Cooking in Style: Barbeque Rib Cooking

Although there are some who enjoy barbeque chicken cooking and other types of meats, barbeque rib cooking is by far the most popular. Barbeque rib cooking is almost an art form, requiring careful preparation before, during and at the end of the cooking process to come out with a deliciously crunchy, moist and flavorful rack of ribs. Since barbeque rib cooking is such a long process, taking about six hours to complete, they are often only made on special occasions where there is a social gathering so that people can munch on appetizers, have a few drinks, talk and take care of the ribs, awaiting the main event.

Preparation

The first step in barbeque rib cooking is to choose the rack of ribs at the store or butcher shop. The ribs should have about the same thickness of meat on either side of the rack so that it cooks evenly on the grill. Although it is impossible to achieve perfectly proportioned ribs, it is best to find one that is lean and has approximately matched sides to it. The membrane should be removed from the bone side of the rack so that it does not get tough during the cooking process and affect the pleasure of eating the ribs when they are finished.

The next step is to choose the type of rub to use on the ribs. A rub is a mixture of spices and herbs that are rubbed directly onto the ribs to give them their flavor during the barbeque rib cooking process. The rub should be used thickly on the ribs so that it will stay on and thoroughly coat the ribs with the spices. After that, the ribs are added to the smoker which should already be heated and prepared for the ribs. Ribs need to smoke at a low heat with a lot of air flow around them. The smoke level during the course of the cooking process should be higher at the beginning, lower in the middle and high again at the end when the barbeque sauce is added to the meat.

In order to create very tender ribs, during the middle of the cooking process, after smoking the ribs for three to four hours, the ribs should be wrapped in aluminum foil and allowed to cook for another one to two hours. If the individual does not want the rib meat to be falling off the bone, then the aluminum foil should be skipped and the ribs allowed to cook on the grill for those two hours. The average cooking time for ribs is about six hours, but if the individual uses baby back ribs, the cooking time is usually five hours. Once the ribs are almost done, then the heat should be increased to add crispness to the ribs before adding the barbeque sauce. Once the crispness is achieved, then the ribs should be placed back in the smoking area of the grill and the sauce is added to combine the smoky flavor with the flavor of the sauce.