Spare Ribs in 30 Minutes


 
J

Joe L

TVWBB Member
I've been barbecuing for almost 8 months, and I find that there is much to learn and much that I don't yet know. I started with the Weber kettle grill and got a WSM a little over one week ago.

My favorite Q is ribs. I started barbecuing spare ribs and baby backs using recipes from Steve Raichlen's books that called for cooking times of around 1-1/2 hours at medium-hot temperatures (350 or so). I then discovered low and slow BBQ recipes that took around 5 hours at 225-250. Low and slow produced great falling off the bone ribs.

Recently, I've been trying ribs at local BBQ restaurants to see how mine compare. I've discovered that most of the local BBQ restaurants only do spare ribs, don't trim them at all and don't use rubs. As I was leaving one of the local BBQ restaurants, I asked how long they cooked their ribs. The answer was "around 30 minutes", which I just couldn't believe. The ribs I had eaten at that restaurant had been falling off the bone, and I couldn't see how that could have been achieved in only 30 minutes.

However, today I was watching an episode of BBQ American which showed a clip from the famous Dreamland BBQ restaurant in Tuscaloosa, AL. The Dreamland pitmaster stated that he used to think that good ribs required 4 to 5 hours of Q'ing, but he had come to discover that one can get just as rood ribs in 30 minutes to one hour.

Does anyone know what places like Dreamland are doing to achieve falling off the bone ribs in just 30 minutes? How is that possible?

Best,

Joe
 
Well, let me rephrase my question, the "falling off the bone" part is subjective and not important to the question.

How do places like Dreamland achieve done ribs in just 30 minutes?
 
No, no boiling at Dreamland. They are grilled direct. They take more like 45 min to cook and are not fall-off-the-bone. (If you're lucky they'll be pull-off-the-bone but it's hit or miss.) Reheating ribs can get them to the FOTB state but that's not an easy thing to do if grilling direct. It can happen with ample basting though.

FOTB is not my thing either--that's overcooked to me--but I realize some, quite possibly many, like that sort of finish. That said, I'd rate Dreamland's ribs maybe a 3 on a scale of 10, slightly lower than I'd rate the ribs at Rendezvous, another grilled rib place.

I cook spares around 270 at the grate; babybacks around 325. I foil after the ribs are deeply colored, cook till tender, then unfoil. Occasionally I glaze with a very thin glaze. i don't sauce. The glaze sets in just a few minutes back on the grill and the ribs are done. Were I to want FOTB I'd simply keep them in foil longer--past the point where the ribs first hit tender. Additional cooking time after this point--especially in the presence of added moisture--will move the ribs into the FOTB category.

Welcome to the board, Joe.
 
Thanks for the info, Kevin.

It appears that a lot of the BBQ restaurants grill direct with no rub. Guess that's why I've found the spares in those restaurants to be mediocre at best.

After doing an Internet search, I believe that style of cooking ribs is referred to as "southern-style" or "Alabama-style". They grill them over high heat, turn them frequently and mop a lot. Then, they rely on barbecue sauce to give them some flavor.

BTW, what's your average cooking time for spares and babybacks at those temperatures?
 
Originally posted by rich langer:
Why would one want "falling off the bone" that is OVERCOOKED ribs?
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Rich,

Your comment started me thinking about whether I know what a good rib really is.
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Many people I know have told me that they like ribs that are "falling off the bone", but that's not very specific.

I do know that the ribs I've been Q'ing are better to me than those at the local rib restaurants I've been to, but that doesn't mean that I really know what a great rib would be like.

Can you (or anybody) describe what a great rib would be like, or can you refer me to a post or web page that does that - pictures would be nice.
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Joe
 
I think most people prefer falling off the bone because the only other experience they've had was a tough and chewy rib. I bet the majority of people that have never exeperienced a properly smoked rib have no idea that a rib could even be cooked to a tender stage.

When I first started smoking ribs I had never even seen a smoker before. My first few cooks were exciting and the bones actually fell out of a few of the baby back slabs. I thought they were wonderful! Then I started cooking ribs so there was a slight tug before they came clean off the bone. I liked this even more. Next came spares and I knew I had found heaven!!!

What it comes down to is people not knowing any better. Introduce people to a proper rib and I think it's pretty easy to set them straight. Problem is most people have never had the incredible opportunity to eat a perfectly cooked rib.
 
Russ I agree... but... Everybody has their own idea of what 'great' is. I guess thats why I do so much of my own cooking, so that I can have it 'my way'... plus I love too eat!
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The way I like my ribs may or may not be the way everybody else likes em... but what the hell if I like em whats the difference?

Just my 2 cents...
 
Originally posted by Joe L:
It appears that a lot of the BBQ restaurants grill direct with no rub. Guess that's why I've found the spares in those restaurants to be mediocre at best.
Click to expand...
Me too. And I don't care for the no- or next-to-no -rub, slow-cooked ribs either (nor butt, nor brisket...).

