Not the whole hog- just its ribs
July 1, 2012 5:30 PM Subscribe
I have never barbecued ribs before and I'm thinking of taking the plunge. I have a Weber and an oven that's reliable its front half.
Suggestions and advice gratefully accepted.
My brother always cooked the meat for these things but he traitorously moved out of state. I'm thinking of trying to do it myself.
Details:
- about 15 people to feed. One Weber charcoal grill. (in batches?)
- probably spareribs (traditional). Possibly baby back ribs (meatier).
- not goopy with sauce. Dry is better than saucy.
- not sweet.
- cook them with some sort of rub in the oven first?
- marinate? Overnight?
- good how long on the grill? (It's not a smoker.)
- the oven actually works if you keep turning your item around. (Has cool spots.)
- I have access to a completely working oven the day and night before if I need it. It's 10 minutes' drive from the site of the BBQ.
- if anyone in the San Francisco east bay is dumping their completely functional gas range, please memail me. 30" wide is our max. /end killing two birds with one AskMe
My brother always cooked the meat for these things but he traitorously moved out of state. I'm thinking of trying to do it myself.
Details:
- about 15 people to feed. One Weber charcoal grill. (in batches?)
- probably spareribs (traditional). Possibly baby back ribs (meatier).
- not goopy with sauce. Dry is better than saucy.
- not sweet.
- cook them with some sort of rub in the oven first?
- marinate? Overnight?
- good how long on the grill? (It's not a smoker.)
- the oven actually works if you keep turning your item around. (Has cool spots.)
- I have access to a completely working oven the day and night before if I need it. It's 10 minutes' drive from the site of the BBQ.
- if anyone in the San Francisco east bay is dumping their completely functional gas range, please memail me. 30" wide is our max. /end killing two birds with one AskMe
Follow Alton Brown's procedure (in very brief sum):
Baby back rips, dry rubbed and braised ahead of time.
Finish on the grill.
His sauce made from the braising liquid and drippings gets way to salty. Use a reasonable BBQ sauce, homemade or otherwise.
The real point is that you can do the bulk of the cooking ahead of time in the oven and finish on the grill. That will give you plenty of time to talk to guest and be social, since finishing them will be minutes instead of hours.
posted by plinth at 6:05 PM on July 1, 2012 [2 favorites]
Baby back rips, dry rubbed and braised ahead of time.
Finish on the grill.
His sauce made from the braising liquid and drippings gets way to salty. Use a reasonable BBQ sauce, homemade or otherwise.
The real point is that you can do the bulk of the cooking ahead of time in the oven and finish on the grill. That will give you plenty of time to talk to guest and be social, since finishing them will be minutes instead of hours.
posted by plinth at 6:05 PM on July 1, 2012 [2 favorites]
Mr. DrGail is quite the ribs-barbecuer, especially after becoming certified as a Kansas City Barbecue Society judge. Here's his rough method: he uses pork spare ribs, thaws them a day in advance. Then puts a dry rub on them, consisting of salt, pepper, garlic powder, and some sort of commercial dry rub spice mix (which varies). Covers them lightly with waxed paper, then puts them in the frost-free refrigerator overnight to dry and suck the seasonings in. About 3 to 3.5 hours before serving, he soaks the wood chips (or chunks, as he now prefers) in water, then puts them on the grill and lights it (this is a for a gas grill; the wood for smoking will need to go on the charcoal grill after it has been lit). Once the wood starts smoking, he puts the ribs on, keeps the temperature at 350, and turns the rack every half hour. About .5 hours before serving, he applies whatever sauce he prefers, basting them a time or two before removing them from the grill.
Mr. DrGail advises that using a charcoal grill for this will be a bit tricky because it's hard to keep the temperature constant, or even to know what the temperature is. But I can't imagine that the preparation would vary depending on what type of grill you use; you'll just need to be really careful during the cooking phase.
I can certainly vouch for the OMG yummy results from this general method. Meaty, smoky, flavorful, not greasy, but thoroughly delightful.
posted by DrGail at 6:29 PM on July 1, 2012 [1 favorite]
Mr. DrGail advises that using a charcoal grill for this will be a bit tricky because it's hard to keep the temperature constant, or even to know what the temperature is. But I can't imagine that the preparation would vary depending on what type of grill you use; you'll just need to be really careful during the cooking phase.
