Mastering the art of oven BBQ

[ThaddeusW]

I figure some of you guys might know a thing or two bout BBQ.

So I have been dabbling with trying to make near perfect ribs in a regular oven. My goal is to make juicy fall of the bone dry rub ribs. I played with a few rub recipes and found one I liked. My first try came out great flavor wise but was a bit on the dry side. I used supermarket baby back ribs. I cooked this rack @ 400 for 30 minutes and @ 250 for 2 hours. Meat wasn't falling off the bone but came off easily, they were well cooked.

Tonight I tried another method but I think i went the wrong route for cooking dry rub. I used a tray full of beer with a rack over it and all covered in foil to seal the moisture in. Meat is amazingly tender and falls right off the bone by just looking at it. I cooked it @ 400 for 30 minutes and @ 225 for 2.5 hours. But the flavor of the rub is nearly gone. Very little rub flavor, almost no sweet or any spices coming through, even the smell is nearly gone. Meat flavor is there though. My theory is the alcohol from the beer killed it. After the first 15 min @ 400 the air in my apartment filled with a sharp irritating odor, made my eyes water and i opened my door to vent it. I think it was the sudden release of alcohol vapors from the beer. I used spare ribs because the supermarket was out of baby back. (You can see that I already ate nearly half, still tasted good, with sauce it should be amazing)

I figure next time is to stick with the tray method but instead of beer use water. I want to try the beer method again but next time use a from scratch bourbon BBQ sauce recipe i found a while back ( I use Jack). I figure that method will keep the meat flavor plus the beer flavor and then slather with sauce AFTER cooking. Any tips? I am having a small BBQ this Saturday for my birthday and I want to show off a bit and cook a few racks of ribs

Cheers!

[Rob]

Well I can't say shit about cooking anything on a grille manufactured for the purpose. I've always got by with a burn barrel and some old cardboard but I'll take the opportunity to wish you a happy birthday in advance.

Rob

[Olivetroad]

I am no oven perfectionist with ribs (or pereriorgiesess), but I think the blushing bride sometimes sears the ribs real fast in a skillet and then cooks them slower at a lower heat? Does that make sense? I know she bastes them pretty often.

She does NOT use cardboard in the kitchen since the fire back in ought-six.

[bullhusk]

I figure some of you guys might know a thing or two bout BBQ.

So I have been dabbling with trying to make near perfect ribs in a regular oven. My goal is to make juicy fall of the bone dry rub ribs. I played with a few rub recipes and found one I liked. My first try came out great flavor wise but was a bit on the dry side. I used supermarket baby back ribs. I cooked this rack @ 400 for 30 minutes and @ 250 for 2 hours. Meat wasn't falling off the bone but came off easily, they were well cooked.

Tonight I tried another method but I think i went the wrong route for cooking dry rub. I used a tray full of beer with a rack over it and all covered in foil to seal the moisture in. Meat is amazingly tender and falls right off the bone by just looking at it. I cooked it @ 400 for 30 minutes and @ 225 for 2.5 hours. But the flavor of the rub is nearly gone. Very little rub flavor, almost no sweet or any spices coming through, even the smell is nearly gone. Meat flavor is there though. My theory is the alcohol from the beer killed it. After the first 15 min @ 400 the air in my apartment filled with a sharp irritating odor, made my eyes water and i opened my door to vent it. I think it was the sudden release of alcohol vapors from the beer. I used spare ribs because the supermarket was out of baby back. (You can see that I already ate nearly half, still tasted good, with sauce it should be amazing)

I figure next time is to stick with the tray method but instead of beer use water. I want to try the beer method again but next time use a from scratch bourbon BBQ sauce recipe i found a while back ( I use Jack). I figure that method will keep the meat flavor plus the beer flavor and then slather with sauce AFTER cooking. Any tips? I am having a small BBQ this Saturday for my birthday and I want to show off a bit and cook a few racks of ribs

Cheers!

Take the rack out and let them cook in there own juice. This is what I do, I use a good maple syrup and coat the rib's then I put garlic,and a good rub, Famous Daves or Bone Suckin rub is good and a lot of brown sugar. I let them sit overnight in the frig. then i put them in a oven pan (something with high sides) and add liquid smoke, I then cover the pan tight with alu. foil, pre heat oven @300 and cook for about 2.5 to 3 hrs. (dep. on how many racks your cookin) Now, as soon as you pull them out of the oven you have to take them out of the juice or they will tast greasy! I then let them cool down, then I take the juice and pour it into a countainer and put it either on the side or in the freezer for about a half hour or so, this way the grease will come to the top and you can scrape it off and throw it away or keep it to coat your grill burners when you put the grill away for the winter. Then add the drippings to your favorite BBQ sauce. I use KC original and just put a large bottle in a pot and add a little beer and stir in the drippings at a low heat (if you think the sauce is too thin, just add some tomato paste) Then I put the BBQ sauce on the rib's and finish them off on the grill

BULLHUSK

[umodelnut]

I need to get myself one of them Mack glasses.

