Need Help With St. Louis Style Ribs


 
Rusty James

Rusty James

TVWBB Emerald Member
Hi all,

Purchased a rack of ribs yesterday, and I am wondering if I need to remove the thin membrane on the back side of the ribs before smoking. I am going to use a Nick Stellino coffee rub that tasted great on steaks.

I've never done ribs before, so I need to get things right before I start. These will be done on an 18" WSM.

By the way, do I need to wrap the ribs at some point?
 
Rusty James said:
Remove the membrane?

Wrap the ribs at some point? (with butcher paper or tin foil?)
Click to expand...

The way I was taught, yes remove the membrane.

Wrap after the bark has set, typically 2.5- 3 hours give or take, I use foil to wrap at this point in time.
 
1. I remove the membrane from the bone side.
2. Coffee rub on ribs? Might be good, might not. Pork is not Beef.
3. I wrap with foil somewhere around the 2.5 hr mark as well. I add some hard cider to the foil packets at that time as well. Foil for about 1.5-2 hrs. Then finish open, with sauce. But that's me.
 
Go to the COOKING TOPICS section of this site. It has several techniques for spare ribs and well as pretty much anything else you would want to cook on the WSM.

http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/cook.html

I prefer the 3-2-1 method, but many do not wrap. I think it is more tender, but it's a personal decision.

The smoking technique is the same, you would just substitute the rub you prefer rather than what is in the instructions.
 
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Andrew F said:
1. I remove the membrane from the bone side.
2. Coffee rub on ribs? Might be good, might not. Pork is not Beef.
Click to expand...


True, but I tried it on pork butt steaks, and dang it was pretty good in my opinion. I even poured the juices on rice. :)

Not sure about ribs though, but I will give it a try.

Coffee Rub:
1) T espresso
1) T black pepper
1) T salt
1) T brown sugar
1) T paprika
1) T onion powder
1) T chili powder

Leave the rub on at least 45 minutes to 4 hours in the fridge. Be sure to press the rub into the meat first.

These instructions are for steaks - not sure about leaving the dusted ribs in the fridge just yet.
 
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Some of my best St Louis's were done last weekend and I didn't wrap. ( but always remove the membrane )
MM started out slow and let it rise to 275ish, took about 4 -4 1/2 hrs and I lightly sauced them at the end.
Cooked two racks along with the trimmings in a rib rack on the 18.5" WSM
Tim
 
Rusty... personally, I prefer Tenderness over Doneness.
As we say... cook through Doneness to Tenderness.
Tenderness can not be determined by temperature.
Use either the probe technique or the bend technique to determine Doneness.

ADDED: Last word should have been... Tenderness
 
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Bob Bass said:
Use either the probe technique or the bend technique to determine Doneness.
Click to expand...

I read where one man used a toothpick to probe with, and I read about the bend technique today, so I will try both tomorrow.

Just ate another piece of leftover pork shoulder steak tonight, with rice, and it was sensational. Anyone reading this thread needs to try the coffee rub at least once on beef or pork steaks.
 
Pulled the ribs at four hours after they passed the bend test. I tried to cut the rack into, but the bone fell out on one side. That's a good indication of doneness I reckon.

Just before I pulled them, I basted the ribs with Johnny's Piedmont sauce. Even though I'm not a rib eater, I thought they tasted pretty good, but my wife loved them. Good to get a rack of ribs under my belt for a change. I'll know what to expect next time.

Again, be sure and try Nick's coffee rub sometime soon!
 
Rusty James said:
How did you measure the rib temp, or did you use some other doneness method?
Click to expand...

Sorry I spaced out on this thread. I did the floppy pliable bend test then checked with a probe when I had good pull back on them bones.
Sounds like yours came out great, more to come on your next ones:wsm:

Tim
 
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