I can certainly vouch for the OMG yummy results from this general method. Meaty, smoky, flavorful, not greasy, but thoroughly delightful.
posted by DrGail at 6:29 PM on July 1, 2012 [1 favorite]
This is very timely as we just had some pork ribs on our Weber charcoal grill yesterday. We usually have them with sauce but when we use a dry rub I make my own mainly consisting of kosher salt, fresh cracked pepper, cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, and paprika. Depending on how hot you like them depends on how much cayenne and red pepper flakes you use. Rub it all in let it sit over night. Using a charcoal chimney we get the charcoal going. Once the coals are red hot we dump them in the grill and once the grill is hot, clean the grill and place the ribs on the grill. Instead of cooking a whole slab I usually cut them up into 2 ribs together. You are going to have to do it in batches and take your time. For 4 people we used 2 slabs and had about 3 riblets left. For fifteen people I would get at least 5 slabs. We grill them low and slow which allows the ribs to keep their juices and OMG they are so good. You have to be vigilant because like DrGail said it is difficult to keep the temperature consistent but with enough practice you can tell when it is getting too hot.
That and a heaping serving of potato salad...heaven.
posted by govtdrone at 7:04 PM on July 1, 2012
That and a heaping serving of potato salad...heaven.
posted by govtdrone at 7:04 PM on July 1, 2012
Response by poster: Both for cooking ahead and for cooking straight on the grill - how long should I give myself for them to cook?
posted by small_ruminant at 7:16 PM on July 1, 2012
posted by small_ruminant at 7:16 PM on July 1, 2012
Cooking enough ribs for 15 people on a weber could be tricky, especially if you're going low and slow. Baby backs take about three hours to cook and the recommendation is one slab per person. Spare ribs take about 5 hours and one slab feeds two people. I would highly recommend visiting amazing ribs. This site has all the information you need to cook the best ribs you've ever eaten. Try the last meal ribs recipe and be sure to make your own rub and sauce. It's not nearly as hard as it seems.
posted by trigger at 7:22 PM on July 1, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by trigger at 7:22 PM on July 1, 2012 [1 favorite]
You want to cook them in the oven and finish them on the grill, especially given your equipment and party size.
I cover mine with a dry rub and let em sit overnight in the fridge. Then roast in the oven with some beer or apple cider at 250 for an hour+ on each side. They'll be fully cooked. Throw em on the grill with some BBQ sauce to get that lovely maillard reaction. It's idiot-proof.
posted by gnutron at 8:18 PM on July 1, 2012
I cover mine with a dry rub and let em sit overnight in the fridge. Then roast in the oven with some beer or apple cider at 250 for an hour+ on each side. They'll be fully cooked. Throw em on the grill with some BBQ sauce to get that lovely maillard reaction. It's idiot-proof.
posted by gnutron at 8:18 PM on July 1, 2012
If you can use the over overnight I would stack the ribs in a large pan after seasoning overnight and cook at about 140-160 for something like 10 hours. After that is done you can just brush a bit of sauce on the ribs and put on a grill to finish. THe finish is just burning a bit of the sauce to develop the flavors and getting them to look right. I think on the grill if it is at a sufficient temperature, you're looking at about 10 mins of cooking time per rack. You'll probably need to cook them three or four at a time, but it is so quick that as long as people aren't lined up to eat immediately you could conceivably keep up with demand of a slow moving line by rotating out a rack every 3 minutes. Doubly so if you are chopping up the ribs into single riblets instead of whole racks so people can go by and grab a few and come back for more later.
posted by koolkat at 1:33 AM on July 2, 2012
posted by koolkat at 1:33 AM on July 2, 2012
Ribs have to be cooked low and slow, otherwise they'll end up tough.
I've never gone wrong with an Alton Brown recipe, so do what he says to do.
Another option is to buy a smoker and do them that way. A smoker is pretty cheap and it's kind of fun.
I did a brisket, leg of lamb and a turkey breast all at the same time. They were all amazing!
You can't cook your ribs on the grill, the fire will be too fast and hot. So oven first, then grill to finish.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 6:46 AM on July 2, 2012
I've never gone wrong with an Alton Brown recipe, so do what he says to do.
