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HAve had rather spectacular success with ribs this year in spite of using propane. Perfected a nice dry rub and slow cooked after giving the rub side a good sear. So when we are scheduled to host a gathering of friends my wife says "Ribs!" I concur.

Wanting to impress I opt for babybacks, which I had not done before- mistake number one. After searing them I turned the heat way down and went in to prepare veggies and an appetizer. Being a bit slow on the uptake I didn't notice that the house was filled with smoke for a couple minutes and by the time I got outside my grill is totally engulfed in flames. To the point I'm worried about the house catching on fire. I suspect a propane leak but after risking life , limb and the little remaining hair on my head I get the tank turned off and the fire continues to rage. Grease! Apparantly folks parboil these suckers first? I never had the problem with regular pork ribs.

Anyway, dinner is an unmitigated disaster, assauged in part only by pouring copious amounts of alcohol into the guests before breaking the news that the ribs are now basically charred bones.

So, anyone else have this experience or have any tips on how to keep this from happening? Afriend says she parboils but that's the only tip I've heard. I still have more ribs in the freezer asnd have no desire to see my house as a pile of glowing embers next time.

I've been doing baby backs on my propane grill for years and never parboil. Why would you want to drain out all the flavor before you cook them? As long as your grill has multiple burners flameouts shouldn't be a problem. Light the burner at one end, set it as low as it goes and put the ribs way down at the far end. No direct heat = no flaming grease. I also put a disposable pie pan full of wood chips on the grill over the flame. Open the lid as little as possible. The ribs will take several hours to cook but you will be rewarded.

rood wrote:I've been doing baby backs on my propane grill for years and never parboil. Why would you want to drain out all the flavor before you cook them? As long as your grill has multiple burners flameouts shouldn't be a problem. Light the burner at one end, set it as low as it goes and put the ribs way down at the far end. No direct heat = no flaming grease. I also put a disposable pie pan full of wood chips on the grill over the flame. Open the lid as little as possible. The ribs will take several hours to cook but you will be rewarded.

Except for the wood chips that's pretty much what I did- except I put them on the rack above instead of at the far end so I guess grease still dripped on the exposed flame. I too, wondered about parboiling. Made little sense-I've gotta come up with something pretty spectacular next time its our turn to host to redeem myself. Thanks for the response.

Hmmm...that is interesting and scary h2O!

I'm guessing, from what you're saying, that you typically cook up spare ribs when you say "regular pork ribs"? The Spares come from lower on the pig. They are larger, meatier, and a tougher cut of meat than the back ribs. With a little less meat, and being slightly more tender, the only real difference is that the back ribs shouldn't take quite as long to cook. However, they actually have less fat on them than spares, so I'm surprised that you had these flare up issues where you haven't in the past.

Before I provide any tips whatsoever let me start by saying: NEVER BOIL YOUR RIBS. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER under any circumstances boil ribs. In fact that woman who told you she boils them? Tell her that you will never eat her cooking again, because you've lost all respect for her. Oh, I think I was a bit harsh. You can boil ribs if you want to make pork stock, then just throw the meat & bones away. It'd probably make delicious stock, but pretty pricey, IMO. When you boil you flavor the water with the meat flavors. Those flavors leave the meat to get into the water, so if you want any flavor in your meat, don't BOIL!

Now that we've got that covered, all I can say is that there really isn't a set standard for ribs. Personally, I want my ribs to be BBQ, which means that you're going low & slow with smoke for flavoring. Ribs should be smoked at about 225* until they reach the desired doneness. Baby backs are usually 4-5 hrs, 5-6 for spares. If you want them indirect on a gasser they'll get done quicker, but won't have any smoke flavor (unless you add a smoke pouch), and they won't get as tender as they would low & slow. I have known a few people to cook ribs direct as well, which is what it sounds like you've done with good success in the past. I'm not a fan of them cooked that way, but everybody's tastes are different, of course.

When preparing the ribs definitely make sure that you remove the membrane that is on the bone side of the slab. This thin membrane will prevent good flavor penetration from that side, and also keep the ribs tougher than they should be. It removes relatively easily with a butter knife and your hands. This applies to both spares & back ribs, here's a tutorial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9plB5BYhj8. The only other prep work that I usually do is if I'm making spares, I'll trim them to a St. Louis style rack. Cuts off that extra flap, they look nicer and cook more evenly that way. Still cook up the parts you trim, of course, but they'll get done earlier and make for a snack while you wait for the rack to finish Here's a tutorial on trimming Spares to St. Louis cut: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_MGM_RRTUQ

My personal favorite way to cook ribs is the 3-2-1 (or 2-2-1 for back ribs) methods. That is on a smoker at 225*, cook for 3 hours, then wrap in foil for 2 hours, then one final hour unwrapped. The first cooking portion infuses with smoke flavor, the foil wrapped portion braises the meat to make it extra tender without additional smoke flavor, the final hour firms the meat up and is when you would start basting it in a sauce of your choice. If you don't have a smoker/grill capable of holding 225* temps (most gassers won't) then this method isn't going to be much help for you. Here's a quick writeup of the 3-2-1 method. As noted, the times are not hardfast, you let the meat be your guide, as all meat will cook at a different rate. http://www.wyntk.us/food/3-2-1-rib-method.shtml

The one other piece of advice to make sure you remember is to not sauce them until the final 30 minutes of cooking or so. If you're even going to sauce them at all, that is. Most BBQ sauces are very high in sugar content. That sugar will burn if it's on the heat for too long.

hammb wrote:Hmmm...that is interesting and scary h2O!

