J
John Gaughan
Guest
I need help cooking ribs. My problem is that the ribs are
always tough. At restaurants the meat is so tender I can
almost lick it off the bone, and I can easily gnaw the meat
off the bone in short order. At home, I can gnaw for hours
and the meat is so tough I just cannot get it all. The taste
is decent, but the meat just is not tender enough.
I cook the ribs on the grill, generally under indirect heat.
I have a wide charcoal grill with attached smoke box. I have
tried it with the fire in the smoke box, smoking the ribs in
the main compartment. I use regular old Kingsford charcoal
and hickory chips soaked for at least a half hour. I've
tried it with the fire in the main compartment, but on
different ends (there are two grill plates, I put the fire
under one and the ribs over the other). I've tried it under
direct heat, the ribs directly over the fire. This generally
produces ribs that are slightly more tender, but more
charred (the dripping fat causes flare-ups, and I don't
usually have aluminum drip pans handy). I like the slightly
charred exterior but my wife hates it ("it tastes like
burnt!"). Generally when I use wood chips the meat is very
tough, although even without the hickory it still is tough.
Is smoking to blame, or (more likely) am I just doing
something wrong? What do you guys recommend I try?
--
John Gaughan http://www.johngaughan.net/
[email protected]
always tough. At restaurants the meat is so tender I can
almost lick it off the bone, and I can easily gnaw the meat
off the bone in short order. At home, I can gnaw for hours
and the meat is so tough I just cannot get it all. The taste
is decent, but the meat just is not tender enough.
I cook the ribs on the grill, generally under indirect heat.
I have a wide charcoal grill with attached smoke box. I have
tried it with the fire in the smoke box, smoking the ribs in
the main compartment. I use regular old Kingsford charcoal
and hickory chips soaked for at least a half hour. I've
tried it with the fire in the main compartment, but on
different ends (there are two grill plates, I put the fire
under one and the ribs over the other). I've tried it under
direct heat, the ribs directly over the fire. This generally
produces ribs that are slightly more tender, but more
charred (the dripping fat causes flare-ups, and I don't
usually have aluminum drip pans handy). I like the slightly
charred exterior but my wife hates it ("it tastes like
burnt!"). Generally when I use wood chips the meat is very
tough, although even without the hickory it still is tough.
Is smoking to blame, or (more likely) am I just doing
something wrong? What do you guys recommend I try?
--
John Gaughan http://www.johngaughan.net/
[email protected]