The video only lasts about a minute, but this looks pretty interesting. I might try my ribs this way for the Mr. Bones Memorial cook. I’ve never wrapped my ribs AFTER cooking, have any of you? I don’t wrap my ribs during the cook anymore and have always eaten them hot off the grill. I also don’t remove the membrane, became too much of a PITA. In this video he scores the membrane and doesn’t remove it. Anyone know the purpose of scoring it? He doesn’t explain why. Also he says to put the pepper on first before any other seasonings. Why? I’ve never really paid attention to which I’ve put on first, but I might start.
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Interesting take, I wonder if resting the ribs allows you to get a better slice when cutting? Pepper grind is larger than what I normally use on ribs, is that why he says to put on first? -
I've heard of people scoring the membrane rather than removing it. I think it lets the fat render out a little more readily and, perhaps, makes the membrane less obtrusive when you serve the rack, letting the person eating it separate the ribs more easily.Comment
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The membrane isn't always a problem to eat, but I've occasionally gotten a wad of the stuff in my mouth that refuses to be chewed into submission. If that happens, I resort to scraping the meat off the membrane as I eat so I don't have to put up with it in my mouth. I don't consider myself to be a picky eater, but I draw the line at this.
For prepping ribs to cook, I score the membrane diagonally if I can't remove it. That seems to help with the chew-ability.
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I score membranes along the entire bone as well as the meat between, I find it helps loosen up the rack. I’ve only held ribs once, but that was at a competition, and the timing required it.Last edited by Richard Chrz; March 6, 2023, 09:57 AM.Comment
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Scoring the membrane allows the fat to render through.Comment
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That makes sense to me…Maybe to also allow more smoke in during the cook?Last edited by Panhead John; March 6, 2023, 10:31 AM.
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Actually, when I hang ribs in my Orion Cookers, I sauce, wrap, and rest after they come off the cooker. It’s really the best way to do these steps with that cooker. They come out terrific. I never thought of doing that with ribs cooked on my pellet cooker. I think I might try it next time.
As far as the other tips, I always remove the membrane. I’ve tried just scoring but didn’t like it that way. I just season with a commercial rub of some sort so no need for the pepper first thing.Comment
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ofelles I assume you’re referring to the Orion cookers. I like to call them “The Big O”. I have two which I got in 2011 or 2012. I can’t remember. They’re still cooking like when they were new. I love them for certain things. Great for pork butt and ribs. But as you’d know, they‘re fuel hogs so you need too fill them up.
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I still don't see a reason not to remove the membrane. I have had some ribs at restaurants where they don't remove it, and it's not a deal breaker. But I prefer to just get rid of it, and it's not hard to do.Comment
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Geeze, guys, if I can (usually) pull the membrane off, y'all can too! I don't always get every speck, but I can usually get most of it.
Remember, though that some ribs have already been peeled. They will still look like they kind of have a membrane, but if you compare one that is peeled by the packers versus one that hasn't been, you'll see there's a difference.
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Well, I have always thought my ribs were better on the second day. I would wrap them and put in the refrigerator. Maybe my tastebuds were not playing tricks on me. When I hang ribs, I leave the membrane on, when they are smoked flat, I take the membrane off.Comment
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Wow you guys, not me. I’ve always liked ribs best when fresh off the grill, goes for almost any kind of meat with me. I’ve heated them up next day in the oven or microwave and they never seem to be as good as fresh cooked.Last edited by Panhead John; March 6, 2023, 07:03 PM.
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I've been wrapping and resting my ribs on the last few cooks. I couple times, I wrap with 30ish minutes to go. I think the rest helps but I can't exactly say how or why. I always put pepper on first to help bind it better to the ribs as the pepper is important to help with forming the crust. And I only spritz if my temps have gotten too high.
Most of these tips I've gotten from Jirby from Goldee's.
RobComment
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I’m in the remove the membrane crowd. I didn’t do it back in the 90’s, but have since the early 2000’s and think my ribs are much better without that papery tough membrane to deal with when serving and eating. Plus smoke and rub get to the meat on the back side, versus being blocked. I maybe I’ve done so many it’s just not a hard thing to me. If you don’t remove it the scoring would at least let some flavor and smoke through that side.
I’ve only rested ribs once or twice, based on having a meal ready earlier than we needed it. Usually just take the ribs from the smoker to the cutting board and we slice them up and eat them.Comment
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Went to a party once and the my buddy didn’t remove membranes and you could tell. So I always do and my family prefers it that way. I think Jeremy Yoder scores his ribs. I guess I could try it. I’ll definitely try the wrap and rest tricks he implored. Usually we eat the ribs just after I take them off. But knowing how much I love resting briskets and butts I can’t see a reason to not rest ribs. Thanks for the video.Comment
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Panhead John
I also have always removed the membrane I just use a paper towel to wipe the membrane edge several times until the membrane sticks to the towel, than "roll" the paper towel into the membrane creating membrane/towel "handle" pulls right off! All that I can think of, to add sauce and wrapping the ribs at the end would just bring the sauce up to the ribs temp, instead of glazing them at the last 30 minutes of the cook. I have also been resting waiting for the ribs to cook that's all the resting I need!
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I've seen this video, ( I think I even have it saved somewhere for future reference...lol), but I've not yet done ribs this way.
some day soon perhapsComment
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The couple of times I have deliberately rested pork ribs, they were nowhere near as good as when I sliced 'em up shortly after coming off the cooker. Small dataset, but very clear difference. The rested ribs got a little drier and chewier (no wrapping involved btw). I do my best to plan sides that are ready to go when the ribs are.Comment
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You didn’t wrap them while resting em? I can see why they were maybe drier and chewier then. When resting the meat, you should always wrap it, this holds in the moisture, helps it to become more tender and helps to meld the flavors. That’s probably why they weren’t as good as they should have been.Last edited by Panhead John; March 6, 2023, 11:48 AM. -
Panhead John I was referring to during the cook, but now that you ask, I don't rightly remember what I did during the rest, will look it up in my notes. I have a vague recollection of just sitting them in a warmed oven, rather than a faux cambro... will get back to ya. -
OK, found the entries in the notes, both times I did wrap during the rest, with butcher paper, but they went into a faux cambro (old cooler & sleeping bag setup) rather than the oven. Rest time 60 min in one case and 90 in the other. Just two datapoints, but enough for me to just plan on not resting pork ribs for any length of time.
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Last time I did ribs, I had to rest them, based on timing - we took one rack to someone for a meal, and then came back to eat the others ourselves. I felt the rest in foil led to more fall off the bone results than I’ve seen in a while.Comment
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