The other day my daughter called me up looking for some advice. I must admit I love when she calls and I get to pass on a bit of my cooking knowledge. Cooking and baking is something that we both love to. Actually, when we have family celebrations and are in the kitchen together we work like a well cared for and oiled machine. She had just purchased a smoker and wanted to make smoked ribs. She remembered me telling her something one time about rib preparation, that just doesn’t seem to be as out there as it should be. I have to say that since, I started doing this to my ribs they are fall off the bone good. So today I am going to share the secret to making them. You can cook them how you wish, my daughter did her’s on the smoker, I do a combination of Instant Pot and oven,but the cooking method is all up to you.
HERE IS THE SECRET
Removing the silver skin. What and where is the silver skin. It is a small layer of skin that just before the meat on ribs. It is actually a membrane. Keeping it on prevents your seasoning from getting into the meat. The way to remove it is to slide a knife under it and then peel it back. In a perfect world once you start to pull it, all of it comes off right away. This rarely happens for me and it did not happen for my daughter either. But just keep on finding a spot to put your knife under and peeling it off. Once I show through the pictures, you will be able to easily identify it and know when you have removed all of it. So here are some pictures of me removing it the other night.
Once you have the silver skin removed you can add your dry rub. This my dry rub recipe. I triple the recipe when I make it and keep it in a mason jar in my cupboard. But you can use your own, or a store bought one.
- 2 tbs salt
- 1 tbs brown sugar
- 1 tbs chili powder
- 1 tbs paprika
- 3 tsp garlic powder
- 1 1/2 tsp cayenne
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
Before I put the rub on, to help it stick better, I put a small amount of Woodland Natural Hickory smoke on it.
My daughter did not have any. Since she was making her ribs on the smoker she had the wood chips she was soaking that she used the drain water from. This is optional.
THE COOKING OPTIONS
INSTANT POT
- Cut the rack into 4 equal pieces
- rub the rub on all sides of the pieces
- put beef broth into your instant pot (just add the minimum amount required for your pot size) I have an 8 quart so for me it is 2 cups.
- put your ribs on the instant pot rack to form a tee pee and secure your lid
- on the manual setting select 30 minutes for side ribs 25 minutes for back ribs(this is for about 4lbs of ribs which is about 1 rack)
- when it beeps done let them do a natural release for 10 minutes the finish with a quick release. This natural release time is like letting you meat sit, it keeps them moist and juicy)
- Preheat your oven to 425
- I like to line my pan with foil it makes clean up much easier. But you can skip this step.
- using tongs carefully remove your ribs. They will want to fall off the bone. If that happens just put the meat on the pan.
- cover with your favorite BBQ sauce
- bake for about 5 minutes on each side
In the OVEN
- preheat the oven to 275
- assuming you have already put your rub on
- put your rack of ribs on a pan(I would cover with tin foil to make clean up easier)
- cover the pan with tin foil
- bake 3 -4 hrs let them reach about 190 degrees (the USDA says they are done at 145, but bringing them up to 190 makes them more tender and juicy)
- remove from oven put on your favorite BBQ Sauce on all sides
- turn oven to broil and cook until they are nice and sticky
In the SMOKER
- I leave my ribs to marinate in the rub refrigerated for a minimum of 2 hrs, but the longer the better
- take ribs out of the fridge 30 minutes before you are going to smoke them
- set up your smoker as outlined by your manual. I always soak my chips for at least 1 hr before using them.
- Prepare a spray mixture. I use a mix of 1 cup apple juice or cider, 1tbs apple cider vinegar, 2 tbs of Worcestershire. Shake to mix in your spray bottle.
- once your smoker reaches 250 lightly brush the grates with vegetable oil
- put your ribs directly on the grill on the highest grate meat side up and spray with mix
- cook 1 hr then replenish your wood, water tray and flip the ribs and respray them and put them on the lowest grill closest to the wood chip box
- after 1 hr , spray again, check the woodchip box and water box refill if needed. Keep repeating this until your ribs are dark brown and the meat is pulling away. About 2 more hrs
- remove from smoker and let rest for 5 minutes before cutting (if you want to add BBQ sauce now is the time
ON THE GRILL
- after you have rubbed your ribs marinate for minimum of 1 hr in the fridge
- let them come to room temperature before grilling
- clean and lightly oil your grill, put foil on the lower rack to catch drippings and prevent fire flare ups
- heat the grill on high heat
- put your ribs on the upper rack and turn down the heat to low setting
- close your lid and DO NOT OPEN for 1 hr
- brush with your favorite bbq sauce and grill 5 more minutes ribs should read above 145 degrees but 190 is the best temperature for tender juicy ribs
I hope you and your family enjoy these. If you have any questions just ask. Oh and don’t throw out those rib bone put them in a freezer bag to make bone broth with. I have great method of to do this on an earlier post.
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