"My Cheat'n Ribs" (half assed ribs) - With the pictures!

susanll


I take the wrap off.  Dry rub and wrap in foil.  I have three slabs sitting on the counter right now.  As it is 95 degrees here, I am not sticking them in the oven.  I will place them wrapped on my gas grill and 'par-bake' them there for about and hour to hour and half.  

Unwrap and give them a turn over the fire.  Viola!  Sauce optional.

Very moist with a bit of char.

harriet1954


So, ah, for whomever did not take the time to read and understand the title of this thread, they have no business telling Don (who, without even meeting him, I'm sure is NOT insecure. Insecure????) what is real and what is not real. He knows. He chose this way. Not your way. Oh, and is SECURE enough to post it here without caring what others think.
 
And for whomever would like to condescend to me, who USED to totally smoke things in a smoker in her backyard - would you like to move me out of my apartment which has no deck, no balcony and no yard just so I can satisfy your purist heart? Some people do it more quickly their way and guess what? It's good, OK?
 
I plan to probably do mine tomorrow just about the same way, Don. Let anybody say a fresh word to me about it!

 
Chill out! Relax Darlin'. We're only talkin' about different methods of cookin' Ribs! Geez!

Nice looking, but arent they tough?>...

roossy90


Nice looking, but arent they tough?>...

Who/What post are you referring to?

Well plans went way wrong tonight so the rub on the ribs will stay on for one more day. Shouldn't hurt right?

I will report tomorrow with pics I promise.

Holy shnitskis!  This is a 4th of July explosion!  Thanks for those with kind and supportive thoughts.  I know this is a controversial way to do ribs.  The intention was to give an alternative to those of us who, for whatever reason, do not want or have the time to stand and babysit ribs.  I never intended to offend the purists, but yes I do like to get people's attention..Sorry, it's my odd sense of humor.  .  "Smoke ring this"  "Half -assed ribs"  Yeah, that would get people going.

I took pictures of the ribs in Saran Wrap after they came out of the oven.  One picture still wrapped, one partially unwrapped, one with the wrapping off and still in the foil underlining and one completely sans wrap and foil.  

I also took pictures of them finished after being on the char broiler.  You see the finished ribs.

When my wife gets up tommorrow, I will post them.  She set the camera up for me in "food" mode so they should be good!  I am sorry I do not have them now.  I could wake here now...Nah...  

Thanks for those who had enough confidence in me to consider or try using the Saran Wrap.  Yes, I know it takes guts.  But, that is the way I do them.  Like I said, this was not my idea; I ripped it off from Emerill's number one corporate chef.  

The Saran Wrap is the key because it tenderizes the ribs to a melt in your mouth consistancy without them falling off the bone.  When they have been in the oven for 3-1/2 hrs, you should see the meat slightly come away from the bottom of the ribs.  Then you know they are done correctly.  Not too much, just slightly.  So, it may take you a little more time depending on your oven.

Anyway, the ribs turned our FANTASTIC.  I will also show you them finished off after being on the charbroiler for a total of 12 minutes..That's right..that's all they needed.  The ribs came out of the oven at 5:00 pm - 3-1/2 hours at 225.  I opened up the Saran Wrap.  Careful, they are very, very hot.  Let them cool and never put them in the refrigetrator.  I never said that..I am sorry. 

You want to time these so you can take them out of the oven, let them rest at room temperature, and then put them on the char broiler for a char texture.  That's why they only needed 12 minutes.  You start them bone side down on the char broiler.  If they flare up, take them off for a minute and put them back on..You do want some char on the botton side.  

Then turn them over and watch them carefully!  You want a bit of char but do not harm that beautiful meat. I never even baste them with sauce.  You can though.  Nope, I get the char texture, let them rest for 5 minutes and then cut them; just wait until you see how they cut and how they look.   Well, you will see my pictures actually.

