Ribs - do you prefer using foil or none?


 
T Waite said:
Done both. If you foil, use 3-2-1. 3 hours in smoke, 2 in foil, 1 more in the cooker no foil or smoke. If you're saucing do it in the last half hour or so.

I've found they turn out just as well without, and doubt I'll ever use foil again for ribs. I do use a water pan.
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Do you use water in the pan?


Edison W said:
THIS!!! I find myself cooking them without foil for myself, but with foil when cooking for a crowd. As I'm sure that most will agree with, my guests seem to go crazy for "fall off the bone" ribs, damn near bordering on mush. I don't prefer them that way, but you gotta give the people what they want:).
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I almost forgot, that I should be thinking about the people I'm cooking for also!

T Waite said:
I've experienced that. Guests love 'fall off the bone'. So ill-informed!
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I thought I did too, but after some tests in the oven, I felt they were way too mushy.. I don't know how everyone thought "fall off the bone" was the epitome of good meat


Thanks all, I think I'll try the comparison test, since I think Costco packs at least two racks in each cryovac.
 
I've smoked some really good ribs wrapping. I never wrap them very long tho. Usually 30-45 minutes. I finish them unwrapped.
 
This thread is the epitome of:

"There ain't no wrong, just whatever works for you!"

I have smoked with sticks, charcoal, electric, and currently gas. I have found that not only are fuels different, but smokers of the same type vary as well. Do some experimenting and decide what works best. The guy who recommended trying both was dead on.
 
Alfred Y said:
I almost forgot, that I should be thinking about the people I'm cooking for also!
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Absolutely. When cooking for someone else the definition of success is giving them what they enjoy. If that means their ribeye is (God forbid!) well-done, then that's what a good cook delivers.
 
When you freeze uncooked meat, the ice crystals that form from the water in the blood pierce cell walls. The moisture loss can cost you. So I try to avoid buying in volume.
 
JLHillman said:
I learned to just cook them without foil, spares not baby backs. Baby backs are a waste of money. Choosing your spares is critical, you want to take a bend test if you can in the package. When I was doing them I bought them at Sam's three to a cryovac. I just made sure I bought anything close to 12# for three racks. That meant I would get two descent racks and one from an old sow.
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I don't know about baby backs being a waste of money, bb's I get are plenty meaty more so than spares, sure if you buy full racks of spares you get the rib tips if you trim for st louis.
 
Jeffery Link said:
I don't know about baby backs being a waste of money, bb's I get are plenty meaty more so than spares, sure if you buy full racks of spares you get the rib tips if you trim for st louis.
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I'm with you on this, never did get the "spares have more meat than baby backs" statements.
They're different, but I love 'em both.
I've had some meaty spares, but this is what I get with most all slabs of bb's, small bones and lots of meat.

IMGP3004.JPG
 
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I agree Bob. BB's are like any other meat you purchase, you need to be selective. I find them a bit leaner but good quality BB's are great. I love them both.
 
Bob Correll said:
I'm with you on this, never did get the "spares have more meat than baby backs" statements.
They're different, but I love 'em both.
I've had some meaty spares, but this is what I get with most all slabs of bb's, small bones and lots of meat.

IMGP3004.JPG
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That, my friend, is a work of art!
 
I guess my post didn't make it. Our BB's are cut as thin as can be, I 'd grill them, they are that thin. Smoking them can be done but I don't see the point, that thin.
 
I smoke ribs (babybacks are the #1 choice by a wide margin) until they are the desired color, wrap them in foil and continue cooking (check them every 1/2 hour) until they are the desired tenderness.
There's no single right way to do it, cook for yourself and your family/guests.
Don't worry about anyone here being critical.
There's nothing wrong if you like your ribs to fall off the bones.
I recommend leaving off the sauce and simply serving rubbed and smoked ribs. Ribs don't need to be sticky sweet to taste good.
 
Thanks for all of the replies guys. I went ahead and tried both, and although I have a ton of notes for myself, here is a very quick summary:

I did a 3-1-.5, and I don't think a 1 hour foil was long enough. The ribs were marginally tender than the one that I didn't foil.
For both ribs, I would say the ribs tasted anywhere from leathery to tender--it was never a consistent bite. The competition rib portion I would rate a 7.5 or 8 tenderness.

If anyone was wondering why I did 3 hrs for the bark-setting pass, was because it didn't completely set @ 2.25 hrs @ ~230 degrees.
I had an extremely difficult time to keep temps stable. This was due to a number of factors beyond my control (wind, etc).
I realized I should have done it @ 275 degrees like many other instructions have noted to set the bark under 2 hours and foil it afterwards.

I have one more rack to play with this week.

Thank you all for your input!
 
I've done both. I love the no foil, candified bark I get. However, the best ribs I've ever made were foiled. What I have found is that I can get great bark in foil if I don't drown them in liquid. I know Kevin Kruger used to recommend only two or three tablespoons of moisture. Since I started doing that, my bark has held up really well. It's the difference in braising and not steaming.

Also, I check for doneness without opening the foil. I don't poke all the way through because I don't want to lose liquid, but the small pin holes aren't enough to cause an issue. They cook just fine. The wife prefers no foil and so I go back and forth, chasing the Moby Dick of ribs.
 
I'm too lazy for foiling. I just spray with apple juice every 30 minutes until they're done. If I'm using both racks in my 18.5, I usually rotate them top-to-bottom after about 2 hours and they usually take about 4-5 hours total.
 
Alfred, my experience went throught
Foil
Nothing
Butcher paper

The winner is......
For taste and consistency and bark: butcher paper
For appearence: foil.
Im going back to foil to get a lighter mahogany/ reddiah color. Worst bark but juicer and great color.
 
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