Another option is to buy a smoker and do them that way. A smoker is pretty cheap and it's kind of fun.
I did a brisket, leg of lamb and a turkey breast all at the same time. They were all amazing!
You can't cook your ribs on the grill, the fire will be too fast and hot. So oven first, then grill to finish.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 6:46 AM on July 2, 2012
Best to slow roast and then torch on the grill to finish. I just made amazing baby back ribs cooking sous vide.. not where you are going, but the equivalent would be slow roast.
I made a brine/sugar solution, marinated 12 hours or so in fridge, then made a dry rub, and cooked sousvide at 141ºF for 48 hours. Finished with coating ribs with bone sucking sauce and blowtorching them till bubbly and a little burned. Really the best ribs I ever had.
I used Douglas Baldwin's recipe as a guide. His dry rub suggestion was good.
Serious eats has a good amount of info on barbecue styles.
Enjoy!
posted by snaparapans at 10:46 AM on July 2, 2012
I made a brine/sugar solution, marinated 12 hours or so in fridge, then made a dry rub, and cooked sousvide at 141ºF for 48 hours. Finished with coating ribs with bone sucking sauce and blowtorching them till bubbly and a little burned. Really the best ribs I ever had.
I used Douglas Baldwin's recipe as a guide. His dry rub suggestion was good.
Serious eats has a good amount of info on barbecue styles.
Enjoy!
posted by snaparapans at 10:46 AM on July 2, 2012
Best answer: So...I've got a post somewhere back in Mefi history about roast beef that was sorta popular, I'll give this one a spin.
First, don't even try to cook for 15 people all at once with your first go at ribs. Just. Don't.
Next, honestly---don't waste your time on baby backs. They're smaller, thinner, and much more expensive. They do NOT take mistakes well, you WILL over-cook them and ruin them the first time. Do NOT buy "country style spare ribs", ever. This is garbage food and I will challenge anyone who argues to a fork fight. You want whole slab, usually cryovac'd in a normal market. Fat is good. I like to look at the underside of the ribs and see how much meat is there, that's normally a good indication of how meaty the ribs are all together. I can't give you a metric here, just compare some and go with the ones with more meat behind the bones.
There are a bazillion ways to cook ribs. Some will swear you smoke them, some will swear you braise them first, some straight up boil, some go straight on the grill. Some people (me, sometimes) will foil wrap and slow cook in the oven for 7 or 8 hours and finish on the grill, although---and this is where I diverge from some people---I prefer my ribs to have good texture, and NOT necessarily be "fall off the bone."
Typically I'll just unroll some foil (shiny side towards meat) and sprinkle on my spices, whatever sounds good. Cinnamon can be a surprise good thing, just go easy, less is more. Red pepper, black pepper, kosher or sea salt, and some barbecue sauce. I avoid garlic at this point.
Barbecue sauce. Goodness. Find something that doesn't have HFCS in the first three ingredients and you'll be OK. Just a little bit at first is all you need, a thin coat everywhere.
More foil on top, roll and pinch to make it tight, and in the oven at ~275 or so for maybe an hour and a half, 2 hours at the most. Pull it out. This will be hard, because lots of the yummo fat will have melted and be pooled in the foil, and if you yank it out too hard you'll poke a hole and have either smoke or fire or just a big ass mess. Avoid this.
While it's cooking, get your charcoal hot. Charcoal only. Do not do this on gas, or I will ride my bicycle to your house and stab you with a bamboo shishkabob thinger. HOT. I said hot, right? You want it hot. Coals hot all the way through and starting to burn down. No lighter fluid, no newspaper. Just. Hot Charcoal. Ideally "raw" or "whole" charcoal, not briquettes.
After your two or so hours, pour off that delicious melted fat goo and save it. This is why we have pyrex. Re-slather with barbecue sauce, garlic powder, more pepper if you like it that way, maybe a little lemon or lime juice.
Now, see, there's debate as to which side you cook first. I do meat side down first, and then flip, but I know people who swear it's the other way. You're going to put it down on those hot ass coals, and it's going to smoke and sizzle and act generally pissed off. You're only going to do this long enough to carmelize/sear the liquid layer into a light crust, then you're going to flip. If you do this exactly correctly, the barbecue will be bubbling slightly, and will be thick and sticking to the meat. Repeat on the back, your method to test done-ness here is that just beneath the connective tissue you will see little places where the meat is bubbling/moisture is trapped and trying to move. At this point, I put just a twee bit more sauce on the meat side (which is now up, right?), flip and repeat caramelization one more time.
