I don't like foiled ribs


 
J

J. Wilson

TVWBB Fan
Ok....so I have to confess...I don't like foiled ribs. Is something wrong with me? I see EVERYBODY foiling their ribs and on BBQ Pitmasters they just said "if you ain't foiling you ain't winning."

To me foiled ribs don't have near the taste of unfoiled ribs....the fat doesn't seem to render out....I just don't like 'em. Last weekend one of the racks was falling apart as I was trying to take it off the bbq. (My wife loves those sort of ribs but I don't.) I realize I cooked those way too long but that's how she likes 'em....another rack was foiled but tasted nothing like the ribs I didn't foil at all and cooked for 6 hours on the kettle and doing the snake method with no foil.

I might be done with foiling all together except for the wife's. Am I wrong or weird? I've been foiling after about 3 hours....should I foil later in the process to increase the "flavor profile." .....
 
I've done ribs three times since I got my WSM a couple months ago-- twice unfoiled, foiled once. Much preferred the unfoiled versions.
 
J. Wilson said:
Ok....so I have to confess...I don't like foiled ribs. Is something wrong with me? I see EVERYBODY foiling their ribs and on BBQ Pitmasters they just said "if you ain't foiling you ain't winning."

To me foiled ribs don't have near the taste of unfoiled ribs....the fat doesn't seem to render out....I just don't like 'em. Last weekend one of the racks was falling apart as I was trying to take it off the bbq. (My wife loves those sort of ribs but I don't.) I realize I cooked those way too long but that's how she likes 'em....another rack was foiled but tasted nothing like the ribs I didn't foil at all and cooked for 6 hours on the kettle and doing the snake method with no foil.

I might be done with foiling all together except for the wife's. Am I wrong or weird? I've been foiling after about 3 hours....should I foil later in the process to increase the "flavor profile." .....
Click to expand...

+1, as I indicated in a post to this thread. My girlfriend and I both used to like them FOTB when I foiled them, but we've both come to prefer the bark-and-bite I've been getting ever since I stopped foiling. I've never done competition, but I'm told that the judges like a firmer rib and expect to see teeth marks after they take a bite.

I figure I'll go back to foiling when our teeth fall out.:D

Cheers,
Dave
 
I NEVER foil my ribs. I've tried it and did not care for the texture at all. As a matter of fact I've even thrown my ribs on my performer after smoking to 'crisp' up the fat on the outside of the ribs.
 
I foil my ribs and I like them more than unfoiled. I guess it's one of those questions... Fat cap up or down?? Some times I will do no foil if I don't have foil.:)
 
Foiling accomplishes one primary goal- to cut down on the cooking time. It's a crutch. In my opinion, get up a couple hours earlier and put 'em on, and let them cook the full time. When I do spares, they cook a full 7 hours. My comp scores have suffered every time I have foiled, because the meat turns to mush and the bones fall out. I do infinitely better leaving them in the heat for the full time, and only giving them about 2 or 3 hours of smoke, tops. The rest of the time, it's just charcoal and heat, and lots of humidity. One thing that I have found helps is to keep more water in the pan while cooking.
 
I've never foiled my ribs,but some people swear by it. Just like some people swear by boiling their ribs. It's to what your tastes are.
 
I think foil is just another tool and as any tool their not all used the same. I like them either way depending on what I am after
 
My first set of ribs were done without foil, they were the best ribs I personally have ever eaten. And I have had good ribs at some of the best houses all over this country. I love the texture, so maybe it is just personal preference on texture.
 
I can take it or leave it. Like others have said, depends on how much time I have. If I foil, I put then on the kettle with HH to get the char I like.
 
Prior to the WSM, we never foiled. Ever since, all have been foiled. When I don't stay on top of it, they get overcooked...
I like the foiling method. Like Jeff said... It's just a tool.
 
I watched several BBQ pitmasters yesterday and it occurred to me why most comp cooks wrap. Most all use water smokers or stickburners which use only wood for fuel so they are constantly getting smoke the entire cooking time. To avoid over smoking they have to wrap. Those of us using WSM's don't have that problem(unless we are cooking multiple meats at the same time on the same WSM). We can use a certain amount of wood chunks then no more. I do think wrapping helps tenderize the ribs but how much of a difference is up to each of us. I'm going to cut the time in the foil down to 30-45 minutes next time and see if that helps tenderize without overcooking.
 
There is no right or wrong. Foil if you like, dont foil if you dont. I have done both and have had good contest results with both. I probably prefer foiling because it seems that when I dont, the bark is just too tough for my liking and I definitely dont want to spend 7 hours cooking ribs. That said, I probably foil for less time than most because I dont want them mushy. And I find that finishing them on a hot grill is magical. Just a minute or so.
 
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