I learned from the old timers down here in Georgia and have been smoking meets in barrel, stone pits and earthen pits. So all my life I've been taught one way and one way only. No foil or paper at all is traditional. Salt and pepper only is traditional. Now through the years I have started using foils and butcher paper and spicing things up a bit, Ive enjoyed the evolution. The one thing that has remained the same, the constant is always the bark. Its where the magic happens, the true art of a Pit Master.
Gorgeous beef ribs....The reason your bones fell off is because you took the membrane off. You do not do that with beef as you can see. Also even though your cooking to a certain temperature does not mean that they are ready, its only a guide. The feel of the meat is important, need to poke them and see if they are tender, normally, if it slides in like soft butter its done regardless of temp. B Paper is the way to go...... good video....
Nice video. I tend to like going to 206-210 f with plate ribs. Pink butcher paper. Just my preference to leave the membrane on the bone side, so the bones are intact. Yours look terrific. I wish I had a KJoe, but I'm very pleased with my WSM. Again, nicely done!!
Awesome job. I smoke mine to about 160 degree F. Then wrap in butcher paper and back on the grill till they reach 204-5 degree F. Then rest in a cooler for about an hour.
I believe that the Pitmaster prepares food and cooks food the way they like it. I would agree with that. People say never remove the membrane on the back, why? Who cares if the bone falls off?
Pulling the membrane off of beef ribs will make the bones fall off. Unlike pork ribs, you should leave it on. Since all of the meat is on top of the bones you'll need the membrane to keep it all together.
Butcher paper for the win! Next time do a brisket with Butcher Paper. You can increase the amount of “juiciness” of your paper wrapped ribs by wrapping the package up into some towels and let them rest in an old cooler lined with more towels. I believe that technique is called a Faux Combro. It will actually hold the meat for hours!
You can go to the butchers counter at Kroger or Sams Club, Costco, etc. and ASK them for beef ribs and they will cut them for you. They normally don't keep them on display.
CostCo has'em. As a matter of fact, CostCo has the best meat department within 50 miles of where I live, including beating all the small butcher shops.
Personally I use butchers paper or if I use foil, I use it in combination with parchment, reason for that is that salt reacts to aluminum and causes it to corrode and there's a studies going on to see what impact aluminum/aluminum oxide has on the human metabolism, aluminum is considered a neurotoxin. Personally I tend to get a metallic taste if I get anything in tin foil, like soda or beer in cans and canned vegetables/tomatoes. So if I can avoid some things packed/wrapped in foil I do it. Also doesn't mean I'll refuse anything that is packaged with/cooked in aluminum but just rather keep my exposure to it as minimal as possible.
Both sides of the foil are equal for use, but acidic foods should be avoided with foil cooking. Knife blades are dulled by tomatoes, etc. (rinse after cut). Parchment paper is highly recommended, I commend you- bacon on parchment the Bomb!
That was a great video and some beautiful beef ribs. Loved the experiment of foil vs butcher paper wrap. I use butcher paper on beef ribs and brisket. Fantastic video. You are one smooth operator. Love your channel and learn a lot watching. Thanks-phil
Looks so delicious - I‘ll always pick a bunch of juicy „fall off the bone“ beef ribs over pork ribs. Unfortunately they are hard to get in this neck of the woods...
I don't think it makes the biggest difference but you should rub the sides of your ribs as well, especially with those really big beef ribs, mostly for aesthetic reasons, you do a great job however and I really think among the big BBQ channels (0815bbq, BBQ aus Rheinhessen etc.) you showed the most positive development. I could really see you on a TV show. Keep it up man!!! ;)
Roel, I have found a similar conclusion BUT if you take your ribs after wrap, you have a window to regain crispy bark...you can do 3 2 1...try 2 1 or 2 but you must go back for bbq heat. I just take my ribs out after wrap and do direct. After for a crisp...
Your conclusion is correct, you will get that crispy bark with butcher paper every time and not with aluminum foil and here is why aluminum foil doesn't allow the meat to breathe so you are essentially steaming the meat which is why it turns out more tender but loses the bark. butcher paper is like your skin, it has pores that allows the meat to breathe, so smoke can still penetrate the butcher paper and the end result is that you retain the crispy bark but will be less tender
I would have liked a comparison between butcher paper and totally unwrapped, as you can do w/ brisket & baby backs. There certainly is enough fat & meat to allow that.