OH CRAP I FORGOT: You're going to mix the sauce with the delicious goo you poured off. You still want it thick, not watery, but probably 70/30 (sauce heavy) is a good ratio. You're also going to mix more at the end for dippage.
Move to plate/rack. Wait about 5 minutes, maybe 10. They should still be almost too hot to touch, but cool enough you can flip them and let go and lick your fingers and repeat. Now get a long, serrated knife. Yes, I said serrated. Think bread knife not survival knife. If you're looking at the meat side, there's a top and a bottom. The side that has meat on the BACK of the ribs will be the "bottom" for right now. Tip up the ribs so that the ends without back meat are up, slice between the bones. Try to center it up, but there's no science here, and you'll learn that the gaps are NOT shaped how you think they will be. When you get towards the bottom (where the meat is), you'll meet resistance. It's just cartilage, cut through it.
Serve, offer extra sauce that's been heated and mixed with the fat pour-off.
These are WET ribs, because dry ribs should be called "Jerky." These require chewing (but they will be very, very tender), and there are surprise morsels that are the best. (The meat behind the ribs, on the bone side.../gurgle. ) They are also messy. There is NO human way to eat these without wearing drippage and sauce.
Serve with maltier beer (because hoppy beer is for hipsters and people without functional taste buds but also because hoppy does NOT play well with the richness of the meat. Anything between a Stoney's to a Shock-Top to a Harp to a Killians is a good option here, just stay the hell away from Sam Adam's or DFH or whatever the one with the dogs is. Barf.)
You can also play with the general themes and have fine results, like I said sometimes I'll do for 6-8 hours at lower heat (225-250) and finish on the grill, sometimes I finish under the broiler for a non-charcoal crust and easy cleanup. I like mine spicy, so I'll throw in some sriracha or a little extra red pepper, possibly some paprika. I avoid the brown sugar themes entirely.
posted by TomMelee at 10:55 AM on July 2, 2012 [2 favorites]
First, don't even try to cook for 15 people all at once with your first go at ribs. Just. Don't.
Next, honestly---don't waste your time on baby backs. They're smaller, thinner, and much more expensive. They do NOT take mistakes well, you WILL over-cook them and ruin them the first time. Do NOT buy "country style spare ribs", ever. This is garbage food and I will challenge anyone who argues to a fork fight. You want whole slab, usually cryovac'd in a normal market. Fat is good. I like to look at the underside of the ribs and see how much meat is there, that's normally a good indication of how meaty the ribs are all together. I can't give you a metric here, just compare some and go with the ones with more meat behind the bones.
There are a bazillion ways to cook ribs. Some will swear you smoke them, some will swear you braise them first, some straight up boil, some go straight on the grill. Some people (me, sometimes) will foil wrap and slow cook in the oven for 7 or 8 hours and finish on the grill, although---and this is where I diverge from some people---I prefer my ribs to have good texture, and NOT necessarily be "fall off the bone."
Typically I'll just unroll some foil (shiny side towards meat) and sprinkle on my spices, whatever sounds good. Cinnamon can be a surprise good thing, just go easy, less is more. Red pepper, black pepper, kosher or sea salt, and some barbecue sauce. I avoid garlic at this point.
Barbecue sauce. Goodness. Find something that doesn't have HFCS in the first three ingredients and you'll be OK. Just a little bit at first is all you need, a thin coat everywhere.
More foil on top, roll and pinch to make it tight, and in the oven at ~275 or so for maybe an hour and a half, 2 hours at the most. Pull it out. This will be hard, because lots of the yummo fat will have melted and be pooled in the foil, and if you yank it out too hard you'll poke a hole and have either smoke or fire or just a big ass mess. Avoid this.
While it's cooking, get your charcoal hot. Charcoal only. Do not do this on gas, or I will ride my bicycle to your house and stab you with a bamboo shishkabob thinger. HOT. I said hot, right? You want it hot. Coals hot all the way through and starting to burn down. No lighter fluid, no newspaper. Just. Hot Charcoal. Ideally "raw" or "whole" charcoal, not briquettes.