]After doing an Internet search, I believe that style of cooking ribs is referred to as "southern-style" or "Alabama-style".
Click to expand...
I've seen that on the Net as well but never heard them referred to that way. Maybe because many in Alabam do not use that approach and because the vast majority in the South don't either.

BTW, what's your average cooking time for spares and babybacks at those temperatures?
Click to expand...
~4.5-5.5 hours for spares (depending how picky I am at targeting a temp), and 2.5-2.75 for backs.
 
No, no boiling at Dreamland. They are grilled direct. They take more like 45 min to cook and are not fall-off-the-bone. (If you're lucky they'll be pull-off-the-bone but it's hit or miss.)
Click to expand...

I agree with Kevin on this...I talked to one of the cooks at Dreamland's here in Huntsville and they cook their ribs at high heat for about 45 minutes. I've only been there once (with Mr. Jim Minion!!) where I thought they were excellent in terms of tenderness. Don't know about the one in Tuscaloosa though...want to try that one.

Joe, you are correct. Most of the BBQ joints around here seem to put no rub or sauce on their ribs and I have not liked them. An exception to this is Big Bob Gibson's over in Decatur. If that's "southern-style" or "Alabama style" that a new phrase to me.

To achieve the tenderness, could they not just wrap them in foil for the entire cook?
 
There are at least two BBQ places that I know of that steam ribs, wrap, cool completely, and then recook on the grill for 15-20 minutes. If you're talking raw ribs to decent cooked ribs in 30 minutes, wow...don't know what to say to that.
 
Hey...

I use the EZ Q's roti racks and frequently do Susan Z's plain ribs (herb de provance)...

Even rubbed 'em once & were mighty tasty.

Cooking time is 45 min's to one hour - never more.
 
Originally posted by Joe L:
I've been barbecuing for almost 8 months, and I find that there is much to learn and much that I don't yet know. I started with the Weber kettle grill and got a WSM a little over one week ago.

My favorite Q is ribs. I started barbecuing spare ribs and baby backs using recipes from Steve Raichlen's books that called for cooking times of around 1-1/2 hours at medium-hot temperatures (350 or so). I then discovered low and slow BBQ recipes that took around 5 hours at 225-250. Low and slow produced great falling off the bone ribs.

Recently, I've been trying ribs at local BBQ restaurants to see how mine compare. I've discovered that most of the local BBQ restaurants only do spare ribs, don't trim them at all and don't use rubs. As I was leaving one of the local BBQ restaurants, I asked how long they cooked their ribs. The answer was "around 30 minutes", which I just couldn't believe. The ribs I had eaten at that restaurant had been falling off the bone, and I couldn't see how that could have been achieved in only 30 minutes.

However, today I was watching an episode of BBQ American which showed a clip from the famous Dreamland BBQ restaurant in Tuscaloosa, AL. The Dreamland pitmaster stated that he used to think that good ribs required 4 to 5 hours of Q'ing, but he had come to discover that one can get just as rood ribs in 30 minutes to one hour.

Does anyone know what places like Dreamland are doing to achieve falling off the bone ribs in just 30 minutes? How is that possible?

Best,

Joe
Click to expand...

Dreamland does cook their slabs over direct heat for about 45 minutes. I sat in there and watched them cook one night and semi timed them from start to finish. Also they only season with salt from what I could tell. Then they baste with sauce near the end.
 
Originally posted by Mark Etheridge:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">No, no boiling at Dreamland. They are grilled direct. They take more like 45 min to cook and are not fall-off-the-bone. (If you're lucky they'll be pull-off-the-bone but it's hit or miss.)
Click to expand...

I agree with Kevin on this...I talked to one of the cooks at Dreamland's here in Huntsville and they cook their ribs at high heat for about 45 minutes. I've only been there once (with Mr. Jim Minion!!) where I thought they were excellent in terms of tenderness. Don't know about the one in Tuscaloosa though...want to try that one.

Joe, you are correct. Most of the BBQ joints around here seem to put no rub or sauce on their ribs and I have not liked them. An exception to this is Big Bob Gibson's over in Decatur. If that's "southern-style" or "Alabama style" that a new phrase to me.

To achieve the tenderness, could they not just wrap them in foil for the entire cook? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I don't like fall from the bone ribs. I like to be able to bite into a rib and only take the portion that I bite away from the bone. When they are on their game, Dreamland's ribs are this way. However, it is feast or famine quality wise, especially at their Birmingham location. Their sauce rocks though.
 
Originally posted by S. Newman:
I don't like fall from the bone ribs. I like to be able to bite into a rib and only take the portion that I bite away from the bone. Their sauce rocks though.
Click to expand...
Yes and Yes. Never been to Dreamland but I have bought their sauce off the net. While this is a very different BBQ sauce, and very unique, it is quite good in my book. So yes I agree with you their sauce does rock.
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