Scott Hibb's Amazing Whiskey Grilled Baby Back Ribs Recipe - Food.com (2024)

FAQs

What's the best temperature to cook baby back ribs and how long? ›

Shoot for around 2 hours at 350 degrees if the ribs are uncovered, as in our Barbecued Pork Ribs. If wrapped in foil, the ribs can go for up to 3 hours at 300°F degrees, or crank the oven up to 400 degrees for a briefer baking time—1.5 to 2 hours.

The Consequences of Skipping Membrane Removal. If you don't remove the rib membrane before cooking, it can make the ribs tough and chewy. The membrane doesn't break down during cooking, so it can be difficult to chew and can ruin the texture of the meat.

Cooking ribs too quickly on the grill over high heat will make them tough and chewier than you'd like. Start with cooking them for 30 minutes on each side over indirect medium heat. After the first hour, you can move them to direct heat and cook for an extra 20-40 minutes, or until they're done.

Anything under that temperature and your ribs will be chewy, stringy, and tough. At 195 degrees F, that tissue starts to gelatinize and turn into tasty, melty deliciousness. Most ribs hit their sweet spot for doneness around 198 degrees F, but some take until 203 degrees F to be perfectly tender.

For fall-off-the-bone ribs, we suggest grilling these the slow way at 225 degrees up to 3 hours. Don't forget to add the barbecue sauce for perfect caramelization. Cook them the fast way from 1 1/2 to 2 hours at 350 degrees. Either way is delicious if seasoned correctly.

The heat that's added to the ribs over a long period of time breaks down the tissues making the end product more tender as it cooks. The temperature has to be just right, not too high and not too low, and the meat has to be kept moist so it won't dry out. Basting is recommended.

The longer simmering time helps break down the connective tissue and skin and brings out the tenderness and flavor. The key to this method is to simmer, not boil. If you boil the meat for an hour it can lead to prematurely cooking of the ribs and you'll end up with awful, tough meat.

Indirect heat is key in grilling ribs so that they don't get too hot too fast. They need to cook for a long time, and direct heat will burn them; you want to keep them away from direct contact over the heat source. For gas, this usually means having at least one burner completely off.

This recipe skips the braising step, so you have to keep them moist another way. Steam and basting are the magical solutions to this conundrum. Using a small saucepan heat apple cider and butter and then place it in the grill with the ribs. The steam from the liquid will keep the ribs from drying out.

Do ribs taste better grilled or baked? ›

The low and slow baking process allows the flavors of the seasoning and rub to penetrate deeply into the meat, resulting in more flavorful tender ribs. Once the ribs have been baked, all you need to do is finish them quickly on the grill and coat them with your favorite sauce.

Place them bone-side down and let them cook for about 1 hour. You can pull them off and let them rest for 5-10 minutes in the foil while cranking the temp up on the grill to high and if you have wood chips, add them and get the smoke rolling.

I always smoke mine bone side down (so the meaty side is facing up), for two reasons. First, I want the smoke to penetrate the bone side too, so each and every bite of the ribs is equally smoky and delicious. Secondly, if you cook them bone side UP, the juices will pool in the concave center of the bones.

Preheat oven to 250 degrees then line a baking sheet with foil and spray with nonstick spray. Place ribs on top then cover tightly with more foil and bake for 3-1/2 hours (add more time if your ribs are larger then 2-1/2lbs.)

I start cooking ribs in the oven at around 200 degrees if they're wrapped in foil, and unwrapped ribs at 225 degrees to compensate for the cooling effect of evaporation from the exposed meat surface. These temperatures bring the inner meat temperature up to around 170 degrees in 3 to 4 hours.

Though optional, I do totally recommend this step. Fun fact- ribs are actually cooked when they reach 145 degrees, but the collagen and fat breaks down between 190 and 205 degrees, giving you that fall off the bone, delicious and juicy rib you want.