Bark on Ribs


 
S

shawn244

TVWBB Fan
I prefer to serve my ribs dry with sauce on the side. But, I am having problems getting the perfect bark on the ribs. I like bark that has a little "snap" so when you take a bite the meat only comes off where you took your bite. My bark seems to always come out a little mushy. I have tried to add some rub about 40 minutes before I take the ribs off, changing cooking time and temperature, basting, adding more sugar to my rub, etc... I have been making some really great ribs but I think the bark is lacking. The only thing I have not tried is grilling the ribs for a minute or two after I take them off of the WSM. Any tips?
 
Hmm. What are you doing for a rub? I get good results applying salt first, then letting the salt interact with the meat while I mix my rub (without salt) till the meat gets a nice, moist look, then applying the rub over the salt. I think the bark is improved that way; for me it is anyway.

Another thing: Be careful of sugar quantity/ratio to the other ingredients. Sugar holds moisture. If using it you want just enough to add its sweetness but not so much that it's holding moisture relative to the rest of the ingredients. Sugar goes through phases as it cooks: in a nutshell, it melts, caramelizes, then burns if the heat gets too high. If the heat doesn't get high it hangs in caramelization mode. If the moisture does not cook off it will stay in the bark. Unlike the other ingredients in rubs, sugar can hold moisture for a whilke. It's what makes cookies chewy--brown sugar especially--unless and until they cook too long they'll stay that way. Only after they cross that 'line' when the moisture is finally cooked out will they get crisp.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Only after they cross that 'line' when the moisture is finally cooked out will they get crisp. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
I should add here that that is why you have to play with the ratio, use less sugar and see what you think. Obviously you're not going to cook ribs till you cross that line--if the sugar ratio is high your ribs will be way past done by the time the time the bark dries. Less sugar means less potential for moisture retention. Grilling at the end can help if needed--you have to be careful of too much (time-wise) or excessive heat at finish, imo, though. I suggest working the rub angle first an augment with grilling only if you think it necessary.
 
Thanks for the replies. The rub I have been using calls 1/4 cup of brown sugar. Today I mixed up the rub and only used half of that amount of sugar. I have a slab of baby backs on the WSM now using the rub with less sugar. I will post my results.
 
They look mighty tasty to me. (Next time I'm through Peoria I'm coming over--heads up!) Glad it worked out for you. (Got some other tasty looking food in your other pics as well.)
 
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