Do you foil your ribs?

[Nick2cd]

Seems like some people foil their ribs (3-2-1) and some don't. Have u tried both methods? What say you?

[RichardA]

Tucking the foil into my belt, is a bit of a problem, it itches!    If you're not going to do your ribs completely on the grill, I foil mine for an hour or two in the oven at low temps, then put them on the grill about 30 minutes before eating.    The nice thing about using the foil trick, is any herbs and spices you want to flavor the ribs with just circulates within the foil, then gets browned into the meat on the grill!

[Nick2cd]

i do the whole thing on the grill, or more specifically, a ceramic kamado (big green egg).

[Nick2cd]

i did a rack of babybacks today…..no foil.  just cooked them straight through 250 degrees for about 4.5 hours.  they turned out great.  fall off the bone tender.  this was without sauce.  i tried them "dry" for the first time and really liked it.  

 

 

[thewoodwhisperer]

I do foil. Usually I leave them on the smoker (Primo XL) for 4 hours or so, then transfer them to the oven at 225. I sauce them before they go in the foil and the moisture and flavor sets in nicely. After an hour or so they are nice and tender and ready to serve. Never really feel the need to put them back on the direct heat.

 

I should also mention that I like to foil the ribs in the oven since I usually want to free up the smoker for the baked beans. 

[RichardA]

I do foil. Usually I leave them on the smoker (Primo XL) for 4 hours or so, then transfer them to the oven at 225. I sauce them before they go in the foil and the moisture and flavor sets in nicely. After an hour or so they are nice and tender and ready to serve. Never really feel the need to put them back on the direct heat.

 

I should also mention that I like to foil the ribs in the oven since I usually want to free up the smoker for the baked beans. 

The next time you smoke beans... Toss a meat loaf in there also..... Makes a great sandwich the next day!

[Nick2cd]

I do foil. Usually I leave them on the smoker (Primo XL) for 4 hours or so, then transfer them to the oven at 225. I sauce them before they go in the foil and the moisture and flavor sets in nicely. After an hour or so they are nice and tender and ready to serve. Never really feel the need to put them back on the direct heat.

I should also mention that I like to foil the ribs in the oven since I usually want to free up the smoker for the baked beans.

Have u guys ever tried going without foil? I used to foil every time, but I've found it to be much less necessary in a ceramic kamado. They retain so much moisture that you can go right through without stopping to foil. As far as the baked bean dilemma, ya got me there. Extender rack?

[Tim Kohl]

indirect heat with charcoal for about 2.5 - 3 hours. 

[Hugh Howard]

Ceramics are great.  (I'm also a Primo XL guy).  Tonight was pizza on the grill, but I do love doing ribs.

 

My take is that you don't need to foil your ribs, but it helps a little.  I did try an experiment once where I did half with foil and half without and the half with foil and a little apple juice and both were fine, but the foil ones were better so while it isn't necessary I do think it adds a little something.  They were also done quite a bit earlier if I recall.  For temp I usually go around 225.  Baby backs are usually ready in at most 5 hours for me (3-1-1 as opposed to 3-2-1). 

 

Direct heat is a choice that isn't always consistent for me.  If there is enough browning I can skip it, but every once in a while the ribs are done but lacking a little char/carmelization that I want and then tossing a little sauce on them and throwing them back on can make a huge difference.  My guess is that it comes down to the dry rub.  If it has sugar in it the sugar probably carmelizes making the direct unnecessary, but if it doesn't it might not brown as much on the low indirect heat.

[thewoodwhisperer]

Have u guys ever tried going without foil? I used to foil every time, but I've found it to be much less necessary in a ceramic kamado. They retain so much moisture that you can go right through without stopping to foil. As far as the baked bean dilemma, ya got me there. Extender rack?

You know, I'll have to give that a shot next time. The kamado definitely reduced my foil time since moisture is so high in there. But maybe next time I'll try saucing them for the last hour in the smoker and see what happens. As for the beans, my big cast iron pot is just too big for the extender rack to work.

[wtnhighlander]

Aha! Now we know what's behind all those muffled belches during the Woodtalk podcast!