[Rob]

I need to get myself one of them Mack glasses.

ebay has them from time to time. Many different variety's are available.

[mike69mackman]

Rob, it's good to have ya back

[Rob]

Rob, it's good to have ya back

Well thanks, appreciate it.

Rob

[ThaddeusW]

Take the rack out and let them cook in there own juice. This is what I do, I use a good maple syrup and coat the rib's then I put garlic,and a good rub, Famous Daves or Bone Suckin rub is good and a lot of brown sugar. I let them sit overnight in the frig. then i put them in a oven pan (something with high sides) and add liquid smoke, I then cover the pan tight with alu. foil, pre heat oven @300 and cook for about 2.5 to 3 hrs. (dep. on how many racks your cookin) Now, as soon as you pull them out of the oven you have to take them out of the juice or they will tast greasy! I then let them cool down, then I take the juice and pour it into a countainer and put it either on the side or in the freezer for about a half hour or so, this way the grease will come to the top and you can scrape it off and throw it away or keep it to coat your grill burners when you put the grill away for the winter. Then add the drippings to your favorite BBQ sauce. I use KC original and just put a large bottle in a pot and add a little beer and stir in the drippings at a low heat (if you think the sauce is too thin, just add some tomato paste) Then I put the BBQ sauce on the rib's and finish them off on the grill

BULLHUSK

Before I read your post it dawned on me to either wrap the ribs in foil or just sit them in a pan with foil over it. Ill give that method a go come Saturday, they should come out near perfect. Thanks for the tips.

Well I can't say shit about cooking anything on a grille manufactured for the purpose. I've always got by with a burn barrel and some old cardboard but I'll take the opportunity to wish you a happy birthday in advance.

Rob

thanks Rob!

[MACKS]

Forget about the oven and get one of these smokers,only about 60 bucks at home dopey or blows...

[other dog]

I don't know much about cooking ribs in a regular oven, I'm a smoker/griller, but I did try a recipe that I saw Jr. Johnson do on tv once. He claimed it would make the best ribs ever- I can't agree with that, but they were good. He cut them up into sections first, then boiled them in a big pot until they were nearly done. Then he put them in a baking pan,poured a whole bottle of Bone Sucking Sauce over them, and baked them at a very high temp. for about 10 or 15 minutes.Very simple,very good.

Now, if you're gonna smoke 'em- peel the membrane first, it's that thin membrane on the "bony" side. Work a corner loose with a keen knife, then pull it off, kinda like skinning a catfish.I usually rub mine with a good rub and some brown sugar, then wrap them in plastic the night before I cook them. Then I cook them over indirect heat with the meaty side down until they're about half done- you can see the juices puddle in the "trough" on the bony side that's up. That will simmer and keep the ribs juicy.Then I turn them over and cook with the meaty side up until they're about 3/4 done. Then just wrap them tight in wreynolds wrap and let them cook until the bones pull out easily.Open one end of the wreynolds wrap every so often and check 'em- when you can twist a bone a quarter turn and it pulls right out it's time to eat. And all this takes a while- several hours to do them right on a smoker, the oven recipe only takes a few minutes- but the outcome is worth it.

p.s.-

as we all know, i'm not one to toot my own horn, but even as recently as the Memorial Day cookout, people have told me they were the best ribs they'd ever had.

I think mine's are better than Junior Johnson's.

these are from Memorial Day weekend-

this is an older picture, but it shows the "bone test" for doneness.

[Bobby Covert]

Try a crock pot for fall off the bone ribs!

[other dog]

Try a crock pot for fall off the bone ribs!

I'm not a real big fan of sauer kraut, but Old Bill once sent me a recipe where you just put ribs in the crock pot, dump the sauer kraut in, don't add anything else, and they were good too.

[vision386]

I have made ribs in the oven that did'nt come out half-bad,allthough i do prefer the grille....but my method is this,as Tom said,remove the thin membrane,i do "par-boil" mine first,just 15-20 minutes,let them "rest" a few minutes,then i put them in a fairly shallow baking pan on a "bakers rack" just to keep them up out of the grease,my dry rub is nothing more than brown sugar,garlic powder,onion powder,black pepper,ia little dry mustard, and a pinch of salt used sparingly............bake them (low and slow) for at least 2 1/2 to 3 hours,if slightly dry,you can baste them with some of the juice/drippings.(just dont overdo it) when done,i take them out of the heat,again let them rest for a half hour or so,then you can baste with your favorite homemade of store-bought sauce,put them back in for just a few minutes,and you get a nice "candylike" coating with the sauce,start to pull apart/fall off the bone,then you're good to go!...................then,just bring on the beer!..................Mark

[vision386]