I don't even rap my beef ribs until they hit about a 190 degrees Fahrenheit. That allows the bark to set first, and when you wrap it it tenderizes it so you don't have any crunchy bits, but all the flavor is there
Another test you can try is a staged cook ... start with smoking for 2 hrs , then wrap for 1 hr or so until shoots up to your target, then unwrap and put back on the smoker to "dry" the surface and reclaim the bark ..... we use wrapping as a means of not allowing meat to be cooled off by the "sweating" effect and thus increase the temperature sharply, avoiding the plateau phase ... once the meat comes up to temp and the fat is rendered, you can unwrap and put back on the smoker to reclaim the bark ... since we're cooking low and slow here, there isn't much risk of overcooking per se like when you leave a rib eye an extra 5minutes and ruin it ...
I had to replay the guy in the baggroung 4 times and turn my volume up to like 70% to hear him. Would be lovely if u dropped in some white text when u got a bagground guy talking :)
Oil tends to help herbs and spices to permeate more, what I started doing is salting/wet brining my meats a few hours before my cook and then lubing them up with olive oil or veg oil and then adding my spices, + I find that the oil help with bark formation as well.
Would have liked to have seen an unwrapped one in the test. I rarely wrap beef in the smoker, even brisket. I don’t like what it does to the bark. By the way, I smoke these big boys and they are tops in my book. Plus, it’s fun to see everyone do a double-take when they see the size of them.
I know this experiment was to find out the difference between the foil and parchment paper. But if this were a normal scenario, would you have put the ribs back on the grill without foil or paper? After I put the BBQ sauce, I put it back on to let the sauce thicken up and get a good crust on the ribs.
I’ve heard Texas pitmasters call aluminum foil “the crutch.” Butcher paper is a better insulated and allows you to cook it longer. That’s all I know about that. 🤓
Yummy. Can't wait for the butcher shop to open. Again, thank you for sharing :-) P.S. I'll ask the butcher to add some butcher paper to my order :-) Cheers, Jay
Als je zoveel aluminium folie gebruikt kan je het ook in een oven doen. Maar ik ken geen winkel die het zo verkoopt hoe jij het laat zien .welke slager doet dat zo
I am hungry now for ribs but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know paper breathes and foil will sweat your meat. Its all good you just bake out of foil half hour with it open and add your BBQ sauce then .
@Pitmaster X, do you always BBQ stuff, and if so do you worry about your health if thats all you eat? I love BBQ and what you produce in food makes my mouth water. I don't have the luxury to eat BBQ/Smoke stuff.
Allememachies, heb je nu echt samen met je cameraman 2 Jacobsladders op? Mooi recept, vooral die in slagers papier. Ben benieuwd hoe dit wordt gestoofd met mirepoix en champignons....
Awesome videos.. i don't have a fancy bbq like that. I have a weber kettle. Will it work just as good? We in south africa dont (braai) slow and long.. high heat.. i am very interested in the smoking aspect of ribs.. will your method work in a weber kettle?
The salts on the meat react with the aluminum foil, this is the reason aluminum foil changes color where it contacts the meat. Aluminum ions are getting transferred to your food, just like cooking tomato sauce in an aluminum pan. If you're going to use aluminum, wrap the meat in butcher paper first, then wrap in aluminum. Drives me nuts watching people using sugars and salts, cooking in aluminum. The FDA may say it safe for now; however, FDA considers everything safe that does not make you sick in 5-years. Research aluminum and Teflon cooking, it's probably causing unnecessary inflammation. Also note, be picky with the butcher paper, they're not equal, some butcher papers have some nasty chemicals, estrogens, look it up.
Those ribs look awesome. Thanks for the comparison. Question - wats the name of the blue grey heat gloves you are wearing when taking the ribs off the joe?
You have ignored the "time" element between the two cooks. Longer (slower) time = more tenderness. Butchers Paper is a poor conductor of heat compared to the aluminum foil. I think you have to factor in the difference in heat conductivity between the two wrapping methods. Cheers! Chef Garry...
