Beef Rib Question

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Hello,
I am planning to do some beef ribs with some St. Louis cut spares this weekend. I have read in previous posts that they take about 6 hours to cook. My question is will the meat pull down on the bones like pork spares? I usually cook my pork spares for six hours and really try to gauge when they are done by how far the meat has pulled down the bones. Will this method also work with beef ribs? Thanks in advance.

Derek
 
Evening Derek!

Short answer is yes, they will pull back, BUT.....

I would suggest finding a different method to checking for doneness. Pulling back can at times be misleading and of course the big question always seems to be....how FAR back should it pull? Beef ribs are usually much shorter than pork ribs, so, in this case, pull back can be misleading.

Try using a toothpick or your thermometer and poke it through the meat. This is the least intrusive method for checking doneness, and it will NEVER fail.

When working with beef ribs, keep in mind that the back membrane is very tough, even after it has been removed. Don't mistake that toughness with being undone.

Stogie
 
Hello Stogie --

Finally I can possibly teach you a thing or two!!
wink.gif


Standard Beef Back Ribs -- at least out here
on the left coast -- are typically much larger and longer than any pork ribs you will see.

After all, aren't your piggies smaller than your moo-moos? They are out here!
wink.gif
However, we do have some midget moo-moos and that may be what you are referring to.

Take care, buddy!

With a grin,



------------------
Sespe Pete
 
Stogie,
Thanks for the advice. You're right about the pulling back as a way of testing doneness. I have been lucky in that I have been able to keep good steady temps of 225-240 at the grate for 6-6 1/2 hours for my pork ribs. In the summer this has basically assured me the proper doneness. But since the colder weather is creeping upon us, I won't be able to use this method with the same reliability. Do you go by temperature? Or do you rely soley on the toothpick method?
Just curious. Thanks

Derek
 
Hey Sespe!!!

We grow BIG pigs around these parts!! LOL

Perhaps I should clarify my comment.......around here, the only kind of beef ribs we get have been cut in half! I have no idea why this is, but I have now done beef ribs a half dozen times and they are always these "short" racks.

Perhaps a little duct tape to re-attach them???

I would be honored to have half of your BBQ wisdom!!

Good to see you are still alive old boy!

Stogie
 
Hi Derek!

After 15 years of smoking and 6 years on the WSM, I pretty much have my times and temps down to the point of knowing the ribs will be done when I am finished.

Early on, I used to test the meat temp on my pork ribs(190-200?, just like pork butt), but the meat is most times too thin to get an accurate reading. That is when I started using a thermo probe to check for doneness. It is very easy and non-invasive...sorta.

As to cold weather.....don't worry one bit about cold weather and the WSM. I have cooked in blizzards and sub-zero temps many times. The only mod I do is add more lit charcoals to the unlit ones....a "cold-weather Minion start". I also will take a little more care in the placement of the WSM, specifically I keep it out of the wind.

The only time I do not use the water pan is when the temp is below 10?.

Don't get me wrong, I have never gotten a 16 hour burn in the winter, but 10 is not too bad without any mods or blankets.

Stogie
 
Stogie,
A ten hour burn in the winter time is pretty sweet! Honestly, I'm just starting to get friendly with my WSM. This Christmas will be my one year aniversary, but I really didn't gain the confidence until I tied the Minion method. Before briskets and butts would have seemd too hard, now that I have done both with excellent results, I feel that I am ready to "kick it up a notch!" The weekends this fall are going to be good to me! Thanks for the advice. Happy Qing!

Derek
 
Hey Stogie:

I found one of my favorite B.B.Q. places for beef ribs in Buckhead (a North Atlanta, GA suburb) during the '96 Olympics. It was called the Rib Ranch, and the beef ribs were almost as big as my forearm.

It was very difficult to find beef ribs that big back home, especially at the supermarket, until I checked with a small local butcher last Fall. I described what I had seen at the Rib Ranch, and he asked how many pounds I'd like. The next day I picked up 10 pounds at about $2.00 a Lbs.

I only salted, peppered, and tossed a bit of Accent on them - then smoked them on the WSM for 8 hours while I was at work. That night my family looked at me like I was crazy when I served up a pile of bones, but not one was left - and the dog inherited a few that weren't completely inhaled.

In all honesty though Kevin, I never checked the meat temperature - they just looked really done. What temperature would you have shot for? Is 180 in the ball park? I can't get a gauge on this as is seems most recipes go by time on the grill rather than temperature in the meat.

Take good care,

Weber Dave
 
Hi Dave!

When I was checking the temps on my pork ribs, they were done between 190-205?....same as pork butt. I only started doing beef ribs last year, so have never checked the temp on them. I now use the poker test.

I used only my Yum-Yum steak seasoning on the beef ribs, but you know what????

I will be changing this to 2 recipes I discovered in your Weber Cook Book....the Dry-Rubbed Porterhouse with BBQ Steak Sauce and the Texas Rib-eye Steaks with Chili BBQ Sauce.

Last month we had our annual cul-de-sac cook-off and this year made steaks as the entree. I won 1st, 2nd and 3rd place with these recipes!! That is to say, I won 1st, my 11 yr. old daughter was 2nd and my 6 yr. old son was 3rd. Mom took 5th. A nice family sweep!

I normally just like salt, pepper and garlic on my steaks and the thought of using a sauce was simply unheard of.....but NO more!! I continue, to this day, to get questions on these recipes and how on earth I got such tasty steaks.

I know it's grilling, but these recipes are simply the best I have ever tasted and are now part of my grilling repertiore!

I will use these recipes the next time I cook beef ribs.

