by John Hardaway (@CoachHardaway)9/12/2024 8:52:39 AM
posted in: Skordle Sampler | 1,034 views
Simple question: Who doesn’t like ribs?
Whether it's pork ribs (spare ribs, St. Louis ribs, baby back ribs) or beef ribs (dino ribs), ribs are a culinary staple for any BBQ lover.
Pork ribs are pretty much a no-fail mission in BBQ, second only behind pulled pork when it comes to ease and edibility.
The reality is that about anyone or any place can cook up some solid, edible pork ribs in many different shapes, sizes and flavors that can satisfy any hungry BBQ lover.
Beef ribs, on the other hand, take a lot more craftsmanship and patience to get done just right.
But when they are, they are almost magical.
When I visit a BBQ place for the first time, I almost always get the “Texas Trinity” which is pork ribs, sausage and sliced brisket.
I do this as a way to sample the primary staples of any good BBQ restaurant.
Now, ribs are never the deal breaker in forming my opinion of the top end quality of BBQ establishment (that lies with sliced brisket), but I often find that ribs (along with sausage) can save the day for a particular visit if the sliced brisket isn't up to my lofty standards.
If you come across a place that does smoked beef ribs (dino ribs), I highly recommend giving these a try.
Beef ribs can be hard to find sometimes and many places (normally highly quality establishments) only sell them on special days of the week or occasions.
They tend to be pretty expensive, BUT, this is because they are really incredible when done right.
Imagine some of the best, rich, flavorful brisket you have ever tasted, but on a big handle. That’s a beef rib for the most part. If you see it somewhere, I encourage you to get it!
Now, if you are brave or skilled enough to smoke some ribs at home, this is where I feel ribs really have the opportunity to be excellent without a lot of crazy techniques and difficulty.
At-home (DIY) meat smokers can produce some really great ribs on a pellet, stick or electric smoker. Just follow the easy-to-find, tried-and-true Johnny Trigg method (Google search) with maybe your own twist or variation based on your experiences and wants when it comes to your ribs.
My preference has been 2 hours uncovered, 3 hours covered and 1 uncovered on my offset stick burner smoker.
I want to have guaranteed, fall off the bone, delicious ribs as opposed to the competition ribs, so I like the extra hour in the foil to get them nice and soft with plenty of pull back off the ends of the bone.
Despite the above method, which I have described and used for many years, the best ribs I have ever smoked were by complete accident and have never been replicated since.
My good friend Layne Jones – BBQ, Tea and Red Dirt music connoisseur – can attest to the quality of these ribs and the complete lack of preparation or general care that produced them.
It was 3 racks of St. Louis style pork ribs on a cheap big box store smoker. I literally sprinkled the ribs with some retail seasoning blend, put them on the smoker and packed the fire box with as much charcoal and hickory wood that I could fit in there.
I left the smoker going for hours, never checking the ribs once – not the temp, not the fire box – and I came and ate the best ribs I have ever had, primarily because of the exceptional bark.
Still to this day I don't know why or how they came out so great, but man they were and I have been chasing these same ribs ever since.
Maybe my problem now is that I do care and that is actually the method here - not caring as much, not peeking and not worrying about temperature control.
Like the old saying goes “If you're looking, you're not cooking.”
Before we finish up with some beautiful rib pictures, we have to share the iwasatthegame.com “Fun Fact of the Week.”
When I asked Chris for something interesting to share with our millions and millions of readers (not really) he wanted people to know about some very long-standing football rivalries in Oklahoma.
Since 1944, HARTSHORNE and WILBURTON have played every year with HARTSHORNE leading the series 54-26. I don’t have the total number of times these teams have played but the earliest I could find was in 1922.
IDABEL and BROKEN BOW will be squaring off for their 110th time this Friday night, according to my calculations. The Warriors and the Savages first squared off in 1915 with BROKEN BOW leading the ALL-TIME series 62-45-2.
The most games played since 1944 between 2 teams is ARDMORE vs DUNCAN and IDABEL vs HUGO. These matchups have happened 81 times with each playing some years twice (playoffs and regular season). Neither one of these rivalries are scheduled for this year during the regular season.
Are you ready for some rib pictures? Here you go!
