This post has to begin with this admission - By no means am I a rib master. Though I have been practicing bbqing and grilling ribs for a while now, I am not there, yet.. Someday, with enough ribs 'under my belt' I will be able to say I bbq some of the best ribs around. Always hold out hope!
As you look around the internet for 'bbq ribs' there are literally thousands of recipes and videos out there of the 'great rib method'. Some of them you can tell right away that it is best to pass them by, but there are many others which pique the interest and get the taste buds attention. One such method is simply named the 3-2-1 Method. I am not going to be able say this is the best way to do them, as I need to try all other way s too. This is one way which wanted to give a try try. To be honest, I have heard the foil portion of this method called 'the crutch'. For me, the end result is what tells the tale. If you end up with the best ribs you have ever eaten it's all good.
The basic premise for 3-2-1, from what I have read, is the following. This is a low & slow cook.
BBQ the prepared ribs for 3 hours
Place ribs & a little liquid in foil, put back in bbq for 2 hours
Remove from the foil, slather with sauce and back in bbq for 1 hour
This is the breakdown of how these ribs went from fridge to plate.
I started the smoker at about 8:15, heading for a temperature of 225 degrees by 9 am. This was tricky as it was only around 22 degrees outside. Just glad there was no wind. Of course, the trickiness was taken down a notch by using the propane option on the Brinkman offset. Have to say that having the option of going from stick burning to propane and back is very cool.
I prepped the ribs by first removing the membrane from the back then coating both sides with spicy mustard. After that a nice coating of our Tango Spice Chik N' Rib Rub. Of course, any mustard and rub will do, but Tango is better than most - if I do say so myself. As the bbq came up to temp I left the ribs out on the counter, covered with plastic wrap so they come to room temp before being placed in the smoker.
Once the smoker is at the desired temperature place the racks on the grates, bone side down. These I let go for just about 2 1/2 hours with the temp hovering between 220 & 225 degrees.
During this initial cook time I used a spray bottle and gave the ribs a good hosing with 100% apple juice every thirty minutes.
As the 2.5 hour time neared I ripped off three large pieces of foil, opened a bottle of Long Ireland Black Friday Imperial Stout. Placing a rack on each piece of foil, I formed a sort of bowl and added around a quarter of a cup of stout to each. Sealed the foil, but did not make it too tight. These were then placed back in the Brinkman.
The 'original method' calls for leaving them foiled for 2 hours but I decided to unfoil them after just 90 minutes. Some of the naysayers I had read voiced complaints about the ribs over-cooking, possibly turning out a bit mushy. So, to ere on the side of caution I had been cutting back a bit on the times.
At the 90 minute mark the ribs were removed from the foil, put back in the smoker and coated with a generous helping of bbq sauce.
Here I did leave them to bbq for the entire 1 hour - again @ 220 degrees. At that point I took them off, placed them in a chaffing pan and covered with foil. Turn the smoker off and get ready to slice into these racks of goodness. The entire cook time was scented with the wondrous aroma of bBQ and by this time I had a mighty hunger.
I will say right up front that the ribs tasted awesome, but were far from the best I have ever cooked or had. They were cooked real well, but were just shy of the 'fall off the bone' that I enjoy. One thing I am thinking is that I could have done the entire 3-2-1 as it stood and not take 30 minutes off the starting 3 hours or 30 minutes off the foiled time.
So, this means that I really must bbq many, many more racks of ribs!
No Problem!
Also, I have to say the Long Ireland Black Friday Imperial Stout was Fantastic on the ribs and in the glass!
As Always, Thank You For Reading!
Check out the video of this tasty event!
No comments:
Post a Comment