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Great ribs...

Hillbilly Steaks

Hillbilly Steaks

Dr. BBQ
Joined
Jan 2, 2006
Messages
2,481
Over 4th of July weekend this year, we traveled up to see my wifes side of the family in New Jersey. By popular demand I was given the task of cooking ribs for a party of about 30, down at the local 4th of July party. anyways, they only have a big gas grill and the day I had to cook them, the oven was already full of other crap, so I truly had to make it work just in the grill.

Typically if I can't use a smoker or BBQ to make them, I start them in the oven and then to the grill. But I devised a method and they turned out pretty damn good. Figured I would share.

The ribs I cooked this day were the full slab of spare ribs. Basically a Kansas City style rib, untrimmed. Any ribs will work though.

Things you will need.
  • Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil
  • your favorite bbq sauce
  • some white wine-I think I used a Pinot
  • Kosher Salt
  • about 2 hours of your time :laugh:

I say Heavy duty aluminum foil because its very important that the foil doesn't get a hole ripped in it during the process. If it does, you will have a mess and the ribs won't turn out well, so be very carefull.

What you need to do is very simple. For each rack of ribs you have, you want to make a big sealable boat type "thingee" to set the ribs in. Take your time and wrap them up so that you can add the sauce and wine without it pouring out.

For each rack of ribs, pour in a few tablespoons of kosher salt, and then approx 1 cup of both the wine and bbq sauce. carefully fold up all the edges on the rib boat, so that everything is sealed up nicely. Once all the racks are secured in their foil containers, go ahead and get the grill going. Don't worry about trying to cook them indirectly, just turn the grill on low heat and lay them in there and shut the lid. It should only take about an hour, maybe an hour and a half to cook them. after an hour open one up carefull and see if the meat is starting to pull back from the ribs, and that they are getting tender. You'll have to experiment, but the ribs should start to brown pretty good on the side that is facing down. ** I always put the top side of the ribs facing down in the foil **

Once you feel that they have cooked long enough in the foil, carefully remove the foil containers/ribs and set aside. At this point, you can go ahead and take the ribs out of the foil. Have a large sauce pan ready and pour the remaining contents of whats inside the foil boats into the sauce pan. Add another cup or two of BBQ sauce and heat on the stove on med heat until the sauce heats up well and thickens a bit.

Now you can take the ribs and finish them on the grill. basically cook them almost like you would a steak or hamburger, but over medium to medium high heat. The entire time basting with the sauce you have saved. Don't let them burn too much, but a light char is good. I tend to flip them quite a bit until they are very hot.

you'll know when they are done! :love:
 
Would one be able to still use a rub with this method or would the liquid just kind of rinse it all away. (yes, I've never really tried to cook ribs. :sign: )
 
you would get the flavor of the rub, but it wouldn't be a nice crust like normal. maybe sprinkle it on right at the end???
 
I think I"m going to give this a shot next time we're looking for something different to have for dinner. I get ribs all the time while out to eat, I just always thought it would be too time consuming to do them at home and not worth it with a gas grill (which is a convenience of outdoor cooking I can't do without).
 
Well shame on you, you came up North and didn't say anything :sign:

Thanks for cooking tips, I'll have to try it out.
 
Could one do this method over a charcoal grill? I have a gas one, but its pretty damn hot on low, and constantly flares up. Probably because it only gets cleaned really well one time per year and yet we use it 3-4 times per week year 'round...
 
I did this on saturday over my charcoal grill and it came out excellent!! I didn't have kosher salt so I used table salt which was probably a mistake, because some spots were saltier than others. But everyone was raving about it! :)
 
So I mentioned this the other day in a different thread, but despite the windy weather we are having today, I am doing this again tonight. I don’t have anything to offer other than the way I have done them in the past. I’m down with the kosher salt...anything else is just too too salty. I will be doing this on the Weber charcoal, and for the finishing step I find this way the best way if you have it. For the wine/sauce I adhere to the 1cup sauce, 1 cup wine method. It won’t take a whole bottle of wine for one slab so you will still have enough to sample. I mix this up prior to pouring over the ribs, and I have gone to sprinkling the salt on the ribs directly but not too much. Haven’t decided about removing the membrane yet.

In my opinion the better the wine, the better the flavor. I don’t use a $50 bottle..but I don’t use a 7.99 bottle either. I prefer a Pinot or a Chardonnay as well.

I also like to let them marinate in the sauce a bit before putting them on. This time I’m going to try indirect heat on the Weber first (coals each side ribs in the middle and then finish direct.
 
I'm not a rib fan, nor do I smoke them, but lately everything I've read latlely says to remove the membrane.
 
I’ve done it both ways. In my experience it isn’t a flavor thing but it lends to the thought of how “tender” the ribs are. Since I know I’m going to carmelize the shit out of them on the charcoal grill I’m not worried about how the membrane may or may not hold them together this time. When I get to that step, it will be direct heat, and they typically are barely hanging on anyways, so I want them to hold together more.

But you are correct that most remove the membrane. And if I was smoking it, I would remove it. Or doing in the instant pot, same thing I’ll pull it off.
 
So it's 1 cup of your favorite sauce to 1 cup of red wine? Interesting.

I tried removing the membrane once. It was a pain. I decided just to cut the membrane between each rib from then on.
 
The Black Cloud said:
So it's 1 cup of your favorite sauce to 1 cup of red wine? Interesting.

I tried removing the membrane once. It was a pain. I decided just to cut the membrane between each rib from then on.
Click to expand...
Hit or miss, sometimes they come right off, other times they're a nightmare. Going to do 6 racks tomorrow on the UDS.
 
The Black Cloud said:
So it's 1 cup of your favorite sauce to 1 cup of red wine? Interesting.

I tried removing the membrane once. It was a pain. I decided just to cut the membrane between each rib from then on.
Click to expand...

I use whatever white wine I have available. Today it was Chardonnay, but usually go with Pinot Grigio. Save the sauce after you pull it off the grill, pour into a sauce pan and add more bbq sauce to thicken it up. Use that to brush on the ribs and put them back on the grill. Finish them there.

Sorry I have no pics, but they came out pretty good. I think with the indirect heat even on both sides of the kettle, they could have stayed on longer than the hour they were on for. Maybe another 20-30 min.
 
This is my Winter version ribs...done in the oven low & slow. Just rib rub, liquid smoke, and a little white wine. Once they're done, peel back the foil and brush a little BBQ sauce on them, then the under the broiler....or just put them under the broiler with no BBQ sauce...either way they're pretty good.
 
Ironman, you didn't mention baby back or LousyAnna style. I do get into ribs when the boss gets in the mood. Grease is good for ya.
 
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