I put some of my HM BBQ sauce on them when I platter them up. Jeff Zeider's is better!  His wife likes mine.  Jeff, I need to exchange sauce when you get a chance.  We put a pitcher of sauce on the table. 
I watched and 4 people never bothered with adding anymore sauce than what I drizzled on the platter of ribs.

My dry rub was ground sage, salt, pepper, brown sugar, cayanne, allspice, paprika, garlic powder and onion powder. 
 
Ok..I will get the pictures on sometime tommorrow!  Guests made tiny corn muffins, three bean salad (great recipe), baked beans, slaw and grilled shrimp.  The guests all came through with good food contributions.

Hope you all had a great 4th too!!

Ben, without reading back, I'm not sure if you mentioned what kind of ribs you used for this cooking method. Baby backs? Spare ribs? St. Louie style?
Please tell.

Hey Ben, I wasn't able to grill outside for about 7 years until we moved last year. I made ribs this way all of the time. Hope you had a great 4th!

Foodbme

roossy90


Nice looking, but arent they tough?>...

Who/What post are you referring to?

Mine, perhaps?

No, they weren't tough but they weren't soft and overly tender, either.  It took a little effort to get the meat off the bone and it had to be chewed, but that's how I like it.  Now had they been spares instead of back ribs they probably would've been tough.

Brad

I have a question...I bought some beef ribs today( my father-in-law and his wife are visiting for 2 WEEKS!!) and he doesnt eat pork. I do not have a smoker, only a gas grill. I was told by the butcher to start them in the oven, with a rub, and then finish off on the grill.Anyone have any other ideas?? Thanks...

Ben, your ribs look mighty tasty and, succulent! They appear to be St. Louis cut spareribs. So, that's what I'm going to use and see if I can duplicate those little beauties. Many thanks for the recipe!
I might also try and make them "Chinese" style while I'm at it.

annpeeples


I have a question...I bought some beef ribs today( my father-in-law and his wife are visiting for 2 WEEKS!!) and he doesnt eat pork. I do not have a smoker, only a gas grill. I was told by the butcher to start them in the oven, with a rub, and then finish off on the grill.Anyone have any other ideas?? Thanks...

Ann, your butcher is right. Before we moved last year I made my beef ribs totally in the oven. If you finish them on the grill they shoul be great. Two weeks! Yikes!

Foodbme

harriet1954


So, ah, for whomever did not take the time to read and understand the title of this thread, they have no business telling Don (who, without even meeting him, I'm sure is NOT insecure. Insecure????) what is real and what is not real. He knows. He chose this way. Not your way. Oh, and is SECURE enough to post it here without caring what others think.
 
And for whomever would like to condescend to me, who USED to totally smoke things in a smoker in her backyard - would you like to move me out of my apartment which has no deck, no balcony and no yard just so I can satisfy your purist heart? Some people do it more quickly their way and guess what? It's good, OK?
 
I plan to probably do mine tomorrow just about the same way, Don. Let anybody say a fresh word to me about it!

 
Chill out! Relax Darlin'. We're only talkin' about different methods of cookin' Ribs! Geez!

 
I'm very relaxed, Darlin'. I just didn't like the way someone was condescending to Baah Ben, saying that it wasn't real or pure. I guess you'll just have to get used to my personality!   
 

roossy90


Nice looking, but arent they tough?>...

Obviously, she was talking about me! Heh. *wink*
 
I've just put my rub together, because Miss Crabapple wants no sauce this time. It's really OK with me. I've simply used kosher salt, pepper, paprika, brown sugar and garlic powder. That is it and that's all she wrote regarding that.
 
Baah Ben, I'm rethinking the Saran wrap. I'm rethinking it, and might start these in a little bit and have them going very soon. I wish I'd had the foresight to make potato salad when I got home at 6:30 this morning!
 
Edit: I also wish I'd put the rub on last night with the Saran wrap, because I just reread your instructions and now it's too late to do that. I wonder if I can still put them in with the rub and the wrap straight into the oven...thinking aloud, maybe I had better just put aluminum foil on and then finish unwrapped at a higher heat. I have nothing to char-broil with, and my broiler of my oven is VERY small. We'll see what happens.

