BRITU Question.


 
W

Willard USA

New member
The last couple of times I made the best ribs in the universe recipe, the outside of the ribs ended up very chewy. Also, even after cooking for 6.25 hours, the meat still did not pull cleanly from the bone. My first question is how cleanly should the meat pull from the rib bones? Second, why is the outside meat so chewy?
 
Did you follow the directions? I had the same experiance and found that I wasn't really following the directions as far as temp goes. You're suppose to raise the heat midway through the cook. I was just keeping the temp steady and I was also only cooking at about 225º. Also check your thermometer, you might just be cooking at too low a temp period.
 
You didn't mention whether you were cooking baby-backs or spares. I'll assume you were doing baby-backs since you were following the recipe. 6.25 hours for back ribs is a bit long. They may actually be overcooked.
 
I was cooking baby back ribs as per the recipe. I did raise the temperature at the specified time. The temperature was on the low side during the fist half of the cook. The only thing I modified in the recipe was that I used Minion instead of standard.

How cleanly should the meat pull off the bone when ribs are cooked to perfection.
 
Depends on your definition of "perfection." Many people define a great rib as falling off the bone, and I'll cook more toward that for family, friends, and functions. In KCBS competition, that's considered overdone; the only meat coming off the bone should be where you bite into it. Bottom line, it's what you and your guests like!
 
Willard, meat is done when it is done. Time should only be used as a rough estimate. Temperature and texture tell when it is done. For ribs this means being able to push a toothpick through the meat and having it go through like it was butter.

As for perfection. That is definately a subjective term. Competition quality is where the meat pulls cleanly off the bone with a gentle tug. There should be some resistance, but once pulled it shouldn't leave any remnants on the bone itself.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> My first question is how cleanly should the meat pull from the rib bones? Second, why is the outside meat so chewy? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>It should pull cleanly (the operative word being 'pull'). Fall-off-the-bone is not to my taste but that is farther along the doneness road. 'Chewy' but not dry is undercooked; chewy but dry is overcooked. I do not cook much by time. For ribs I use a probe or pick inserted between the bones to check for doneness.
 
Based on Kevin's comments, I believe my ribs were under cooked. The outer most layer of meat was definitely chewy and the meat did not pull cleanly from the bone. There was definitely a lot of meat stuck to the bones after eating the rest of the meat on the bone. I just don't have the ribs figured out yet. The ribs are good, but they could be a lot better. I know the ribs are good because my kids fight over them. Normally, they won't eat anything except breakfast cerial - they are in that stage. My wife thinks the ribs are great too.
 
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