RIB's

[Phil LaMarche]

Watched a cooking show last night and the chef smoked his ribs with the membrane still attached.  Said it keeps the moisture in.  Removed after cooked.  Came right off. Sparky, others, what do you think?  Phil

[smokeasaurus]

I have done ribs with or without the membrane and no complaints either way. Some say if you leave the membrane on it holds in the juices. Others claim with the membrane removed you can get the rub on that side and it gets the smoke as well.

I think Famous Dave has a neat way of doing ribs:

He scores the membrane with a knife before he seasons them.

After the ribs are smoked he places the ribs on a charcoal grill and the membrane burns right off. He then bastes and flips and they come out real good.

I was gonna do that last Sunday when the ribs came off the Rec Tec but I was fading fast and couldn't do it.

[ACW3]

I have tried both methods.  I lean more toward removing the membrane, since I learned that way while taking Rod Gray's BBQ cooking class several years ago.  Also being a KCBS BBQ judge, I see more ribs without the membrane. 

If you use foil love, you won't dry them out.

Art

[TMB]

If cooking for comps I remove but if cooking around the house I don't because it does fall off when you cut them up and eat them.   

I know how pickey the judges are in comps so I side with what they want 

[mikecorn.1]

Watched a cooking show last night and the chef smoked his ribs with the membrane still attached.  Said it keeps the moisture in.  Removed after cooked.  Came right off. Sparky, others, what do you think?  Phil

I saw the same thing. I take it off just because its what I've always done.


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[Hub]

For whatever small amount of moisture you might lose, leaving the membrane on eliminates smoke, rub and sauce penetration from one side of the rack.  I skin 'em and I haven't had a dry rib in years.  One exception I make is for beef ribs.  The membrane on them is often tough and hard to get off.  So, if I can't get it off easily I don't worry about it and strip it off quite easily at the end of the cook.

Hub

[TentHunteR]

I have tried both methods.  I lean more toward removing the membrane...

Same here.

[DK117]

I have tried both methods.  I lean more toward removing the membrane...

Same here.

+3

DK117

[muebe]

I always pull the membrane

[Over Dunn]

If I'm cooking Louies for the back yard, the heck with yanking that skin. Competition? Another story. Loin backs, I usually do out of habit. Couldn't say for sure, if it really matters which way is best. 

OD

[sparky]

+4  me too.

i've had them both ways.  when i left it on it was hard to get off the back side when they were cooked.  i didn't like it at all.  how you going to get rub on that side.  i want my whole rib seasoned not just 1/2 of the rib.   i just take it off w/ a paper towel.  i really believe it makes for a better tasting rib. 

[Phil LaMarche]

Thank you to all the responders. Interesting!  Phil

[Smokin Don]

For years I never removed the membranes, I have a sharp 3 pronged pickle fork I used to puncture the membrane. Since I got the pellet smoker, 3 years ago, I usually remove it. I never had any complaints about the ribs done either way. Don

[Scallywag]

I'm lazy and always ask my  butcher to pull it for me...

[TMB]

I'm lazy and always ask my  butcher to pull it for me...

That's cheating!!