Harriet, I think they'll come out just fine. Just watch your heat. Not too high and, let stay in the oven as long as Ben did.

Be sure and give us a report.

Twin - St. Louis - Hormel's.  Excellent.  I got them on sale at Super Target last month..Paid $2.99 a lb..they are trimmed; no breast bone.  Cryovac..I froze them.  Ready to go.  I take the back flap off and remove the membrane; allows more seasoning to get into the meat.  This product did not have that saline solution.

These ribs are perfect for Chinese.  But, you do them completely different in the oven.  Find a good basic Chinese rib recipe; it needs to call for hoisin and Chinese 5 spice, fresh ginger, scallions, garlic, soy, sugar, etc.  Jim Lee's Cook Book is great.  There are lots of others.

Anyway, what you do is marinate them for at least 5 hrs and then you hang them in your oven over a pan of water that will catch the drippings and also create steam in the oven to keep them moist.  You must take the back flaps off and the membrane for Chinese ribs. 

This home oven configuration mimicks what we call in the business a Chinese BBQ Oven.  It is basically a cabinet with a gas burner in the bottom and a drip pan.  It has rods to string the roast port and ribs and they hang down and roast slowly.  Look in any Chinese take out at the end of the cooking line and you will see them.

Anyway, place one of your two oven racks up as high it can go..The other as low as it can go.  Get some curtain hangers and bend them so you can use them as hooks and hook into the top of the rib slab; not the bottom part! 

Get a drip pan that will sit under the ribs and fill it 1/3 with water.  Cook at low heat again so as not to burn them.  I use red food coloring....  See if you can get the recipe and PM me with it or share it...I will tell you if it's a good one or not.

The worst part of this process is you heat the oven up and then first have to hang the ribs so you can burn yourself!  So, what I do is take the top rack out, heat the oven, hang the ribs over the sink..Carry the rack with the ribs hanging down and slide it into the oven with the ribs on it.  tough on the arms, but that's the best way to do it.  Put a few towels down on the floor to catch the dripping marinade as it falls off the slabs.

I use to make Chinese meals all the time when I was younger..Tons of prep work!  I did my own won tons (ground chicken because my wife does not eat red meat or pork), soup, egg rolls with shrimp, BBQ roast pork, ribs, fried rice (never got that down right!) shrimp toast (my best item) and shrimp with black bean sauce.  I also could do egg foo young, sweet n sour, and a few other basics.  I never could do lobster sauce.  My favorite.  I also fried up the table noodles and doctored up the duck sauce; you use applesauce, fresh garlic, chopped pimento and a simple syrup.  I call it Brooklyn duck sauce.  That's the way the good places make it!

"H" thank you! 

Ann - Do your beef ribs with the Saran Wrap!  They will be terrific.  Just make sure you do not over cook them.  You need that meat (what little there is) to stay on the bones.  But, they will be so tender.

Baah Ben, Ain't nothing wrong with those ribs.  Nice pics also.
 
I hope you don't mind if I show off a little on your thread.  Hear is the highlight of our July 4th picnic.  Four racks rubbed with Dinosaur BBQ's Cajun Foreplay Rub.
 

 
                    
I am really starting to get the hang of my Big Green Egg Smoker.  These guys smoked 4 1/2 hours with applewood, then rested for another hour wrapped in foil.   Considering I had to get up at 6:00 AM to start the process, I am likeing your method more and more     

Ben, reading your posts always make me smile! I also learned to do my own dumplings I would love your shrimp toast recipe. You're right, it's allot of prep work, as was my kabab dinner. It was so worth it, thouth, in the fact that my family loved it and the reaction when I posted the pictures! Yesterday I watched a marathon of BBQ University. On Steve's website he has a reicpe for Chinese style ribs. I am going to try it and to try to WOW two of my (Chinese Food Lovin) kids. I will let all know how it goes!

