Let's Talk BBQ

FORUM SPONSORS => Pit Barrel Cooker Co. => Topic started by: Paul Hart on February 25, 2015, 04:54:29 PM

Title: So I screwed up and got the wrong ribs, need advice...
Post by: Paul Hart on February 25, 2015, 04:54:29 PM
This morning after work I stopped to see what was on sale because it's a bit warmer today. I Got a rack of St Louis style which I salted and put Memphis dust on this morning. I also picked up a rack of beef back ribs because I don't think I've ever tried beef ribs and everyone loves them. When I got home I read that beef back ribs are actually tough, unlike pork ribs which are tender. They were only $8. So my question is, do I assault them with PBC beef and game and hang em up, or should I take them back. I don't want to make the trip really but I will. If I throw them in the barrel (about 1/2 hour from now) how long do you guys expect them to take?
I've only ever done baby backs, So St Louis is new to me as well.
Thanks.
Title: Re: So I screwed up and got the wrong ribs, need advice...
Post by: tlg4942 on February 25, 2015, 05:15:32 PM
  Don't take them back .Beef ribs are worth trying for sure.
 I'm not sure about the PBC way to cook them, but low and slow is typically good.   
 On the grill,  I cook them slow a while and then wrap them to finish. About the same time frame same a pork.   
  I'm sure someone will give better input soon regarding PBC....
Title: Re: So I screwed up and got the wrong ribs, need advice...
Post by: Paul Hart on February 25, 2015, 05:26:40 PM
Thanks. Barrel is almost ready, I'm still debating!
Title: Re: So I screwed up and got the wrong ribs, need advice...
Post by: smokeasaurus on February 25, 2015, 05:34:01 PM
Hey Paul, I put this on Facebook,

use the cooking grate......do the ribs for 4 hours......take em off and foil em.....add a little coke or dr pepper to em......put em back on for 1-2 hours....let em rest in the foil for 30 minutes.......do this and you won't need to floss after supper  :) :)
Title: Re: So I screwed up and got the wrong ribs, need advice...
Post by: tlg4942 on February 25, 2015, 05:47:16 PM
Hey Paul, I put this on Facebook,

use the cooking grate......do the ribs for 4 hours......take em off and foil em.....add a little coke or dr pepper to em......put em back on for 1-2 hours....let em rest in the foil for 30 minutes.......do this and you won't need to floss after supper  :) :)
And this sounds like a sure winner for the beef ribs!  Once you've had them you'll be glad you did.
Title: Re: So I screwed up and got the wrong ribs, need advice...
Post by: Paul Hart on February 25, 2015, 05:56:11 PM
They're already hanging! I dropped the St Louis onto the coals switching rebar, so pissed! Took me at least 90 secs to rescue. I think they're ok. Lost some rub for sure.
Why use the grate? Am I at risk of them falling off before they're ready?
Title: Re: So I screwed up and got the wrong ribs, need advice...
Post by: smokeasaurus on February 25, 2015, 06:10:48 PM
Beef ribs are more bone than meat..not enough to hold the hooks later into the cook. The grate is in the sweet spot where the meat would be if hanging so you wont be losing any flavor................
Title: Re: So I screwed up and got the wrong ribs, need advice...
Post by: Paul Hart on February 25, 2015, 06:15:04 PM
Think I should grate them immediately or go ahead and let them hang for a bit?
Title: Re: So I screwed up and got the wrong ribs, need advice...
Post by: smokeasaurus on February 25, 2015, 06:18:09 PM
Your cook will last too long if you keep popping the lid to see if your ribs are still hanging. Go ahead and grate em and pop a top and enjoy your cook  :) :)
Title: Re: So I screwed up and got the wrong ribs, need advice...
Post by: Paul Hart on February 25, 2015, 06:27:39 PM
I just grated them. The St Louis barely fit. They're touching both sides of the barrel. The beef ribs were twisting, kind of like a DNA strand Model.
Title: Re: So I screwed up and got the wrong ribs, need advice...
Post by: smokeasaurus on February 25, 2015, 06:32:33 PM
I hate to cut ribs (one of the reasons I like big Pits) but it doesn't hurt to run a knife down the middle of em sometimes...............
Title: Re: So I screwed up and got the wrong ribs, need advice...
Post by: Paul Hart on February 25, 2015, 06:39:14 PM
I considered it before I hung them, but decided to leave them. Nothing Looks better than a nice full rack lol. Stupid, I know. But sight is half the flavor. ;)
Title: Re: So I screwed up and got the wrong ribs, need advice...
Post by: Paul Hart on February 25, 2015, 06:54:44 PM
So what is Cedar Pines Park, Ca., like? How are the winters? Currently searching for a place to retire or semi-retire to. Ky winters are on my nerves. As is Ky in general. I love California but I can't stand their government and law makers most of the time. They still trying to rain hell on gun owners there?
Title: Re: So I screwed up and got the wrong ribs, need advice...
Post by: smokeasaurus on February 25, 2015, 07:45:02 PM
So what is Cedar Pines Park, Ca., like? How are the winters? Currently searching for a place to retire or semi-retire to. Ky winters are on my nerves. As is Ky in general. I love California but I can't stand their government and law makers most of the time. They still trying to rain hell on gun owners there?

Cedarpines Park is a area in Crestline. We are in the NorthWest corner and we overlook SilverWood Lake and Hesperia. We have only had two snows this winter. In the summer when it is 105 degrees down below we are in the 80's. We are at  5300 feet in elevation. Crestline is 3 miles long by 3 miles wide with a population of 10,000. We have Lake Gregory close by and we have a real sense of small town.