I'm guessing, from what you're saying, that you typically cook up spare ribs when you say "regular pork ribs"? The Spares come from lower on the pig. They are larger, meatier, and a tougher cut of meat than the back ribs. With a little less meat, and being slightly more tender, the only real difference is that the back ribs shouldn't take quite as long to cook. However, they actually have less fat on them than spares, so I'm surprised that you had these flare up issues where you haven't in the past.

Before I provide any tips whatsoever let me start by saying: NEVER BOIL YOUR RIBS. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER under any circumstances boil ribs. In fact that woman who told you she boils them? Tell her that you will never eat her cooking again, because you've lost all respect for her. Oh, I think I was a bit harsh. You can boil ribs if you want to make pork stock, then just throw the meat & bones away. It'd probably make delicious stock, but pretty pricey, IMO. When you boil you flavor the water with the meat flavors. Those flavors leave the meat to get into the water, so if you want any flavor in your meat, don't BOIL!

Now that we've got that covered, all I can say is that there really isn't a set standard for ribs. Personally, I want my ribs to be BBQ, which means that you're going low & slow with smoke for flavoring. Ribs should be smoked at about 225* until they reach the desired doneness. Baby backs are usually 4-5 hrs, 5-6 for spares. If you want them indirect on a gasser they'll get done quicker, but won't have any smoke flavor (unless you add a smoke pouch), and they won't get as tender as they would low & slow. I have known a few people to cook ribs direct as well, which is what it sounds like you've done with good success in the past. I'm not a fan of them cooked that way, but everybody's tastes are different, of course.

When preparing the ribs definitely make sure that you remove the membrane that is on the bone side of the slab. This thin membrane will prevent good flavor penetration from that side, and also keep the ribs tougher than they should be. It removes relatively easily with a butter knife and your hands. This applies to both spares & back ribs, here's a tutorial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9plB5BYhj8. The only other prep work that I usually do is if I'm making spares, I'll trim them to a St. Louis style rack. Cuts off that extra flap, they look nicer and cook more evenly that way. Still cook up the parts you trim, of course, but they'll get done earlier and make for a snack while you wait for the rack to finish Here's a tutorial on trimming Spares to St. Louis cut: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_MGM_RRTUQ

My personal favorite way to cook ribs is the 3-2-1 (or 2-2-1 for back ribs) methods. That is on a smoker at 225*, cook for 3 hours, then wrap in foil for 2 hours, then one final hour unwrapped. The first cooking portion infuses with smoke flavor, the foil wrapped portion braises the meat to make it extra tender without additional smoke flavor, the final hour firms the meat up and is when you would start basting it in a sauce of your choice. If you don't have a smoker/grill capable of holding 225* temps (most gassers won't) then this method isn't going to be much help for you. Here's a quick writeup of the 3-2-1 method. As noted, the times are not hardfast, you let the meat be your guide, as all meat will cook at a different rate. http://www.wyntk.us/food/3-2-1-rib-method.shtml

The one other piece of advice to make sure you remember is to not sauce them until the final 30 minutes of cooking or so. If you're even going to sauce them at all, that is. Most BBQ sauces are very high in sugar content. That sugar will burn if it's on the heat for too long.

Wow! OK. More info than I can digest all at once but thanks. No, I don't use sauce unless the kids plan to eat them- then I slap some on at the last minute and deny any responsibility for them. I've never eaten any of the lady's cooking- and pretty much determined that parboiling wasn't a way to go. But Oh, God, the fire was spectacular!

I know hammb hates the way I prep my ribs but I don't have a smoker, so I've adjusted.

I use a homemade dry rub, then basically steam the ribs all day. I set them on a rack in a roasting pan filled with garlic and either beer or bourbon. I cook them real low (180 or so) all day - 8 or 9 hours. Then i finish them on the grill. My wife loves sweet BBQ sauce, so I usually slather them near the end (leaving enough time to carmelize them) or use my homemade teriyaki sauce.

My little girl (Catie) loves ribs, so we've done them a lot this year.

I don't hate 'em 87. I've never tried yours, but I have had good ribs that were cooked in the oven and then sauced/finished on the grill. Anything that cooks them slow enough to tenderize I'm fine with.

