Let's Talk BBQ
Tips, Tricks & Just Good Advice! => Burn it in the Back Yard with Hub! => Topic started by: Hub on September 06, 2016, 08:15:54 AM
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ONE HOUR RIBS?
Now, I’m a rib purist. A rib snob. When I do ribs for competition I’m totally focused on beauty, perfect bite and balanced flavor. Even when I do them “friends and family” style I’m still aiming at the same goals, just not quite as precisely or with the same intensity. Not including prep time, my ribs need at least four hours and on up to five depending on size – I cook to temperature. Hard work. Tiring. Stressful. Expensive – costly rubs, sauces, supplies, and equipment specialized to the task.
Watching one of those silly rigged-up cooking shows where the cooks can trick each other with handicaps and buy advantage by decreasing their prize money, I had an idea the other day. What if all I had was just the very, very basics and not much time? Could I still do a rib that would be edible? I don’t mean just “hot and fast” I mean the fastest way possible with no sophisticated ingredients or expensive cookers or complex methodologies. Could I make something I wouldn’t wind up donating to the dog bowl? Here’s the challenge I gave myself:
1. Grocery store ribs. Aged in brine in Cryovac. Probably butchered and frozen a year ago.
2. No rub. Just salt and pepper.
3. Commercial sauce – no custom blend or hard work home-made.
4. Gas grill only. No smoker. No smoke chips or chunks. Simplicity.
5. One hour maximum cook time.
There are lots of recipes and approaches on the Internet for “Hot and Fast Ribs” and some of them sound plausible but none of them are really fast, taking two to three hours, usually. I’m thinking “spur of the moment” ribs, cooked while gabbing with a buddy over a beer. Not much work. Edible, tasty and satisfying but with no unrealistic expectations. Possible? Here goes . . .
(http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff365/ghubbell/New%202016/Quick%20ribs%201_zps7uuzl5lr.jpg) (http://s1232.photobucket.com/user/ghubbell/media/New%202016/Quick%20ribs%201_zps7uuzl5lr.jpg.html)
Skinning ribs is a pain, so I didn’t do it. In fact, I hardly trimmed anything at all. I cut off some dangling bits and pieces and left it at that. I didn’t use a lot of the salt and pepper, either. Just a light sprinkling of kosher salt and a few easy grinds from my pepper mill. The “finished” rack looks like, well, ribs. Nothing fancy. There was one major problem I couldn't see though . . . more about that later.
(http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff365/ghubbell/New%202016/quick%20ribs%202_zpsghmkuxqu.jpg) (http://s1232.photobucket.com/user/ghubbell/media/New%202016/quick%20ribs%202_zpsghmkuxqu.jpg.html)
While I was prepping I fired up the little Weber gasser to full blast, timing getting the ribs on the racks with some sizzle to them. The hood ornament thermometer read about 550 degrees when I first loaded up. After the ribs went on I turned the gas down to half, seeking sort of a first “sear” but planning to cook for the full hour to maximize tenderness. I watched the temperature pretty closely, taking the full hour but cooking way down on low for the last 25 minutes of it so I wouldn’t get any char or too much dryness. When the ribs were “done” by my self-imposed time method I pulled them off and sauced them very moderately, letting the residual heat set the sauce. This worked well for eliminating char and added some needed color. The rack shrunk a bit as you can see, but it looked appetizing enough.
(http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff365/ghubbell/New%202016/quick%20ribs%203_zpsws9whn2v.jpg) (http://s1232.photobucket.com/user/ghubbell/media/New%202016/quick%20ribs%203_zpsws9whn2v.jpg.html)
(http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff365/ghubbell/New%202016/quick%20ribs%204_zpsjzw7ukr7.jpg) (http://s1232.photobucket.com/user/ghubbell/media/New%202016/quick%20ribs%204_zpsjzw7ukr7.jpg.html)
Results: I’ve had lots worse. These had no smoke, of course, but they did have the inherent pork meaty flavor, a little sizzle flavor (I know the Grill Grates helped with that) and I could taste a little effect from the salt and pepper “rub” before the cook. My saucing was a little heavy – but still not too much to overpower everything else. The texture? Sort of “toughish” but not a bad chew considering I did nothing to promote tenderness.
