beerco
Senior Cook
Haven't posted here for a long time but some recent events have me seeking advice.
Short Question: Is it worth smoking ribs?
Long Philosophical Discussion: I'm certainly not an expert BBQ guy, but I'm getting better. My pork butt and smoked salmon are pretty darn good and I've converted many non-pork eaters.
I happened to be in Evansville Indiana for work a few months ago and had some butt at a joint called Sheilers and it was fantastic - better even than my home made product.
Then a famous daves opened up near my house so we went to try, especially looking forward to the ribs as we'd heard that they're great. They weren't . Dry and lifeless.
So I'm in Kansas City last thursday and ask the locals where the best BBQ place is and they steer me to some joint. I'm figuring I'm in one of the BBQ Meccas so they should have great ribs. Again, dry and lifeless.
So, I've only made ribs about twice following Alton Brown's recepie for braised ribs pretty much exactly. These ribs have come out absolutely stunning, so far the best ribs I've ever had bar none. This surprises me because I've only made them twice and figure there must be room for improvement. I've smoked dosens of butts but found a place in BBQ-land that had a better butt.
So it got me to thinking, perhaps it's just not right to smoke ribs, that the environment in the smoker is just too dry. I've not smoked ribs yet as I've heard they're the toughest thing to master in the pit and they can be pretty expensive.
For those who've both braised and BBQ'd ribs, have you found a secret to make the BBQ better than braised, or have you given up on BBQ or vice versa.
Short Question: Is it worth smoking ribs?
Long Philosophical Discussion: I'm certainly not an expert BBQ guy, but I'm getting better. My pork butt and smoked salmon are pretty darn good and I've converted many non-pork eaters.
I happened to be in Evansville Indiana for work a few months ago and had some butt at a joint called Sheilers and it was fantastic - better even than my home made product.
Then a famous daves opened up near my house so we went to try, especially looking forward to the ribs as we'd heard that they're great. They weren't . Dry and lifeless.
So I'm in Kansas City last thursday and ask the locals where the best BBQ place is and they steer me to some joint. I'm figuring I'm in one of the BBQ Meccas so they should have great ribs. Again, dry and lifeless.
So, I've only made ribs about twice following Alton Brown's recepie for braised ribs pretty much exactly. These ribs have come out absolutely stunning, so far the best ribs I've ever had bar none. This surprises me because I've only made them twice and figure there must be room for improvement. I've smoked dosens of butts but found a place in BBQ-land that had a better butt.
So it got me to thinking, perhaps it's just not right to smoke ribs, that the environment in the smoker is just too dry. I've not smoked ribs yet as I've heard they're the toughest thing to master in the pit and they can be pretty expensive.
For those who've both braised and BBQ'd ribs, have you found a secret to make the BBQ better than braised, or have you given up on BBQ or vice versa.