Take the rack out and let them cook in there own juice. This is what I do, I use a good maple syrup and coat the rib's then I put garlic,and a good rub, Famous Daves or Bone Suckin rub is good and a lot of brown sugar. I let them sit overnight in the frig. then i put them in a oven pan (something with high sides) and add liquid smoke, I then cover the pan tight with alu. foil, pre heat oven @300 and cook for about 2.5 to 3 hrs. (dep. on how many racks your cookin) Now, as soon as you pull them out of the oven you have to take them out of the juice or they will tast greasy! I then let them cool down, then I take the juice and pour it into a countainer and put it either on the side or in the freezer for about a half hour or so, this way the grease will come to the top and you can scrape it off and throw it away or keep it to coat your grill burners when you put the grill away for the winter. Then add the drippings to your favorite BBQ sauce. I use KC original and just put a large bottle in a pot and add a little beer and stir in the drippings at a low heat (if you think the sauce is too thin, just add some tomato paste) Then I put the BBQ sauce on the rib's and finish them off on the grill

BULLHUSK

Sounds like a killer recipe Ernie,i'm going to give that a try!..................................Mark

[bullhusk]

Sounds like a killer recipe Ernie,i'm going to give that a try!..................................Mark

Mark,

I was told by an old timer that par-boilin takes the flavor out of chicken and or ribs, he told me if you want to pre cook food like chicken or sausage or ribs, just put them in the oven first an then grill em-up!! I take chicken parts and put them in a baking pan, then add Italian dressing and let it sit in the frig overnight, then before I grill it I cover the pan tight with alm. foil add liuid smoke put it in the oven @350 for about 45min to an hour, take the chicken out of the pan and start grillin it...About 5min before you want to take it off the grill I put the BBQ sauce on and brown it up a little! Just DO-NOT use the dressing in the pan unless you boil it, it should be ok from being in the oven, but I wouldn't take a chance. I also do a lot in the smoker, but when you don't have a lot of time, the oven is the way to go!

Good Luck

Ernie DS

[randyp]

My personal favorite rub is Adkins western style barbecue seasoning. Its a dry, red rub, available at Brookshires. It comes in a big plastic bag. I rub them down liberally the night before, cover with foil and put in fridge. I put them on grill next day, indirect heat, cook em, and get em all over my jowls and shirt when i scarf them down. I generally bite anyone who gets close, and trys to sneak summa my ribs. randyp

[slpwlker]

What I've done is after getting tired of wasting a day of smoking I have smoked on the grill for 3 to 4 hours and then set in the over at 225 for another 12 to 16 hours. talk about tender. Oh yeah the house will smell like BBQ for days

[other dog]

What I've done is after getting tired of wasting a day of smoking I have smoked on the grill for 3 to 4 hours and then set in the over at 225 for another 12 to 16 hours. talk about tender. Oh yeah the house will smell like BBQ for days

low and slow,it's the way to go when it comes to barbecuing. the oven does work just as well after you smoke them that long. after you wrap them in foil on the grill they've smoked all they're gonna smoke by then anyway.

[slpwlker]

Also another reason for the oven is I could never get the temps right. Go out every 15 mins and fire is low and heat low. Then put some wood on and it gets to hot got to open the top. Really want a green mountain pellet feeder just load wood pellets in and let it go for hours.

[other dog]

I've probably mentioned my gas stove smoker before...anyway, you can use an old discarded gas or electric range as a smoker too, and they work great. you need an electric range with a drawer in the bottom, and you have to get all the insulation out of the bottom that's between the drawer and the bottom of the oven. then drill some holes around the edges all the way through, and some in the center part too, but not straight through from top to bottom, so no flames get into the oven and burn your meat. just get something to hold charcoal and wood to put in the drawer, put your meat in the oven, and smoke away.

An old gas stove is much easier- it's ready to go "as is", you don't have any insulation to remove or holes to drill. The only disadvantage of the gas model is that it only has a small tray in the bottom for the charcoal, I have to add a little wood about every 30 minutes.

And, an old stove sitting on cinder blocks in the back yard might not fit in with the decor, especially to the wife, but they do make excellent smokers. I've even smoked whole turkeys in mine, for myself and other people.

[randyp]

I've probably mentioned my gas stove smoker before...anyway, you can use an old discarded gas or electric range as a smoker too, and they work great. you need an electric range with a drawer in the bottom, and you have to get all the insulation out of the bottom that's between the drawer and the bottom of the oven. then drill some holes around the edges all the way through, and some in the center part too, but not straight through from top to bottom, so no flames get into the oven and burn your meat. just get something to hold charcoal and wood to put in the drawer, put your meat in the oven, and smoke away.

An old gas stove is much easier- it's ready to go "as is", you don't have any insulation to remove or holes to drill. The only disadvantage of the gas model is that it only has a small tray in the bottom for the charcoal, I have to add a little wood about every 30 minutes.

And, an old stove sitting on cinder blocks in the back yard might not fit in with the decor, especially to the wife, but they do make excellent smokers. I've even smoked whole turkeys in mine, for myself and other people.

An old stove sitting in back yard may be better decor than an old lady sitting in back yard,,,heh heh,,just kidding,,wouldnt trade mine for ,,uh,,,well,,,ummm,,,nuttin! randyp

[hatcity]

Thats what we call a summer kitchen