[Barbancourt]

I use a Weber smoker (the one that's shaped like a pill on end) without foil, and it works well.  I tend to put something in the drip pan water (beer or apple juice) and use a dry rub.  If the weather is bad or I don't want to fiddle with the charcoal, I'll wrap the meat in foil and use the oven.  It also turns out well, but it's definitely a different beast.  Doesn't using foil in the smoker kind of defeat the purpose of using a smoker?  Do you still get a smoke "ring" in the meat?

[Guest]

i did a rack of babybacks today…..no foil.  just cooked them straight through 250 degrees for about 4.5 hours.  they turned out great.  fall off the bone tender.  this was without sauce.  i tried them "dry" for the first time and really liked it.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just to mess with people, I like to serve my ribs with no sauce.  If I have done my job they don't need it - why would I ruin good meat and hours of effort with some 99 cent sauce?.  I smoked a bunch of spare ribs for a Christmas pot luck a few years ago and did not provide any sauce.   You would think I insulted the Pope or Elvis.  One of my uncles started saucing my ribs with tomato sauce from the lasagna.... I nearly pulled it out of his mouth.  I was shocked how many people refused to even try the ribs without sauce.  That being said, they were all gone quickly.  The intelligent few in my family really enjoyed them.   More recently I have gone to serving a chimichurri sauce with my BBQ, particularly brisket, and people really enjoy that.  It outsells traditional BBQ sauce 2 to 1.   I keep getting asked for a recipe and I just say "There are 5 ingredients, look at it and figure it out.  I will give you a clue, salt is the only thing you can't see" 

 

Back to the original question, I don't foil in the smoker.  If I am using a weber kettle to smoke, I might use a small foil barrier between the meat and the fire, but I don't wrap in foil.  Sometimes I do finish in the oven due to time constraints, then I do foil and sometimes baste with vinegar-based mopping liquid (usually a mix of vinegar, homemade stock, and a small amount apple and orange juice). 

[thewoodwhisperer]

I use a Weber smoker (the one that's shaped like a pill on end) without foil, and it works well.  I tend to put something in the drip pan water (beer or apple juice) and use a dry rub.  If the weather is bad or I don't want to fiddle with the charcoal, I'll wrap the meat in foil and use the oven.  It also turns out well, but it's definitely a different beast.  Doesn't using foil in the smoker kind of defeat the purpose of using a smoker?  Do you still get a smoke "ring" in the meat?

 You do still get the smoke ring because the meat has already had several hours of smoke. By hour 3 or 4 it's debatable how much smoke flavor it's even taking in at that point anyway. 

[thewoodwhisperer]

 If I have done my job they don't need it - why would I ruin good meat and hours of effort with some 99 cent sauce?

 

I'm afraid I'd be very frustrating at your table. I agree that a good rib doesn't need much help. But in my opinion, a great rib becomes an outstanding rib with the addition of a good sauce. I also am a big fan of ketchup on many things so take my opinion for what it's worth. The spice and smoke provide the base of flavor deep in the meat. The sauce provides the tang that hits the tongue first. While I am a fan of BBQ of any type and can appreciate regional subtleties, wet KC style BBQ is always the best for my palette.  I could eat the rib dry, by why in the world would I want to?!

[DaveT]

Black treacle and whiskey marinade overnight then coat in treacle and put over the hottest part so it caramelises straight away and seals all the moisture in. Then move them to the edges for a few hours to cook.

 

The whiskey breaks down any tough fibres in the meat and you and up with ribs that even a toothless old git like me can eat without a problem. A word of caution however, be carefull if you have to drive afterward as some of the alcohol content is preserved

[TerryMcK]

Black treacle and whiskey marinade overnight then coat in treacle and put over the hottest part so it caramelises straight away and seals all the moisture in. Then move them to the edges for a few hours to cook.

 

The whiskey breaks down any tough fibres in the meat and you and up with ribs that even a toothless old git like me can eat without a problem. A word of caution however, be carefull if you have to drive afterward as some of the alcohol content is preserved

Sounds great Dave.

