There may be a few but I certainly don't know 'em.
Hannah Horne, who hosts the morning show on WIS TV (NBC affiliate) in Columbia, SC, asked us to be on her show and discuss a dish that would make Dad smile on Father's Day. Wife Rachel and I both said "RIBS!!!".
Ribs can be scary to cook the first time. A lot of folks don't even want to try. It's not that hard. Really.
This is an easy way to cook ribs at home for your man on Father's Day. This is not how we do them in our restaurant and you certainly wouldn't do them this way in a competition. But, I have cooked ribs this way at home. A lot of times, you don't have 5 or 6 hours to cook ribs in a smoker or on a grill. There has to be a quicker, easier way.
There is. We are going to cook these in the oven first and finish them on the grill, in half the time.
Let's prep the Ribs.
I like Pork Spare Ribs. Baby Back Ribs get a lot more publicity (and they are really good) but the Spare Ribs have more meat and can be just as juicy. For the guys I know, more meat is always better.
Prepping the Ribs:
Pick nice, meaty Ribs. A little fat on them is fine.
Rinse the Ribs, then pat dry.
Turn the ribs over. There is a membrane covering the bones. This needs to be removed because nothing will penetrate it and it does not dissolve. You will enhance the flavor of the Ribs if the membrane is gone.
Take a knife or the butt end of a fork or spoon and dig under the membrane on top of a bone (at one end of the Rib). Wiggle it a little to loosen part of the mambrane. Try to loosen it all the way up the bone. It is very slick and hard to handle bare handed. Take a little bit of paper towel and grab the membrane and pull away from the Rib. If you started at one end of the Rib, you should be able to completely remove the membrane. It's no big deal if you don't the first time. Just grab whatever is left with the paper towel and tug away. Now, you should have a "clean" back of the Rib. You can see the bones easily.
Let's season the Rib.
Now, professionals will tell you to brine the Ribs for extra juiciness. That is putting the Ribs in salty water for a time (quite often over night). You may not have time for that. No big deal.
Ribs need a Rub. That's just a seasoning combination to "rub" on the Rib. You can make your own or buy one at your local grocer or butcher shop. Or, come to our restaurant. Tell me you saw this blog and I'll be happy to get you some of our Rub for 1/2 price.
The basic ingredients are always Salt, Pepper, Garlic. You can add just about anything in your cabinet. I've heard people use Cayenne, Onion, Sugar, Oregano, Chili Powder, Paprika, all sorts of things. Buying a Rub is surely cheaper than buying all of these individual ingredients.
Liberally spread the Rub on the Ribs. Back and Front. You can wrap the Ribs in plastic wrap and put in the fridge for a while (overnight if possible) to really let those flavors sink in. Or, for the sake of time, let the Ribs sit on an aluminum foil lined tray until they get to room temperature. Now, we're ready to cook.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Preheat your grill in about 30 minutes.Take the Ribs that are on an aluminum lined tray and wrap the Ribs with aluminum foil. When the oven reaches 350, put the Ribs in on the middle rack. Cook for approximately an hour. Open the aluminum foil on the Ribs and check to see if the ends of the bones are beginning to show. If the bones are not showing, close the aluminum foil around the Ribs again and cook another 15 minutes or so, until the bone ends start to show. It will look like the meat is shrinking on the bone. Don't be surprised that the meat is not going to look like you expect it to. It will probably be a "grayish" color. Not exactly like you see them in restaurants, for sure. Take the foil off of the Ribs and let them stay in the oven another 15 minutes or so. The color should be getting more "riblike".
Take the Ribs out of the oven and let's head to the grill.
The grill should be about medium heat or somewhere around 300 - 325. Now, have the flame only on one side of the grill. We're going to finish the Ribs using "indirect" heat. Here's a quick tip on getting a little smoke from your grill. (You can certainly finish the Ribs without smoke if you like.)
You can actually make your grill a "smoker". You can get wood chips at your grocer or butcher when you get the Ribs.
To make your grill a smoker, take the wood chips and put them in a bowl of water for a couple of hours. Make sure the water covers the chips. Wet chips smoke, dry chips burn up. We use Hickory chips but I understand Apple wood chips are good for Ribs too. Take the wet chips out of the water and put them in a "pouch" you make from aluminum foil. Seal the aluminum pouch and poke holes in the top of the pouch. Put the pouch on the side of the grill with the flame. You may even try putting the pouch on the charcoal if you use a charcoal grill. It should start smoking soon. You should be able to get some smoke flavor in the Ribs but don't expect it to be as much as would in a restaurant.
Put the Ribs (bone side down) on the grill on the side without the flame. Check the bone ends to see that the meat is shrinking back. You should start getting some better color on your Ribs.
Many people like to baste their Ribs with a BBQ sauce. Remember, most sauces have sugar in them. Sugar burns with direct heat. So, don't baste too early if you turn your Ribs. Baste the last few minutes of your cooking time. I like to baste the Ribs and then turn them over to the direct flame for just a couple of minutes. It really caramelizes the sauce to the Ribs. Our signature Sweet Heat Sauce (vinegar and tomato) is awesome on Ribs. Come by and say you saw this blog and I'll get you some sauce 1/2 price too!
You will know your Ribs are done when you pick them up with a set of tongs. Grab the Ribs at one end (about 1/2 of the Rib) and hold straight out. If the Ribs bend just a little, they need a little more time. The Ribs should bend almost in half when they are ready. You probably need to do the "bend" test when you take the Ribs out of the oven to judge how much longer you need to cook on the grill.
I hope this helps you. You don't have to be a pro and you don't need to have restaurant or competition equipment to produce some pretty good ribs.
Come see us!