I want an EGG

The ribs look good Ben, I admit to cooking ribs in the oven, with all the rainy weather back home it was a hassle to me to drag the BBQ out.  They've always turned out good cooked in the oven for me, not at all tough or lacking flavour, I guess if you use the wrong method they will turn out tough and lacking flavour but I've never had any problems.  I'm gonna try your method sometime.

susanll, Go for it!  Very easy to use for smoking.   

Well I do have a BD coming up.

susanll


Well I do have a BD coming up.

 
Make sure you buy it assembled.  It was a real pain in the butt to put together.

Thanks for the tip, Ben. The whole "Chinese process" is a bit too complicated and, sounds like too much work for me. So, I'll do them the way you did yours. 
Or, I have some Chinese BBQ rib rub and, I might just try using it as my rub and then "glazing" them with Chinese duck sauce after I unwrap them and turn the oven up to high to finish them.

joerogo ~ Your ribs look FANTASTIC! And, well worth your effort, I'm sure. Wish I was at your house this 4th.

Joe - Those are sooooo beautiful.  That's legit "Q"  Gramps (JohnA) must be so proud of you right now!  Nice job!  
 
I wish I had your money so I could afford a Green Egg.  There's a guy on this site, Ray Lampe (hope I spelled his name right) who represents them...He had one with him at the BBQ festival in Lakeland.  Hey, maybe he can get you a discount..after the fact.  Did you save your receipt
 
Nice ribs Joe!  Do you make your own sauce?
 
Agnes - Twin - The Chinese oven process is a little difficult. 
 
Hey, try the duck sauce; that's easy.  Just try and find a large jar (32 oz) of the stuff (the small jars are so expensive that only JoeRugo can afford them!) in the supermarket.  
 
Take a garlic press and do just one little clove for say two cups of duck sauce.  Add a tsp of chopped pimento and a half cup of applesauce.  If it's sweetened applesauce, just add a bit of white vinegar and mix everything up and taste it.  If it is unsweetened, add a little simple syrup (water and sugar).
 
You should taste quite a difference now between your's and the original bottled stuff.  IF you like the difference, do the rest, too.  If not, just mix the rest in with this and it will be fine, too.

If I had a real life, a family and, the dough, I'd get one (assembled) in a NY minute!

harriet1954

Foodbme

harriet1954


So, ah, for whomever did not take the time to read and understand the title of this thread, they have no business telling Don (who, without even meeting him, I'm sure is NOT insecure. Insecure????) what is real and what is not real. He knows. He chose this way. Not your way. Oh, and is SECURE enough to post it here without caring what others think.
 
And for whomever would like to condescend to me, who USED to totally smoke things in a smoker in her backyard - would you like to move me out of my apartment which has no deck, no balcony and no yard just so I can satisfy your purist heart? Some people do it more quickly their way and guess what? It's good, OK?
 
I plan to probably do mine tomorrow just about the same way, Don. Let anybody say a fresh word to me about it!

 
Chill out! Relax Darlin'. We're only talkin' about different methods of cookin' Ribs! Geez!

 
I'm very relaxed, Darlin'. I just didn't like the way someone was condescending to Baah Ben, saying that it wasn't real or pure. I guess you'll just have to get used to my personality!   
 

 
 I guess you'll just have to get used to my personality!   
 
No Dear Harriet! YOU need to understand how some of the "Old Timers" on here relate to each other. Unless it's something really nasty or a personal attack, no one takes things personally on here. Is it lively discussion and debate?? You Bettcha! That's what makes this site interesting and encourages dialogue and debate. You'll know when someone is attacking a poster, the membership will rise up and be heard.

Food - Do the pictures make you a bit more comfortable with this process?  I wanted to get them on here as fast as I possibly could. 
I know how starange the process sounds.  Hey, it does work.  Incidently, I didn't even have Saran Wrap.  I used another off brand sold in Big Lots...Makes no diffence as far as I know.

I hope someone else out there will make them and give us a few more pictures.  Give us their opinions.