Do you want perfect ribs every time? Stop this.

When I was a kid, the summer Sunday afternoons in the back yard often smelled like cooked pork ribs. A sharp, fleshy steam comes to our noses and the signaling dinner comes … and probably tasteless and chewing. My mother fed a family and boil the ribs in water (or sometimes, depending on the mood of beer or broth) and then finishes them to the grill to “crunch”. That was the time -cleaning hack. I get it – he tried to have dinner on the table with the least resistance. But – Class Mom! – – These ribs were always a little tough, breeding and strangely boring, like someone muttered their fleshy attraction.

Now, after developing the grilling and smoking recipes needed for livelihoods for years, I can say confidently that you should not boil your ribs before grilling or smoking. It may seem like a smart trick to accelerate cooking, but this is a textbook example of a shortcut that undermines what we love in good Barbecue.

Why do the source ribs lead to less flavors?

The source is essentially a form of extraction. It works excellent for making sets and broths because it pulls its taste out of bones and meat and liquid. This is exactly the problem when you boil ribs. Instead of improving the taste, it leaks it from meat and water. The compounds responsible for the depth of meat, the water-soluble proteins, amino acids and fat-soluble aromatic compounds are diluted and washed away.

Of course, later you can technically regain the lost taste with a glaze or sauce. But this is just the tasteful lipstick on a drilled pig.

Why the texture is boiling in boiling

Here are things going from “meh” to the straight “Why to disturb?” When the ribs are boiled, the meat is cooked quickly and wet, which denates proteins faster but more unevenly, often before connective tissues, such as collagen, were time for decomposition of greasy gelatin. The result? Partly gentle ribs, which are still strangely solid, and even a small rubber, are missing the melting of the Great Barbecue in the mouth.

Low and slow cooking methods-indirect heat on a grill or low temperature in oven or smoking. These allow the gradual penderation of hard pieces of meat when collagen degrades over time while retaining their structure and taste.

In other words, good ribs are time investment. Like a good cheese or a perfectly fermented bread, the patience receives.

Here's what actually makes the ribs dirty

You have to throw it out for a moment. The collagen, the connective tissue that makes the ribs difficult, become a gentle gelatin of about 71 ° C, but it takes time – at least a few hours. If you are low and slow (say 225-275 ° F) grill or smokes the ribs, you allow this transformation to gradually take place. Meanwhile the surface fats are exhibited, the Maillard reaction It develops a tasteful bark (also known as bark) and the smoke particles are attached to the surface of the meat to create the pink smoke ring of the Telltale.

Cooking bypasses all this. It cooks the meat quickly, without smoke, without tanning and with minimal transformation. This culinary equivalent is to make a picturesque road trip and decide to fly over the most beautiful parts of the aircraft. I miss all the spells.

“But it's faster!” Argument

Yes, the source is faster. But this speed is too high. If you take a short time and still want to get ribs on the grill, there are better options:

• First of the oven-breaking, then grillz: It still loses its taste, but it will keep more than the source, especially if you spice the ribs well and wrap them tightly.
• The “hot and fast” method: Some competitors use it, which includes smoking or grilling of the ribs at 300-350 ° F for shorter periods, usually partially packed with moisture traps. It is not as rich as the traditional low and slow method from start to finish, but the leagues are better than the source.
• Preparation: Cook your ribs the previous day and warm them gently on the grill. Properly wrapped and resting ribs can be even better the next day.

How to make ribs in the proper way

So what do you have to do if you want gentle, juicy, tasteful and worthy ribs? You don't have to boil, park or cut a corner. You just have to take on a method that works with the structure of the meat rather than against it.
The big ribs are based on patience, heat regulation and low fat science. Low and slow cooking allows the time to break the collagen into silky gelatin, the fats appear slowly and the meat from the inside, and the proper bark is formed on the surface. This method is not only a better taste – respects the cut, rewards the cook and delivers a texture that simply does not know, like the links.
This is how I do this every time, regardless of smoking over a hardwood, you run a foil pack -chips grid.

1. Remove the membrane from the back of the ribs – it may turn to the skin.
2. Greatly flavor the chosen dry rubbing that includes salt, sugar and spices.
3. Smoke or grill indirectly at 225-275 ° F. This usually takes 4-6 hours, depending on the cut (baby backrests cook faster than spare ribs).
4. Roll into the aluminum foil for approx. Halfway if you want to speed up the application (the “Texas Crutch” method).
5. Add the sauce towards the end, if you like, give time to caramelize without burning.
6. Relax before slicing to redistribute the juices and concentrate the flavors.

No source. No shortcut. Just great ribs. If you want the ribs recipes to start, look at the racing style ribsTo Memphis style dry ribsor balsamic glazed baby back ribsOr

If you are making the ribs, take the time to do it correctly. You will thank you for your future yourself (and guests of dinner).

(Sorry, Mom.)