The oven can make some damn good ribs, they're just not BBQ. BBQ, by definition, requires slow cooking over smoke. I prefer BBQ ribs, but slow cooked in the oven is fine for ribs as well...they can be very tasty. One advantage is that it is far easier to reserve some juices for homemade sauce when you cook 'em in the oven

You need to get yourself to Home Depot and find the fifty forty dollar brinkman smoke'n'grill. Its a little kettle style smoker that I did most of my cooking on while I was learning the ins and outs of the open fire cooking. Wonderful little toy! I still have mine but only use it for traveling as my home now has a BIG AZZ drum-sidebox smoking/grilling apparatus.


The 4th of July this year was like Monster Jam only with ribs instead of monster trucks at our house. I don't use the 3-2-1 method hammb suggested cause I baste ribs every hour on the hour with apple cider. I usually cook them about seven hours instead of five (for baby backs) too.


Our motto round here is "If it takes lesss than six hours, you're just grilling"

The Niz wrote:You need to get yourself to Home Depot and find the fifty forty dollar brinkman smoke'n'grill. Its a little kettle style smoker that I did most of my cooking on while I was learning the ins and outs of the open fire cooking. Wonderful little toy! I still have mine but only use it for traveling as my home now has a BIG AZZ drum-sidebox smoking/grilling apparatus.


The 4th of July this year was like Monster Jam only with ribs instead of monster trucks at our house. I don't use the 3-2-1 method hammb suggested cause I baste ribs every hour on the hour with apple cider. I usually cook them about seven hours instead of five (for baby backs) too.


Our motto round here is "If it takes lesss than six hours, you're just grilling"

Wow, interesting. That seems like an awful long time to cook baby backs. Seems to me like they'd be totally falling apart at that point aren't they? Or do you cook them at a lower temp? But hey, if it tastes good for you and gets the results you want, that's all that matters!

hammb wrote:

The Niz wrote:You need to get yourself to Home Depot and find the fifty forty dollar brinkman smoke'n'grill. Its a little kettle style smoker that I did most of my cooking on while I was learning the ins and outs of the open fire cooking. Wonderful little toy! I still have mine but only use it for traveling as my home now has a BIG AZZ drum-sidebox smoking/grilling apparatus.


The 4th of July this year was like Monster Jam only with ribs instead of monster trucks at our house. I don't use the 3-2-1 method hammb suggested cause I baste ribs every hour on the hour with apple cider. I usually cook them about seven hours instead of five (for baby backs) too.


Our motto round here is "If it takes lesss than six hours, you're just grilling"

Wow, interesting. That seems like an awful long time to cook baby backs. Seems to me like they'd be totally falling apart at that point aren't they? Or do you cook them at a lower temp? But hey, if it tastes good for you and gets the results you want, that's all that matters!

I usually start it around 300 for an hour then back it way down for the rest of the time. The result is fall off the bone tender, but they don't fall apart. I think the sugar in the apple cider keeps some of the sugars in the meat from breaking all the way down by providing the heat an easier target to break down.

I get a lot of the 'you must be plum crazy' looks from bbq folks when I mention it but the food always backs me up.

The Niz wrote:

hammb wrote:

The Niz wrote:You need to get yourself to Home Depot and find the fifty forty dollar brinkman smoke'n'grill. Its a little kettle style smoker that I did most of my cooking on while I was learning the ins and outs of the open fire cooking. Wonderful little toy! I still have mine but only use it for traveling as my home now has a BIG AZZ drum-sidebox smoking/grilling apparatus.


The 4th of July this year was like Monster Jam only with ribs instead of monster trucks at our house. I don't use the 3-2-1 method hammb suggested cause I baste ribs every hour on the hour with apple cider. I usually cook them about seven hours instead of five (for baby backs) too.


Our motto round here is "If it takes lesss than six hours, you're just grilling"

Wow, interesting. That seems like an awful long time to cook baby backs. Seems to me like they'd be totally falling apart at that point aren't they? Or do you cook them at a lower temp? But hey, if it tastes good for you and gets the results you want, that's all that matters!

I usually start it around 300 for an hour then back it way down for the rest of the time. The result is fall off the bone tender, but they don't fall apart. I think the sugar in the apple cider keeps some of the sugars in the meat from breaking all the way down by providing the heat an easier target to break down.

I get a lot of the 'you must be plum crazy' looks from bbq folks when I mention it but the food always backs me up.

I'd be curious to see how you'd fare in a competition. Just because I don't know if I've ever heard anyone cook babybacks like that. Given the uniqueness of it, if you find a group of judges that like it you could do pretty well.

I thought about volunteering for a local team or something but go figure there aren't many looking for help. Actually it doesn't seem like there are many teams from around the area in general. I would love to have or be a part of a team but I can't afford anything like that just yet. I also don't think I have the required knowledge to go anywhere with it yet.

Some minor redemption- the fire was NOT a result of grease (although what dripped down caught on fire and helped the conflagration)-it was indeed a burner malfunction as my wife had similar, but considerably less spectacular, results yesterday. Now I gotta try ribs again with Hambb's helpful info close at hand!