After your two or so hours, pour off that delicious melted fat goo and save it. This is why we have pyrex. Re-slather with barbecue sauce, garlic powder, more pepper if you like it that way, maybe a little lemon or lime juice.
Now, see, there's debate as to which side you cook first. I do meat side down first, and then flip, but I know people who swear it's the other way. You're going to put it down on those hot ass coals, and it's going to smoke and sizzle and act generally pissed off. You're only going to do this long enough to carmelize/sear the liquid layer into a light crust, then you're going to flip. If you do this exactly correctly, the barbecue will be bubbling slightly, and will be thick and sticking to the meat. Repeat on the back, your method to test done-ness here is that just beneath the connective tissue you will see little places where the meat is bubbling/moisture is trapped and trying to move. At this point, I put just a twee bit more sauce on the meat side (which is now up, right?), flip and repeat caramelization one more time.
OH CRAP I FORGOT: You're going to mix the sauce with the delicious goo you poured off. You still want it thick, not watery, but probably 70/30 (sauce heavy) is a good ratio. You're also going to mix more at the end for dippage.
Move to plate/rack. Wait about 5 minutes, maybe 10. They should still be almost too hot to touch, but cool enough you can flip them and let go and lick your fingers and repeat. Now get a long, serrated knife. Yes, I said serrated. Think bread knife not survival knife. If you're looking at the meat side, there's a top and a bottom. The side that has meat on the BACK of the ribs will be the "bottom" for right now. Tip up the ribs so that the ends without back meat are up, slice between the bones. Try to center it up, but there's no science here, and you'll learn that the gaps are NOT shaped how you think they will be. When you get towards the bottom (where the meat is), you'll meet resistance. It's just cartilage, cut through it.
Serve, offer extra sauce that's been heated and mixed with the fat pour-off.
These are WET ribs, because dry ribs should be called "Jerky." These require chewing (but they will be very, very tender), and there are surprise morsels that are the best. (The meat behind the ribs, on the bone side.../gurgle. ) They are also messy. There is NO human way to eat these without wearing drippage and sauce.
Serve with maltier beer (because hoppy beer is for hipsters and people without functional taste buds but also because hoppy does NOT play well with the richness of the meat. Anything between a Stoney's to a Shock-Top to a Harp to a Killians is a good option here, just stay the hell away from Sam Adam's or DFH or whatever the one with the dogs is. Barf.)
You can also play with the general themes and have fine results, like I said sometimes I'll do for 6-8 hours at lower heat (225-250) and finish on the grill, sometimes I finish under the broiler for a non-charcoal crust and easy cleanup. I like mine spicy, so I'll throw in some sriracha or a little extra red pepper, possibly some paprika. I avoid the brown sugar themes entirely.
posted by TomMelee at 10:55 AM on July 2, 2012 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: TomMelee, I am very grateful for the specifics in your instructions!
I hate to disappoint but I will, in fact, be trying to cook for 10-15 my first try. There is no way I will be ever try it just for myself. So wish me luck. And I'll cook some chicken, too, so there's a back up plan. I love grilled chicken.
I have no idea what country style spare ribs are, but I will try to avoid them.
Thank you, everyone, for your responses!
I'm not all THAT into smokers because I have eaten too many things, especially birds, that taste like the inside of a chimney. Too much smoke, I guess, and generally I love that flavor.
For the folks that do the slow cook over night- what's the minimum temperature that it's not dangerous? My dad used to cook things (ribs, collard greens with ham) for a day or two at low temps and we inevitably got food poisoning from his creations.
Can I cook them the day before and then grill them the afternoon of the next day, do you think? Just trying to figure out all my options.
posted by small_ruminant at 7:05 PM on July 2, 2012
I hate to disappoint but I will, in fact, be trying to cook for 10-15 my first try. There is no way I will be ever try it just for myself. So wish me luck. And I'll cook some chicken, too, so there's a back up plan. I love grilled chicken.
I have no idea what country style spare ribs are, but I will try to avoid them.
Thank you, everyone, for your responses!
