Ribs - to soak and to boil. Or not.

[KamadoSimon]

For all the ribs I have done (admittedly not huge numbers like some of you guys n girls), I have always soaked them before cooking. Am I right in thinking this is pretty pointless step unless you are using salt in the liquid (i.e. brining) or using spices to add some flavour? I was just doing it to ensure they remained moist - hence only using apple juice. Going to do this next time but also adding some salt to the juice to help penetrate the meat.

The last racks I have cooked were foiled for an hour / hour and a half with some apple juice. Lots of recipes recommend this & the adding of beer / other liquid. When I removed the ribs from the foil, I noticed that the liquid was boiling. But I am sure I've seen threads where boiling ribs if frowned upon.... But if you are going to foil & add liquid, they are going to boil or steam, right? These were the best ribs I have cooked so far!

[bencops]

I don't know what soaking them achieves. Brining, maybe. I don't do it.

As for the foil, I get better results with less liquid in there. Things like butter, honey, sugar are all good in the foil and a small amount of liquid. I find loads of liquid gives me a tougher result, and no foil was better.

[JEC]

I've never soaked or brined ribs as never felt the need, a good dry rub or marinade has always worked for me, I tend to agree that soaking I'd unlikely to do much without something like a salt in it. I often foil my ribs, whilst the liquid may be boiling due to the heat this produces steam inside the foil which penetrates the meat without diluting the flavour too much, unlike boiling in a large pan where a lot of the flavour is left behind when you take the ribs out. You have to be careful as it's easy to be left with mushy ribs, that said my family prefer them closer to that than competition style ribs, I.e. not too much bite to them!

Do what works for you and don't worry about opionions relating to boiling etc... there is no BBQ Police remember

[Steve]

If you're soaking them in apple juice then effectively you are marinating them in apple juice. If you decided to brine them you would need to be careful not to do it for too long as ribs will begin to cure quite quickly. The same thing applies to rubbing them too far ahead of cooking too.

You'll find a lot of cooks will leave ribs in sugar or syrup overnight before cooking. This will add a bit of sweetness, soaking in apple juice will do the same.

As for the boiling question, it depends on what end result you want. Boiling will soften as well as drain flavour away. If you want a fall off the bone end product where all the flavour comes from the seasonings, boil away. If you want to retain pork flavour balanced against your seasonings I'd recommend not boiling. Adding a foil marinade during cooking will steam some of the pork flavour out but by using a minimal amount and wrapping tightly, you can minimise this as well as softening texture to just the right degree so you soften without going mushy.

You can make big changes with subtle adjustments, the fun is in experimenting. My opinion though, forget boiling until your teeth start to fail you

[KamadoSimon]

Some great advice there fellas - thanks. I am going to try the next set half brined / half not and see the difference. The set after will be our choice of brined or not plus foiled or not... Ribs Mmmmmmm

This is what they came out like:





They were 'just' falling off the bone i.e. there was still some good texture in them. They did taste of pork still. Definitely our best (to our taste) so far.

[keith157]

Your last line says it all, if it's not for comp then it's your taste that matters

[KamadoSimon]

Yep - not worried at all - more interested in the differences & trying to get the best out of the meat I cook.

The thing about boiling in a pan makes total sense - you're probably diluting the pork flavour given all the liquid which will be left behind. I guess unless that is less of a worry because you're boiling in a really strong flavoured liquid.... I am less certain around the foil & liquid given that it is enclosed & using much less liquid - something I am going to experiment with.

Guess I will have to try & get to one of the competitions / events & try some ribs to compare from a texture perspective. Think Grillstock is looking good as a family.

[Big_Fat_Dan]

I'm smoking my first racks of ribs tonight, so this is a interesting read.

[keith157]

You lucky chap, my next taste of BBQ will be hovering around those lovely forum members tomorrow in an endeavour to snaffle all we can.

[Big_Fat_Dan]

You competing Keith?