Foiling Ribs?


 
M

Mark B (azmark)

TVWBB Member
I love my rib but have been curious in trying new things and how can one know unless you try a bit of changes, no?

I've been foiling at least one set of spares in a cook just to see how much difference there can be but haven't seen much. Is foiling ribs more just for competition cooking to make that last push?

I've been foiling after about an hour or when the ribs get a bark to them. In the foil I use a little AJ and honey, roll and seal and leave for about another hour and begin to check for doneness. This is the only time I've ever overcooked a rib but when I've had success it was a little better than normal. One thing I noticed is that the ribs LOOK better but not generally taste better.
 
Foiling ribs creates a steam environment which allows for a better transfer of heat. Can you hold your hand longer in a 350 degree oven or over a pot of boiling water? The foiled ribs will cook faster.

Foiling the ribs for the whole cook will be at the expense of flavor. Somewhere there is a balance between time and flavor when foiling ribs.
 
I have been foiling ribs for a while now. I usually foil for one hour wether doing spares or bb's. I decided to try foiling my spares for 2hrs yesterday out of a 6hr cook and really didn't see much of a difference with the extra hour. I was trying to really make them tender since my mother in law was in town and she eats ribs with a fork. As far as looks foiling definitely keeps them lighter in color in my opinion, Ken
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Ken Serwatowski:
I have been foiling ribs for a while now. I usually foil for one hour wether doing spares or bb's. I decided to try foiling my spares for 2hrs yesterday out of a 6hr cook and really didn't see much of a difference with the extra hour. I was trying to really make them tender since my mother in law was in town and she eats ribs with a fork. As far as looks foiling definitely keeps them lighter in color in my opinion, Ken </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I do the same, and my observations are the same too.
 
When I first started doing ribs I always foiled them, just because of things I had read. But, during one smoke a while back, I had several things going and didn't fool with foiling the ribs. And I loved the result. The texture was so much better. I will never foil ribs again.
 
Weber recently showed a way one could foil ribs cooked over medium high heat for a hour, then un-foil and cook for 15 minutes to firm up the outside. They said they weren't as good as low and slow, but for ribs in a hurry they were pretty good. I haven't tried, but I will soon enough. As for the WSM, I don't foil. I just go low and slow until they are done.
 
I have been doing 3-2-1 pork spare ribs and 2-2-1 pork baby backs on my Char-Griller w/SFB for years with excellent results. However, now that I have the WSM, I want to do the BRITU cook. It will be interesting on how these cooks compare.
 
I tried the weber recipe for foiling ribs, they came out very good. I do not like FOTB, I like a little crisp and chew. With that recipe there is a small learning curve to get them the way I like them.However it greatly cut back on the cooking time. I am using a weber performer, I do not have a smoker. After foiling, you then put them over the flame to crisp up and sauce them.
 
Alternatively, all one needs is high heat to firm the bark nicely - so one can go indirect and not worry about scorching.

I do not care for ribs sauced during cooking so do not go that route, but this certainly can be done. Finishing indirectly if sauced means a lower chance of the the sauce over-darkening, scorching, or burning.
 
i used to hate FOTB, but recently I started cooking FOTB for my family.

THe last ones I did were the best ribs i've ever had.
2 hours in the smoke - bone down.
2 hours in the foil - bone up
30 minutes with the foil OPEN (still in foil though)
30 minutes over high heat (no foil)

it required me to have a grill going as well as the smoker, but OMG were they good.
The meat fell off the bone, but the racks held together and the meat had a nice crispy outside.

I can't wait to do it again.
 
I am not a chef and I don't cook in competitions. That being said, here is how I do my ribs. I have tried ribs both ways, but I now prefer to foil them. I usually cook spares trimmed out St. Louis style. I cook them at 275 F meat side down (bone side up) for 1 and 1/5 hours with a little apple or pecan wood. I then take them off and double wrap them with heavy duty foil. Add a couple of tablespoons of your liquid of choice. Cook in the foil at 275 F again bone side up for 1 hour. Then remove from the foil and place back on the smoker meat side up (bone side down) and start checking in 1 hour for doneness. Apply sauce (if desired) and re-check every 30 if not done. This usually produces a rib that is juicy and comes off the bone cleanly with the bite.
 
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