I'm not all THAT into smokers because I have eaten too many things, especially birds, that taste like the inside of a chimney. Too much smoke, I guess, and generally I love that flavor.
For the folks that do the slow cook over night- what's the minimum temperature that it's not dangerous? My dad used to cook things (ribs, collard greens with ham) for a day or two at low temps and we inevitably got food poisoning from his creations.
Can I cook them the day before and then grill them the afternoon of the next day, do you think? Just trying to figure out all my options.
posted by small_ruminant at 7:05 PM on July 2, 2012
You mean the super vague specifics? Lol. The hard part about 10-15 is just going to be serving size. For young adults I'd not expect any more than 3 people per full rack, but if you eat like normal people and have other things to eat, you can probably get away with 4. For me, my fiancee, and my friend, we split a full rack into thirds and finish it without leftovers.
Country-style spare ribs around here are ribs that are cut before they cooked. You buy them already separated. They're fine if you're going to cook them in a crock pot (eww!) but they just want to get leathery on a grill.
Yes, you can cook them the day before and reheat. I'd do ~2 hours @ 275 or so the night before, then probably an hour at 250 (in foil!) before you toss them on the grill. You want them near temp before you start searing. (In my opinion.) You can, actually, cook them through the night before, go ahead and cut them, and then slow-heat-and-sear before the party. That could work and you'd get more use of the surface area of your grill, and you won't be getting yourself crazy messy right at eating time.
Sous-vide tells us we can safely cook pork as low as 130-138 degrees, assuming we hold it there for a couple hours to pasteurize it. I wouldn't recommend slow cooking in an oven under 225-250.
My dad does his on a big grill with indirect heat (coals on one side pork on the other), with a big metal pan of water beneath the ribs to "steam" them. Good, but waaaay too much work imo. If you want to do this, just smoke the silly things and call it a day.
posted by TomMelee at 7:35 PM on July 2, 2012
Country-style spare ribs around here are ribs that are cut before they cooked. You buy them already separated. They're fine if you're going to cook them in a crock pot (eww!) but they just want to get leathery on a grill.
Yes, you can cook them the day before and reheat. I'd do ~2 hours @ 275 or so the night before, then probably an hour at 250 (in foil!) before you toss them on the grill. You want them near temp before you start searing. (In my opinion.) You can, actually, cook them through the night before, go ahead and cut them, and then slow-heat-and-sear before the party. That could work and you'd get more use of the surface area of your grill, and you won't be getting yourself crazy messy right at eating time.
Sous-vide tells us we can safely cook pork as low as 130-138 degrees, assuming we hold it there for a couple hours to pasteurize it. I wouldn't recommend slow cooking in an oven under 225-250.
My dad does his on a big grill with indirect heat (coals on one side pork on the other), with a big metal pan of water beneath the ribs to "steam" them. Good, but waaaay too much work imo. If you want to do this, just smoke the silly things and call it a day.
posted by TomMelee at 7:35 PM on July 2, 2012
Response by poster: Thanks. I think I'll try to do them the day of, but it's good to have options.
Okay, one more question: If you do them the night before, you'd wrap them in foil and then just LEAVE them there for the extra hour the next day, right? You wouldn't unwrap them and then rewrap them, right?
I am from the land of hops (northwest) so I will try to figure out what the heck a malty beer is.
Bragging rights: My family won the state championships for hops ~1860.
posted by small_ruminant at 9:19 PM on July 2, 2012
Okay, one more question: If you do them the night before, you'd wrap them in foil and then just LEAVE them there for the extra hour the next day, right? You wouldn't unwrap them and then rewrap them, right?
I am from the land of hops (northwest) so I will try to figure out what the heck a malty beer is.
Bragging rights: My family won the state championships for hops ~1860.
posted by small_ruminant at 9:19 PM on July 2, 2012
I wouldn't unwrap them. The challenge is going to be that there will be ~1 cup of fluid for every rack of ribs, and it'll be trapped in that foil. So...messy if the foil tears, and also it's mostly saturated, so if you put them in the fridge, it's going to solidify against the meat. Not a huge issue, just if you tear the foil without noticing it, you will notice as the smoke fills your house as the fat melts.