Stogie
 
Hi Weber Dave,

We live 2 to 3 miles from the Rib Ranch. We usually get 2 or 3 meals from those beef ribs!

Rita
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Kevin Taylor:
[qb]I will be changing this to 2 recipes I discovered in your Weber Cook Book....the Dry-Rubbed Porterhouse with BBQ Steak Sauce and the Texas Rib-eye Steaks with Chili BBQ Sauce.[/qb] <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I first tasted bar-b-q steak at a little restaurant in Hattiesburg, Miss called the Wagon Wheel. They served something they called Bar-b-q Prime Rib. They would cook whole prime ribs in their pit, but take them off before they were done. Then, when you ordered, they would cut a steak from the prime rib and finish it off on the grill with their bar-b-q sauce. Delicious. I sometimes do rib-eye steaks this way with an Ancho chile based bar-b-q rub and my favorite "Middle Georgia" vinegary sauce.

If you want to explore another avenue with grilled steaks, try a South American chimichurri sauce. It's a vinegary green sauce that I had years ago in a Nicaraguan steak house in Miami. I never knew what it was until I stumbled across the recipe in The Barbecue Bible.

Make the sauce up fresh -- it's best used right after you make it. Take up to half the sauce and use it as a marinade for the steaks for an hour or so. Reserved the rest of the sauce to serve on the steaks at the table. It is fantastic.

The sauce will keep in the fridge for a day or two, but the parsley looses it's vibrant green color.


Chimichurri Sauce

Recipe By :Steven Raichlen - The Barbecue Bible
Serving Size : 6 Preparation Time :0:15

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 bunch flat leaf parsley -- stems removed
4 cloves garlic (peeled) -- (up to 8 cloves)
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup vinegar (red wine, white wine, plain) -- adjust to taste
4 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes -- (optional)
1 carrot -- (optional)
1/2 white onion -- (optional)
fresh chiles -- (optional)

Combine parsley, garlic cloves and optional veggies in food processor and mince as finely as possible.

Add remaining ingredients to food processor and pulse to a smooth liquid sauce. Adjust with water and/or vinegar if sauce is too thick.
 
Hi Webb!!

Interesting you bring up the Chimichuri sauce! Jeff Lowe gave me this recipe for it. I have not tried but perhaps this weekend I will.

Chimichuri (Argentine Marinade)

1/2 teaspoon Saffron
1 tablespoon Lemon juice
1/2 cup Olive oil
1/2 cup White wine vinegar
1 small Onion(s), minced
2 clove(s) Garlic, crushed
1/4 cup Parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon Thyme, dried
Salt and pepper to taste

PREPARATION:
Powder the safron threads and then steep in lemon juice for 20 minutes.
Combine all ingredients with whisk.

Marinate meat overnight. Good with shellfish and poultry.

This is what makes an Argentine asado(barbecue).
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Kevin Taylor:
[qb]
Interesting you bring up the Chimichuri sauce! Jeff Lowe gave me this recipe for it. I have not tried but perhaps this weekend I will.[/qb] <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

There are a million versions of Chimchuri sauce. It's like the term "bar-b-que sauce" could mean one of a million different things depending on who you ask!

Anyway, I find that Chimichurra sauce is just wonderful as a marinade and table sauce for grilled steak. It is also quite "different" from traditional steak prepartions in the US, so it's a nice change of pace.

The version that Jeff gave you is going to be quite "tart" with its high ratio of vinegar to olive oil. I would like that.

In any case, all Chimichurra sauces are basically a parsley vinaigrette sauce. They are quite similar to Italian pesto except using parsley instead of basil. Just adjust to suit your taste buds.
 
Hi Rita:

I'm jealous if you live that close to the Rib Ranch! Beautiful area! I can see how you'd get more than a mouthfull from those ribs, but 2-3 meals?!? If you go in there, ask the owner (he's from Philly) if he remembers Gail Kleppe's friend from Chicago who used to come in during the '96 Olympics and order the beef ribs, pork ribs, and a cheeseburger w/ fries. And that was when I was svelte!!!

Hey Stogie:

Love to hear that you found some good stuff in the Weber cookbook. I used to be the same way with steaks, only salt, pepper, and maybe some garlic. But this Summer a customer sent me the following "Mop" recipe for steak, and "wow" - my family told me never to make it any other way again.

1 cup Soy sauce
1/2 stick butter, melted
Juice of 1 Lemon
1 Tsp. Weber's Granulated Garlic

Just slop this on the meat 1/2 hour before grilling, and also during grilling. Unreal.

Take care all!

Weber Dave
 
Webers granulated garlic? Would this be like garlic powder, garlic chips or kind of in-between? /infopop/emoticons/icon_confused.gif
 
"Granulated garlic" is the more accurate name for the product found in most grocery stores called "garlic powder". There is a "garlic powder" available in some stores and online spice dealers that is literally a powder, looking sort of like powdered sugar.

Weber's product is granulated, not powdered.

Regards,
Chris
 
Granulated garlic or onion is higher quality product than powder is. Powder is the dust they have at the end of the other products production.
IMHO of course
Jim
 
Got it. I was thinking it might be grains the size of turbinado sugar grains. It might be interesting to take some Garlic chips and crush them to this size, though. Might be good in that recipe.
 
The main difference between Granulated Garlic and Garlic Powder is that it is not nearly as overpowering. I've made garlic bread before using Garlic Powder sparingly and still felt it was much too strong. The Granulated Garlic is much more true to real garlic. I'm afraid it's my favorite rub we sell, and now I'm not seeing it on our price lists for next year - bummer.

Anyway, the other great thing about the Granulated Garlic is that is has no salt in it at all. So folks on low sodium diets can really enjoy it.

Weber Dave
 
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