Bar "b" Barn Ribs Recipe - Food.com (2024)

FAQs

How do you make chewy ribs tender? ›

Preheat oven to 450°F. Cut ribs into serving size pieces (2 to 3 ribs). Place ribs in 9x13-inch pan and pour beer over top. Cover tightly and bake 1 hour 30 minutes.

Larger, fattier ribs need to be cooked longer than baby backs. Shoot for around 2 hours at 350 degrees if the ribs are uncovered. If wrapped in foil, the ribs can go for up to 3 hours at 300 degrees, or crank the oven up to 400 degrees for a briefer baking time—1 1/2 to 2 hours.

It takes about 6 hours to smoke a rack of pork spare ribs. Some pitmasters will do what's called a “3-2-1” with their spare-rib cooks: 3 hours on, 2 hours wrapped, and 1 hour unwrapped. Aaron follows more of a “3-3” game plan, leaving the ribs wrapped for the whole second half of cooking for the best ribs.

The secret to incredibly tender ribs is baking them low and slow.

Your goal is to get good color and caramelization on the outside of the ribs, but also to cook them long enough that the tough collagen breaks down and the meat becomes tender. Generally, the ribs will be browned before the meat is done, which is where the balancing act comes in.

Baby back rib cooking temperature

We want a temp that is relatively low. We want to keep the smoker at about 250°F (121°C) for the duration of the cook. To help keep that temp on target, you can use Billows BBQ Control Fan in conjunction with Signals.

Most ribs hit their sweet spot for doneness around 198 degrees F, but some take until 203 degrees F to be perfectly tender. This spread in final temperature is one reason why thermometers are a great jumping off-point for rib perfection, but not the be-all-end-all indicator.

As indicated - use your favorite dry rub and your favorite BBQ sauce but use this low and slow method. For make ahead 'ready to BBQ Ribs' I usually coat the ribs in the dry rub and wrap tightly and let sit in the refrigerator over night. Bake at 250 for at LEAST 2 hours - sometimes they take longer.

The 3-2-1 Method refers to the technique used to cook ribs low and slow so that they develop flavour without drying out. First, the ribs are smoked at a low temperature for 3 hours. They're then wrapped in foil and steamed for 2 hours. Finally, they're brushed with a sauce or glaze and grilled for 1 more hour.

How do you keep ribs juicy in a smoker? ›

Keeping ribs from drying out while smoking them involves several key techniques: 1> Use a water pan or spritzing: Place a water pan inside the smoker/grill to maintain humidity. Alternatively, spritz the ribs with water, apple cider vinegar, apple juice, or a similar liquid every hour or so to keep them moist.

Since the ribs are fatty, many cooks choose to parboil spare ribs for a short time or boil for an extended period of time to tenderize the rib meat. This renders some of the surface fat and makes it easier to remove the inner skin from the ribs before you grill them, too.

Cook the ribs, meat side up, at 285°F, for about 8 to 9 hours. Spritz during the final 2 to 3 hours. Check for doneness by poking the ribs; when they feel like melted butter (about 203°F between the bones), serve.

The light connective tissue in ribs begins to break down around 195 degrees F. Anything under that temperature and your ribs will be chewy, stringy, and tough. At 195 degrees F, that tissue starts to gelatinize and turn into tasty, melty deliciousness.

Dry brining with baking soda is an ideal route for making slabs of ribs or roasts because it isn't time-sensitive! With this method, you can tenderize your cuts of meat with baking soda in the morning and have them ready to cook in for your afternoon barbecue or an appetizing feast at dinner.

Pretty much every rib recipe out there calls for using a low and slow, indirect grilling method. Grilling them over direct, high heat is a great way to overcook them and have them turn out tough. Indirect, low heat will help create tender meat that will easily tear off of the bone.