[bluedogz]

Can someone please tell me where this myth comes from? I wound up in a conference room at work nearly being laughed out of the room because I insisted that the oven or smoker was the right way to cook ribs, not boiling them first then nuking them on a hot grill.

[phatch]

I don't know where it comes from but it is an evil pernicious concept that destroys what that product can be when well cooked. Sad indeed that people swear by it.

I recently tried a new to our area barbecue joint. Slow Joes Backyard Barbecue. Truly vile boiled ribs. They were YELLOW TAN. and equally horrible to eat. Some of the worst food I've ever eaten.

Phil

[oldschool1982]

As I learned (the hard way when I moved to the south in the early 80's) it's mostly a Northerner thing. For some reason the Pit or any real smoker was strickly south of the Mason-Dixon line. It wasn't until recently (last 20 years) that the smoker has gained in popularity throughout the country. Good thing too.

[kuan]

Boiling ribs is like... like... like cooking filet mignon to well done.

[castironchef]

Originally Posted by kuan

Boiling ribs is like... like... like cooking filet mignon to well done.

Or, shudder at the horrible memory, cooking ahi all the way through.

[teamfat]

Gee, I just boiled up several pounds of beef back ribs last night. Of course, I'm not planning on serving the ribs as ribs, I was making a batch of stock for a fruited beef stew.

I wonder if boiling meat is something that came over from England hundreds of years ago or something. For restaurants that can't be bothered to do things right, boiling ribs first probably gives a more consistent product in a known amount of time. Fussing over REAL ribs until they are done can wreak havoc with a daily schedule.

I live in the Salt Lake City area, and luckily there are some good Q places in town for those times I don't have my own smoker going.

mjb.

[phatch]

So, teamfat, the killer question for you is: what is the best local Q in SLC?

I've eaten in most of the SL Valley Q joints, but haven't tried the ones in Utah Valley or up North a bit either. I hear good things about Holy Smoke up in the Roy area.

Phil

[KYHeirloomer]

Boiling ribs came into being as a convenience for folks who don't want to spend the time it takes to do it right. You boil them until tender, brush with barbecue sauce or a glaze, and pop 'em on the grill or under the broiler.

People who put convenience first, however, by and large are willing to sacrifice flavor. So they boil their ribs, use things like crockpot classics, and eat at McDonalds.

I actually was taught to prepare ribs that way, more years ago than I care to remember. That lasted until the first time I ate real que. Ain't never boiled a rib since.

[kuan]

I also think it's definitely a nawthern thing. I was taught to boil ribs in beer. We do that still with bratwurst. Somehow we think wasting a few bottles of good beer on lousy bratwurst will make it all good again.

[kuan]

Originally Posted by castironchef

Or, shudder at the horrible memory, cooking ahi all the way through.

Gawd we used to do that didn't we?

[shel]

Originally Posted by kuan

Somehow we think wasting a few bottles of good beer on lousy bratwurst will make it all good again.

ROTFLMAO ...

shel

[foodpump]

"Boil" for me is dirty, nasty, 5 letter word, but I have been guilty of, uh, "treating" ribs with moisture. O.k. force sheilds up, and I'll 'splain real quick like.

Had a catering gig and the customer wants ribs, they knew they would cost, but they wanted them and they wanted it fast. Now I have a cheap little smoker (Lil Chief..) and there's no way I could tie up ribs for 100 ppl in there and be ready in 72 hrs. So what I did was peel off the membrane, brine them, gave them a nice rub, and a quick smoke. Then I laid a mirepoix sauted in bacon fat in a roasting pan, laid the ribs on top, poured a quart or so of chicken stock ontop, covered it tightly and poached the suckers for an hour or so. Then gave them another quick smoke (30 mins) and they were ready for re-heating on the bbq. Now this is fairly labour intensive, but I didn't have access to a smoker large enough to smoke large batches for the time it requires, and I wasn't going to go out and buy 4 more Lil Cheif smoker neither. Ribs were pretty good, got rave compliments. But then again, I've never had REAL 'Q from the south neither.

[Grumio]

I've braised ribs in Chinese red-cooking sauce & then finished them on a grill with a sweet/spicy soy glaze & they were terrific. Now I believe in Barry Goldwater's dictum that "Extremism in defense of barbecue is no vice," & given a choice I'd smoke ribs properly, but it's not always an option (time/equipment/weather).

Or what? If you can't smoke 'em, don't cook 'em at all?

[KYHeirloomer]

Speed with flavor is one thing, Foodpump. But not the same as what we've been discussing.

The approach is to separate the ribs into pieces that are one, two, or three ribs. Then boil the heck out of them, in plain water, until they are tender---and in the process leaching out all the flavor. Then finish them on the grill or broiler rack.

From the description, sounds like yours would be rather tasty.

BTW, when I was taught that technique nobody every removed the membrane. Nowadays I can't imagine doing ribs with it in place. Live and learn, I reckon.

[KYHeirloomer]

Hey, Grumio, thanks for the Barry Goldwater reminder.

Y'all remember him also saying, "Texicans don't know good chile from corral leavings!"

Somebody, of course, went running to John Conley to tattle. That led up to what was going to be the great congressional chile cookoff. But Watergate got in the way.