The biggest problem turned out to be the ribs themselves. Although they were a name brand, they were cut "funny" and had a hard ridge running laterally about halfway through the rack. My guess is the machine that trimmed them wasn't set properly and cut the rack as half St. Louis and half baby backs, leaving the transition cartilage in place (hard work to cut through it).
Afterthoughts . . . I have a few. Mainly, I want to try this cook again with pretty much the same limitations but with better ribs. While they certainly didn't have competition "bite" they were tender enough not to insult one's molars. When I figure out what I'm going to do next, I'll post it as an add on to this.
Hub
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They look good to me. I often do quick ribs on the SRG due to time constraints, it will do 1 rack cut in half on the grill top. I start with the rack bone side down to get some good heat into the bones so they aid in cooking when i flip to the meat side. I get a mild smokiness using the side pellet box. Of course being in Texas I use a no sugar rub with no sauce but I'm sure I could sauce after like you did with success.
(http://i1331.photobucket.com/albums/w599/Robert_Shulter/IMG_20141213_190328_zps89575f32.jpg) (http://s1331.photobucket.com/user/Robert_Shulter/media/IMG_20141213_190328_zps89575f32.jpg.html)
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Those do look good Hub. I think the next set will be much better, you will learn to cheat them
My SRG/Big Easy ribs take around 1 hr 10 min's or so and they are ok not great but not to shabby either ;)
(http://i624.photobucket.com/albums/tt326/TMBs/ribs3.jpg) (http://s624.photobucket.com/user/TMBs/media/ribs3.jpg.html)
(http://i624.photobucket.com/albums/tt326/TMBs/ribs4.jpg) (http://s624.photobucket.com/user/TMBs/media/ribs4.jpg.html)
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Good looking ribs. Patent pending Tendarub makes fall off the bone ribs in one hour :P
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A good experiment Hub!!! Not sure I want to try it though :) Don
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Thanks for posting this "experiment".
It will save me a rack of ribs in the future.
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IF.....ribs were Cryovac'ed with TendaRub they would be ready before you opened the package! :D
That would be FAST Ribs! :D :P
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IF.....ribs were Cryovac'ed with TendaRub they would be ready before you opened the package! :D
That would be FAST Ribs! :D :P
Oops! Forgot all about good ol' magic TendaRub ::). Maybe all you have to do is rub it on the side of the pig ;D
Hub
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Hub thanks for doing this. They look good to me
This one I would like to try soon tailgating or at home. It takes just a little over two hours on a gasser.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AEI1oJlIf0
&
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88aS789DTWc
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they all looked great!
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Nicely done, my friend. We will have to discuss the merits (or demerits) of one hour ribs over lunch one of these days.
Art
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Pit Boys have a real nice two hour rib video.
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Pit Boys have a real nice two hour rib video.
well now we have one hour rib, two hour ribs & four hour ribs....I guess we rest during the third hour ;) ;D ;D ;D ;D
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IF.....ribs were Cryovac'ed with TendaRub they would be ready before you opened the package! :D
That would be FAST Ribs! :D :P
Oops! Forgot all about good ol' magic TendaRub ::). Maybe all you have to do is rub it on the side of the pig ;D
Hub
Smoke loves TendaRub :P
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Pit Boys have a real nice two hour rib video.
I have the BBQ Pit Boys 2 hour ribs on the Weber and they turn out pretty good.
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These are a couple of slabs of spare ribs cooked 70 minutes in my Orion Stainless Steel smoker.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v230/OldDave/S6EDSC00203.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v230/OldDave/S6EDSC00205.jpg)
They came out pretty good and were quite tasty.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v230/OldDave/S6EDSC00196.jpg)
This is the cooker early into the cook. This cooker will run 6 slabs at a time and they take 75 minutes top get done.
These ribs were a little different and you can read more about them on my web page:
http://olddavespo-farm.blogspot.com/search/label/Orion%20Cooker%20%2F%2070%20Minute%20Spare%20Ribs
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I am not a fan of Smithfield's, I don't know what about it I don't like but they never seem to come out right. I have done them side by side with ribs from my butcher, or from Hatfield Meats (PA) and the Smithfield ribs always have some sort of issue with them. I only buy them if it's a Sunday morning and the the wife wants ribs, or if I see them mis-marked and they are dirt cheap ( I found 3 packs all marked 1 lb or less for a full rack of St. Louis style)
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Thanks Hub. Might have to give that try, circling them around a cranked up Vortex.
BD
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Really. You off all ppl should know better my friend. Lol.....