[Chuck Melton]

More recently I have gone to serving a chimichurri sauce with my BBQ, particularly brisket, and people really enjoy that.  It outsells traditional BBQ sauce 2 to 1.   I keep getting asked for a recipe and I just say "There are 5 ingredients, look at it and figure it out.  I will give you a clue, salt is the only thing you can't see" 

 

Back to the original question, I don't foil in the smoker.  If I am using a weber kettle to smoke, I might use a small foil barrier between the ).

90% of the time I am doing pork shoulders or brisket. If I do ribs, I do a dry rub or jerk and foil after they leave the smoker to rest for 30 minutes. I use an electric smoker, so moisture is never a problem.

I stick to eastern or western Carolina style Barbecue sauces and they tend to be a real crowd pleaser. It amazes me that so few people are familiar with the western Carolina style mustard based sauce. Once people try it, they rave about it.

I did make a batch of peach and buckwheat honey BBQ sauce last year in the KC style, but my guest may just be conditioned to my predilection for the Carolina styles as it was the least popular of the three sauces I put out.

[Coop]

Dave, Had to google treacle. Yeah, I bet that whiskey and "molasses" marinade is good. I'm going home tonight and ask my wife to make a treacle and pecan pie

[Tpt life]

I have ruined ribs, never thought I'd learn how to do better here.

[thewoodwhisperer]

Nothing but the best from the Wood Talk Forum!

[Hugh Howard]

I stick to eastern or western Carolina style Barbecue sauces and they tend to be a real crowd pleaser. It amazes me that so few people are familiar with the western Carolina style mustard based sauce. Once people try it, they rave about it.

 

 

Chuck, last I checked neither Eastern nor Western Carolina bbq sauce had mustard in it - you had to go south for that to Georgia or at least as far as that other state between North Carolina and Georgia whose name I forget.  (Just kidding, of course, South Carolina is a great state even if their BBQ isn't as good as the BBQ in North Carolina). 

 

Now as for sauce vs no sauce on ribs or bbq in general- I always provide sauce, and I often use it on ribs, even when I go to Memphis, but I agree that one of the greatest compliments I can get for my bbq is when someone decides that the sauce would take away from it.  Oddly, I find nailing a great home made ribs sauce far more elusive than the meat itself.  The best I've done lately is a slightly spicy, not too sweet bourbon sauce.

 

On a related note, in North Carolina we do have a great sauce debate in terms of East vs West for pulled pork and the main issue is vinegar vs ketchup based.  I changed camps some time after I got into making my own bbq deciding that if the meat is fine, but not great (as is true at far too many bbq joints) the sauce needs to be the star and a thicker ketchup based sauce is a good choice, but if the meat is really great it becomes the star and I want the sauce to complement it but not obscure the flavor so I've gone to the vinegar side.  (That said I provide multiple sauces and let my guests decide because you can never have too many choices).

[Hugh Howard]

By the way on an aside if anyone is going to WIA this year Winston is about 20-25 minutes north of Lexington NC which was rated the #1 BBQ city in America. 

 

http://livability.com/top-10/top-10-best-bbq-cities/lexington/nc

 

I think that is probably pushing it compared to say Memphis TN or even Austin TX, but it is certainly worth the 20 minute drive.  (You can also walk to Bibs in downtown Winston from WIA which is fine and will give you some sense of NC BBQ but if you have a car my advice would be to go South since I certainly like the best Lexington places better). 

[DaveT]

Whiskey Bananas are a good desert. Slice the skin, drizzle whiskey in, wrap in foil and place on the edge of the bbq until soft. Open up and fill with whipped cream.

[Hugh Howard]

Hmm, Dave I was imagining this with Bourbon but noticing your location I realize Whiskey must mean what we call Scotch (I assume it isn't called Scotch in Scotland).  Sounds interesting - both might be good recipes but very different.

 

Marc, you've mastered the art of online woodworking - have you figured out any way to run a virtual whiskey exchange where we can upload some of our Bourbon to send to Dave electronically and he can zap us some of his Scotch for a whiskey bananas taste test?