Why and when to foil ribs?

[Ed Jones]

I've seen people post on this board several times about foiling ribs. Why do you do this? When do you do this?

Thanks!

 

[Guest]

One reason to foil ribs is to get "falling off the bone" tenderness. Another reason is to speed up the cooking process. Most people foil midway or later in the process, after the meat has attained a smoky flavor. Some call it a "crutch", but I think it gives the meat a different texture than you get without foiling. So, to me it isn't a crutch, it's a tool which produces a different end result.

Steve

 

[Konrad Haskins]

Some folks have won the big events foiling ribs and some have won with the Texas Crutch so named by Paul Kirk.The right answer is experiment and find out what you and or the judges like. Other then foiling or not towards the end of the cook there is also foilless cooking but then saucing, foiling, wrapping in a towel and holding in a small dry warm cooler.

 

[Preston Davenport]

Ed,
Another reason to foil is to keep the ribs from turning real dark and keeping their reddish mahogany color while allowing them to cook further...I never have a problem with tenderness as long as I ensure that the meat temperature of the ribs is 180-185F before I take them off the smoker.

There are pro's and con's of foiling. An alternate method is the Carson method (after the Carson's Restaraunt in Chicago). Do a search on this forum going back a year or so and you will see some posts regarding that.

Regards,

PrestonD

 

[Guest]

Foiling turns bar-b-q'ing into a different technique. Essentially, when you wrap the ribs in foil, you are now braising the ribs -- just like you would braise a pot roast. Braising produces a very soft, moist, fall of the bone texture.

Personally, the only time I foil ribs is when I have a left over slab in the fridge and I want to heat them up in the oven the next day. Foiling might also be a good way to keep ribs hot or "on hold" in a 150 degree oven.

I don't really agree with the idea of using foil to keep the ribs from getting too "smokey". If you need the foil for that, a better solution is probably to use less raw wood and less smoke.

But, there are lots of ways of skinning a cat.

 

[Ed Jones]

Thanks for the replies. I'll be making 10 racks this weekend and I think I'll foil a couple of them to see how that goes. Does it make sense to foil back ribs when they've been rolled?

Thanks!