As a duly certified Ribmaster, I sure do like to whip up a big ol’ batch of ribs to serve to a party of hungry guests. All hail my magnificent, tender, tasty ribs.
I could talk about my ribs all day, but how do you like to prepare YOUR spare rib dinner? What are your preparation secrets? Sauce choices? On the bone, or pulled?
I’ve only ever made ribs a couple of times, and (true BBQers look away,) I made them in the oven. 
Now, bear in mind, I never have, nor never will, claim ‘oven ribs’ to be BBQ, because they’re not, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be tasty. At any rate, I pretty much just followed Alton Brown’s recipe, with a few substitutions for the spices, though damned if I can remember what they were.
I like them more than my feet, but not as much as my lungs.
I like St. Louis cut the best, or if I can’t find those baby backs.
I make my ribs Memphis style, rub and no sauce.
Smoke over 200 degree fire for 2.5 - 3hours, then 1 hour in foil, and 30-45 minutes direct to give them the crispy bark that everybody seems to like. One twist and the bone comes straight out.
I have also done a straight 5 hours over low direct heat, but it is a lot more work.
I have played around with a brine first, I will probably do that again.
Lots of good rubs out there. Here is a link to The best ribs in the Universe
I don’t know if they are the best in the universe, but they are damn good.
So how do you do yours?
Pork, lovengly boiled for a short period, allowed to drain/dry, then rubbed with a special blend. Cooked over a flame and when almost done, bathed with a sauce from the gods (okay, I made it really. It features garlic!) and served with hot baked beans and BEER!
No substitutions, extra charge for seperate checks. Non-beerdrinkers will be expelled. No exceptions.
St. Louis style spare ribs done on the Big Green Egg with an elevated grill on low heat for 5 or six hours.
I like them with all the fat rendered, and an outside that is almost candied. The inside should be tender and moist, but not actually falling off the bone.
Dry rub, with sauce served on the side
Moved from IMHO to CS.
Baby backs. Brine 'em for a day or so in a solution of dissolved brown sugar, kosher salt, allspice, and apple cider vinegar. Pat those suckers down, rub 'em with paprika, chili powder, onion powder, garlic, cumin, cayenne, brown sugar, a pinch of curry… basically anything that looks like it should go on ribs. And you really have to press your finger against the raw ribs and TASTE to see how salty they are.
Combine your spices, and RUB into the meat. Wrap in clingfilm, leave in your fridge for a day, then bring 'em out to rest and reach room temp. Indirect heat in the Weber smoker over mesquite and charcoal… about 3-4 hours, maybe longer if the grill is really hot. When they’re about 150 degrees, pull 'em off the grill and cover with foil for 10 minutes. Score and serve and prepare to be hailed as a hero.
And never, ever, add sauce. A dab on the side is acceptable, but nothing more!
I make mine in the oven as well. I don’t trust the grill for some things. I parboil mine (and they’ve got to be those big-ass country ribs…no babyback slabs for me, thankyouverymuch). Then I stack them on a rack in a pan and stick 'em in the oven, and let the grease drip down the stack. I put the BBQ sauce on for just the last 20 minutes or so.
We eat them with a fork. There’s a ton of meat on them and they’re less messy. I’ve never ordered ribs in a restaurant and I never will. It’s just too much mess for me.
I’d like them pressed up against Colin Firth’s ribs.
The Swan I do mine on the egg also. It does cook a wonderful rib doesn’t it? My wife says my egg is my baby. 
Boil ribs?
::: shudder:::
:eek: (Hey Tuba, can we get that barfing smiley now?)
Kalhoun those aren’t ribs, but a pork butt (front shoulder) of the pig cut with a saw. Good but not ribs.
Hmmmm…They’re called ribs on the package, so that’s what I go by.
You gotta par boil them! It’s safer that way!
Safer??
Please explain.
St. Louis style sparerib here too. After preparing the ribs (removing the membrane ect.) I brine them for a day… then apply dry rub and let rest to room temperature while I get the BGE going. I smoke my ribs for 3 hours at about 220-240 with a blend of hickory and applewood, fat side up. Then I remove them and let them rest in foil for at least a half hour… serve with favorite sauce. Mine is a chipotle/garlic sauce with sweetness provided by apricot preserves.
I tried this method the last time I made ribs and they were cooked to the proper tenderness, but for the life of me, I couldn’t get the glaze to reduce to the right consistancy. I reduced the braising liquid by about 75% but it was still to thin to be an effective glaze.
Ribmeisters are in love with their sauces. Subtiilety eludes them. If the sauce is so strong you cant tasye the ribs ,you may as well drink a bottle of sauce.Rib people take it easy on the sauce.
Pork baby backs. I don’t have a smoker but just grilling them works plenty fine. With the temp as low as it’ll go, 45 minutes a side. I dry rub with Stubbs, then serve with Stubbs Original on the side.
Make a chihuahua brebust his chain.
I subscribe to the the Alton Brown method of braising/steaming and then finishing with a broil or barbecue. I prefer a nice babyback slab with intense seasonings and a sweet and spicy sauce.
I made a slab back in August and tried a hot pepper wet rub and some Coca Cola BBQ sauce. They were maybe the most tender and flavorful ribs I have ever made. I mean, they were really really good!
I rubbed the ribs with Brown Sugar, Salt, and Pepper and then slathered on a wet paste I made by pureeing some fresh Hot Portugal Peppers, a tiny bit of fresh Habanero, and some yellow cayenne pepper sauce/vinegar. I wrapped them in some plastic wrap and left them in the fridge overnight and then braised them in a covered roasting pan the next day at 225F for two and a half hours with a can of coke, some onion, between a 1/4 and a 1/2 cup of Ketchup, and a generous dash of Bone Suckin’ Hot Sauce. Then I removed the ribs and boiled down the braising liquid (coke, ketchup, etc.) into a thick sauce. I spread that on the ribs and broiled them for about 4 minutes.
Really simple and maybe the best ribs I have ever made.
Ribs have never been one of my specialties. Brisket, yes. Ribs, no. But this thread has me thinking about firing up the smoker this weekend and impressing the wife, who loves ribs but never gets to have them at home.
People eat ribs off the bone? :eek:
For me, it’s emphatically not in the sauce, but the preparation. And the preparation method I favor above all is the way ribs were meant to be made: slow smoked over hardwood (hickory and white oak, especially). No parboiling, braising, steaming, or any method that yields “meat jello” that could be sucked through a straw. Dammit, ribs should taste and feel like pig, soft, tender, but not fall-apart-in-your-mouth-with-no-texture. Ask the people of Mephis or KC.
I’m partial to spare ribs, but most people seem to be most familiar with baby backs, so when I’m Q’ing, I make racks of both. I season both lightly with salt, pepper, crushed mustard seed, celery seed, and paprika. Through them over a Weber Smoky Mountain smoke for 3-4 hours (baby backs) and 4-6 hours (spare ribs), and we have a feast!