We were on our way to the south until we discovered this little gem of a place in Southern California. We got a split level, 2000 square foot house for 140,000. You drive 18 miles down the hill into San Bernardino and a comparable house would be well over 400,000 clams

http://www.cityofcrestline.com/
The way I describe it is: We live in a forest, by a lake, on a mountain.
Title: Re: So I screwed up and got the wrong ribs, need advice...
Post by: TentHunteR on February 25, 2015, 08:28:06 PM
... When I got home I read that beef back ribs are actually tough, unlike pork ribs which are tender.

I'm not sure where you read that, but think about it this way:  Would you call a Prime Rib roast tough?  Neither would I. 

Beef Back ribs are cut off of the Prime and Second cut rib roasts, and provided you get that super thick, tough membrane off, they are great. Just like pork ribs they require enough cooking time to make them tender.  It may require a little longer to render the fat off, but they can turn out very tender and succulent.   Like terry said, they are worth trying!

Given my choice, I'll pick beef ribs over pork ribs any day of the week.




Beef ribs are more bone than meat.

Yep, the cryovacced beef ribs you get now-a-days are a sad sight to even look at, let alone cook.  The major packers are trimming them so closely, to leave as much meat attached to the higher priced rib roasts, that it leaves very little meat on the ribs. 

Every now and then my butcher will have really nice meaty beef ribs like I used to get all the time.

I posted this in another thread: When I get a standing rib roast, I like to ask the butcher to saw off the chine bone, then when I get home I'll cut the ribs off myself and stick them in the freezer.  That way I can control how much meat is on them. ;)
Title: Re: So I screwed up and got the wrong ribs, need advice...
Post by: Paul Hart on February 25, 2015, 08:39:58 PM
I read that on amazing ribs this morning under the beef ribs section. They said to leave the membrane ON for beef ribs because it holds them together. So I did. Am I screwed again? Lol. I can't win.
What should I do?
Title: Re: So I screwed up and got the wrong ribs, need advice...
Post by: Paul Hart on February 25, 2015, 08:43:23 PM
I dunno man, I obviously have no experience with beef ribs. Mine Prob don't have any meat one them. I'll go out there to take them off and it'll just be a bunch of evenly spaced bones with nothing between them. Lol. I'll just make some stock out of them or Something.
Well, I'm crossing my fingers. I'm assuming there's no getting the membrane off after the fact.
Title: Re: So I screwed up and got the wrong ribs, need advice...
Post by: Paul Hart on February 25, 2015, 09:37:23 PM
They were pretty tasty. A bit too salty, but I know better next time. PBC does something to beef that's similar across all the various cuts I've tried. I'm about 15 min from 4 hours on the St Louis. I gave them a layer of sauce about 15 min ago.
Beef ribs look very Fred Flintstone like.
(http://i1297.photobucket.com/albums/ag30/Paul_Hart/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsnyjznjfq.jpg) (http://s1297.photobucket.com/user/Paul_Hart/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsnyjznjfq.jpg.html)
Title: Re: So I screwed up and got the wrong ribs, need advice...
Post by: smokeasaurus on February 25, 2015, 09:47:04 PM
Those beef ribs look good. I usually will cook them like pork spareribs. I never take the membrane off of beef ribs...mostly cause it is hard to do so I leave it on.
Title: Re: So I screwed up and got the wrong ribs, need advice...
Post by: TentHunteR on February 25, 2015, 11:38:09 PM
Amazing ribs gets a lot of stuff right, but beef ribs is one place where I think they miss the mark a little. Just my opinion, and you know what they say about that!  ::)


I do have to agree with Smoke that the membrane on beef ribs can be VERY hard to get off.  And thinking upon the fact that you're hanging it in your pit barrel it may be best that you left it on.

For a regular grill/smoker unless the meat on beef ribs are really thin, I try to get as much of it off as I can it off.   If the ribs are too thin to get the membrane off without tearing them up, then I will at least score it or it can tighten up like the silver skin on a tenderloin making the meat seem tougher.


Title: Re: So I screwed up and got the wrong ribs, need advice...
Post by: Las Vegan Cajun on February 26, 2015, 02:22:03 AM
Do you think a coating of TendaRub on beef ribs would be the way to go?  Might be another challenge for Smoochy. :P
Title: Re: So I screwed up and got the wrong ribs, need advice...
Post by: muebe on February 26, 2015, 07:52:27 AM
Those beef ribs look good!

You get a lot of pull away from the bone like that when they are done.
Title: Re: So I screwed up and got the wrong ribs, need advice...
Post by: 1Bigg_ER on February 26, 2015, 04:45:24 PM
There's no such thing as "wrong ribs". Those make great nibbles while partaking in adult beverages.
Title: Re: So I screwed up and got the wrong ribs, need advice...
Post by: tlg4942 on February 26, 2015, 05:44:19 PM
Those ribs look great... I think you are too hard on yourself .   You have to try things to know for sure and improve.
 So next time ease up on the salt a little...
 I follow what tent said with the skin. If it is to much trouble to remove , score it. 
Title: Re: So I screwed up and got the wrong ribs, need advice...
Post by: TMB on February 26, 2015, 05:50:38 PM
There's no such thing as "wrong ribs". Those make great nibbles while partaking in adult beverages.
I agree!  Well skip the adult beverage  ;)

They do look good
Title: Re: So I screwed up and got the wrong ribs, need advice...
Post by: smokeasaurus on February 26, 2015, 08:35:53 PM
Do you think a coating of TendaRub on beef ribs would be the way to go?  Might be another challenge for Smoochy. :P

Since Tendarub has a fairly neutral flavor, I might try it for "meat glue" to hold my rub in place. I will run this by the smooch and see if he is down for it  8)