This week, we make memphis style BBQ ribs. This involves a brown sugar and paprika-based dry rub and no wet sauce. As always, low and slow is the way to go. We used different recipes, yielding pretty different results.
Recipes:
Mo's: http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2010/07/sweet-and-smoky-oven-spareribs/
Dan's: http://www.inst
Mo's Recipe and Comments
I used baby back ribs, which is a leaner and meatier cut. I also used a prepackaged dry rub but feel free to experiment with your own. If you're going memphis style with your rub make sure it has some brown sugar in it.
Be sure to remove the membrane in the underside of the ribs. This lets the dry rub get into the meat better. Video on that here.
Be very liberal with your rub. Sounds naughty saying that.
Felt naughty doing it.
Cut ribs in half. Wrap in foil. Cook with low heat. The foil lets the ribs steam in their own juices and prevents them from drying out.
After a quite a few hours. Save those drippings!
Skim the extra fat from the saved juices. Now, as per the recipe, add some honey and vinegar and let the whole thing reduce. Finish the ribs in the broiler for 5 minutes to caramelize the outside, then mop the sauce on top.
Meat should fall off the bone.
Oh my.
Oooga booga! Meat! Ribs!
Bonus: Dry rubbed chicken.
Anyone can make delicious ribs at home with just a little time, patience, and bravery. I'm definitely a proponent of cooking them for a long time with low heat. I suggest you use the oven for controlled temperatures unless you're an expert at managing your grill's heat settings. A hot grill would be good to finish off your ribs, though.
I like this recipe (based off of the great Harold McGee) because it slow cooks the ribs, yielding a moist and tender result. I also prefer the dry rub because it's sweet and spicy but doesn't overpower the natural flavor of the meat. Will definitely experiment with other sauces and spices in the future. With summer here this is for sure a good way to mix it up from your usual burgers and hotdog fare.
Dan's Version and Comments
Dan made his spice rub from scratch. Good man.
The rub was honestly amazing, may have added a little more salt, but it was smokey, a little spicy, and sweet.
Unfortunately, I made the careless mistake of failing to remove the membrane. I believe taking the ribs out halfway in the cooking process to remove it messed with the cooking process. Additionally, I should have wrapped them in aluminum foil and allowed them to slow cook. The aluminum foil would have acted as a makeshift smoker which would have allowed for that fall-off-the-bone rib we all crave.
All in all, I'd rank this dish at a 6/10. The low score had nothing to do with the recipe however, just my poor decisions in the cooking process.
See you next week!