None of the beers I listed is especially malty (or really malty at all, they're just not hoppy). Word on the street (and my personal preference) is that you want a heavier, darker, more malty beer with grilled meat, whereas if you were say, grilling shrimp and mahi then lighter/crisper/hoppier would be good. :)
And, that's awesome about your family! Hops are great! I just dislike the current artisan trend of double-or-triple-hopping/dry hopping/how much hops can I cram in this batch.
posted by TomMelee at 5:34 AM on July 3, 2012
None of the beers I listed is especially malty (or really malty at all, they're just not hoppy). Word on the street (and my personal preference) is that you want a heavier, darker, more malty beer with grilled meat, whereas if you were say, grilling shrimp and mahi then lighter/crisper/hoppier would be good. :)
And, that's awesome about your family! Hops are great! I just dislike the current artisan trend of double-or-triple-hopping/dry hopping/how much hops can I cram in this batch.
posted by TomMelee at 5:34 AM on July 3, 2012
Response by poster: Ok so just to go off topic, and knowing that you're not from 'round here- any suggestions for beer from the west coast that would qualify? I've heard of Harp and Killians (I have an idea they're both Irish but I'm not sure why) but not the others you mentioned.
I mostly drink Anchor Steam and Redtail Ale (both local) because... well, because I always have, and so has my family. Time to branch out, I think.
posted by small_ruminant at 6:34 AM on July 3, 2012
I mostly drink Anchor Steam and Redtail Ale (both local) because... well, because I always have, and so has my family. Time to branch out, I think.
posted by small_ruminant at 6:34 AM on July 3, 2012
Harp is made by Guiness and Killians is made by, I think, Coors but uses an Irish red recipe. Anchor Steam is actually pretty good and I think I've had the Redtail as well.
I don't, unfortunately, have any recommendations as such. Find a distributor (or whatever you left coasters call stores that have a million varieties) and talk to someone inside. Wired this month actually has an article called "Recommendation Engine: Dark Brews for Beer Geeks", but I can't remember what the listed beers are. One is a peaty ale, and it sounds awesome. I'm a fan of just about everything made by Breckenridge, which is Colorado---but there's a ton of Colorado craft brews and Colorado isn't California. I'm an Ale guy, but I dig a good Tripel or just about anything Belgian, or most of the German and Czech Dunkels. Just keep the goshdarn IPA's away and I'm happy.
Now I'm rambling and thinking about good beer. THANKS. ;-)
posted by TomMelee at 7:07 AM on July 3, 2012
I don't, unfortunately, have any recommendations as such. Find a distributor (or whatever you left coasters call stores that have a million varieties) and talk to someone inside. Wired this month actually has an article called "Recommendation Engine: Dark Brews for Beer Geeks", but I can't remember what the listed beers are. One is a peaty ale, and it sounds awesome. I'm a fan of just about everything made by Breckenridge, which is Colorado---but there's a ton of Colorado craft brews and Colorado isn't California. I'm an Ale guy, but I dig a good Tripel or just about anything Belgian, or most of the German and Czech Dunkels. Just keep the goshdarn IPA's away and I'm happy.
Now I'm rambling and thinking about good beer. THANKS. ;-)
posted by TomMelee at 7:07 AM on July 3, 2012
Response by poster: Awesome. Thank you. I also don't like IPAs. I have this month's Wired and will do further research- thanks for the leaping off point.
posted by small_ruminant at 8:07 AM on July 3, 2012
posted by small_ruminant at 8:07 AM on July 3, 2012
Response by poster: Success! Using TomMelee's 2-hours-in-the-oven-first technique. And for 15 people! We had ribs left over and sent them home with people. It turns out that most people don't eat 6 ribs each the way I do.
Thank you!
posted by small_ruminant at 7:57 PM on July 4, 2012 [2 favorites]
Thank you!
posted by small_ruminant at 7:57 PM on July 4, 2012 [2 favorites]
Awesome! You inspired me to make them myself on wednesday, and I got distracted and actually let them cook for closer to 4 hours, which was fine at low heat but they got squishier than I wanted them to be. They caramelized nicely though and I'll be finishing them today for lunch.
Glad you had fun!
posted by TomMelee at 7:47 AM on July 6, 2012
Glad you had fun!
posted by TomMelee at 7:47 AM on July 6, 2012
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by small_ruminant at 5:30 PM on July 1, 2012