from the smokehouse to keep the temp around 225-250.

 

[jacob0401]

Originally posted by: Ulfwald
Marinades are good, let the meat soak for about 4-6 hours in the marinade. Then cook ribs 1 of 3 ways.

1: Direct heat: Place ribs directly over glowing bed of charcol/ wood and cook until done.

2: Indirect heat: move coals to one side of grill, and slow cook for more tenderness.

3: SMOKING!! If you can do this, this is the BEST way to prepare ribs: This would involve a low and slow method of cooking. Maximum tenderness, smokey flavor to meat, lots of time to sit back and crack a few beers, Basically, you would want to get a 2 chambered grill, one side is the fire box, and the other side is what I call the smokehouse. Now, get some good charcol, and a few small chunks of hardwood, Place the charcol in the firebox, light and wait until they are all greay in color. Now add the hardwood and close off all the vents to the firebox. This will produce a low smoldering fire with low heat and LOTS of smoke. When the Smokehouse side reaches about 200-225 in temprature, let it set for a few minutes. Enjoy the smell of aged wood smoking away. Now that smell, if the wood is good, you should almost be able to "taste" the flavors in the smoke that it will be giving to the meat. Ok, here is the most important part. Place your ribs, bone side up, on the grill in the SMOKEHOUSE side of the grill. and close 'er up fast. allow the ribs to smoke for about 4-6 hours. Spraying with some sort of liquid every so often to keep the meat from drying out. But do it quick and even so the temp of the smokehouse stays around 225. Now, after the 4-6 hour cooking, flip the ribs so the meat side is up, begin basing with your favorite sauce, add spices/flavor enhancers. Now, for really tender ribs, wrap the ribs up in tin foil and place back on the grill for about 2-3 more hours. This helps to lock in the flavors you just added, as well as seal in juices. This tenderizes the ribs even more.

after all is done. ENJOY!

what are some good, smaller smokers? are the vertical ones any good?

 

[Fritzo]

Originally posted by: Jzero


Because of the size of most gas grills, it's useful for adding smokey flavor to the things you grill, but it's not useful for "smoking" meats. You will be able to do methods 1 and 2 effectively but for method 3 it's too hard to keep the wood chips hot enough to smoke but the other side of the grill cool enough to not cook the meat too fast. The firebox really needs to be isolated from the smokehouse to keep the temp around 225-250.

What kind of grill do you use? I've been using this for the last year and love it:

Chargriller, and I have this attached: Smoker attachment

A lot of people don't know how to use the smoker box, but I love that thing I did a 16lb turkey last Thanksgiving. Took 10 hours, but OH MAN! I had people coming out to the grill eating it right off the bird heheh.

 

[Jzero]

Fritzo - I thought you were talking about these which sit on top of the heat distribution plates. You've got to keep a pretty high flame under the box to keep it smoking. You can cook indirectly by turning off the rest off the burners and putting the meat on the other side of the grill, but you won't be able to use the smoke to actually cook.

I wonder if that attachment could be adapted to other models?

 

[Fritzo]

Originally posted by: Jzero
Fritzo - I thought you were talking about these which sit on top of the heat distribution plates. You've got to keep a pretty high flame under the box to keep it smoking. You can cook indirectly by turning off the rest off the burners and putting the meat on the other side of the grill, but you won't be able to use the smoke to actually cook.

I wonder if that attachment could be adapted to other models?

That is what I was talking about. I got one for my dad last week and it works surprisingly well (as long as the wood is kept moist). Makes a LOT of smoke.

 

[Jzero]

Originally posted by: Fritzo
That is what I was talking about. I got one for my dad last week and it works surprisingly well (as long as the wood is kept moist). Makes a LOT of smoke.

Yeah, I've been using the small smoker boxes for some time and they are great. You get the ease of use of gas but the taste of using charcoal/wood.

 

[tomstevens26]

Originally posted by: broon
No marinade. A dry rub would be better for grilling/BBQ. You don't have the time? Try a crock pot. This is where a marinade/liquid sauce would come in. Boil first for a short amount of time. Then put them in a crock pot with your favorite BBQ sauce or marinade and cook on low. You can run it unattended all day on low. I've found this method the best for beef because it makes them very tender and juicy with little skill required. To get them tender on a grill is more difficult.

Big thumbs up for the crockpot. I typically make pork spare ribs this way. I never boil them, though. I just rub them down real good with whatever spices I have on hand. I've found the KC Masterpiece BBQ rub tastes pretty good. I cook 'em on low by themselves (no sauce) for about 10 hours, then stick them on aluminum foil on the grill, cover them in sauce, and let them sit for about 10 minutes per side. Yummy, and absolutely fool proof.

Tom