Marinating Ribs


 
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Mark Etheridge

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Has anyone ever marinated ribs before? If so, how do you feel about the results?

I have done about 10 slabs of ribs since I first bought my WSM and, while I'm pleased with the results, the tenderness is not where I want it...close but not quite. I think marinating might just get me to the level I'm looking for.

Do you use a rub on the marinated ribs as well? Is there a need to baste marinated ribs while cooking?

Many thanks for the advice.
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Mark WAR EAGLE!!
 
Marinating ribs works well, we do rub and cook as we normally would. If tenderness is a problem there are a few ways to fix that: cook longer and/or use of foil. The question is how tender do you want them, if falling off the bone is your aim then foil is a very good method to get you there.
Jim
 
Jim,

Thanks for the advice.

I wouldn't say that tenderness is a problem. The ribs are tender and good eatin. When I slice the ribs with a knife, the knife goes through like warm butter. However, when I do the tear test, the amount of effort is comparable to pulling a tight fitting cap off of a magic marker and I think that's a little too much effort. Maybe I'm being too picky.

I do not want "falling of the bone" and I'm not ready to use foil...yet. I'm not opposed to using foil at all but, when I was learning about BBQ, I became something of purist...i.e. charcoal for fuel and no foil.

To what temp do you take your ribs? I've taken mine to 180 and even 190. I did not notice a difference in the meat between the two temps. I've also read where folks have taken ribs as high as 200. The last set I did was 3 slabs of baby backs cooked for 6 hours at an average pit temp of 217. I did not monitor meat temp.
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Mark WAR EAGLE!!
 
In my quest for "falling off the bone" ribs, I tried the foil method, e.g. foiling for the last hour of the cook. And it certainly made for very tender ribs. However, IMHO (and my family's opinion which is what counts) the texture of the meat was a little mushy. My family loves my ribs and they are plenty tender without the use of foil. So I don't worry about it. I guess I'll never progress beyond a backyard bbq'r.
 
Mark....

I used to marinate my ribs. I did it more for flavor, as I don't think marinating really helps to tenderize. The long slow cooking is what tenderizes the ribs.

Jim mentioned several ways to tenderize. I no longer take temps of ribs, but when I did, they came out around 200?...very similar to pork butts.

I also foil and have never, ever had a mushy rib, not have I had the meat fall off the bones. But, I know several folks here who have tried my method and they did not like the results.

I also started as a "purist". Then I came to my senses!! LOL Not really. Besides, if you are really a purist, you would cook in a hole in the ground with real wood, not charcoal.

I DID decide that I was going to serve the best rib possible....no matter what method. That led me to foiling and my ribs got much better and I have won many more ribbons in contests.

So, experiment and see what you get!

Good Luck!
 
Hi Mark!

By all means, do some experimenting if you like, that's what it's all about, but if you're aiming for more tenderness, I'm not sure if marinating is the way to get you there.

If you're happy with everything else about them, I'd get rid of the meat thermometer and just start increasing your cook time in 1/2 hour increments until you get the texture the way you like it. The WSM is a fairly consistent unit and once you've determined the cook time, it should be relatively close every time.

Personally, I like a dome temp of 250 for 6 hours. That's what works for me, but everybody's different. A stick burning fanatic friend of mine follows an 8 1/2 program for his ribs.
 
This is an interesting topic, and I've wondered about it myself. Could anyone give some feedback on what types of marinade they have used in the past?
 
Hi Pat!

I will post several of them over at the RECIPES section. Many teams on the MIM circuit marinate their ribs and these recipes are adaptations of those.

You will notice that the key ingredients in the marinades are the rubs and sauces you will be using to prepare your ribs. Gives them a much deeper flavor that will NOT conflict with your rub and sauce.
 
FWIW, a local guy who recently won a competition in Lakeland marinates over night, rubs, then foils for the first 3/4 of total cooking time. Unfoils and the last 1/4 of cooking time. I've never tried it myself.
 
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