You can't please everyone

[bbqLuv]

BBQ Pork ribs, friends and relatives prefer "fall-off-the-bone" ribs.
I like bite through ribs.
Should I try to please everyone or please myself?

[mrichie1229]

As the saying goes, "If you try to please everyone, you will please no one." You can only please yourself.

If you must try to please others, wrap a rack of ribs with foil, while also leaving a rack unwrapped.

[bbqLuv]

👍
Good idea. and I get to smoke a rack for myself

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

Just like rare vs overdone beef, it's easier to throw something back on a little longer.

For ribs, when they are done throw one rack or a portion of it in some foil and let it hang out in the oven with some sauce. Also, Ill eat FOtB ribs so nothing goes to waste even if its not my preference. Where as I won't eat well done beef (unless I'm a guest at someone else's house)

My only rule is that ya gotta at least try a bite of it my way, especially before adding any additional seasoning or sauces.

[Murdy]

"rare vs overdone beef" -- Well Said!

[Davek8282]

I myself prefer "bite through" but I don't turn my nose up at fall off the bone. I agree with ItsAllGoneToTheDogs and mrichie1229 one rack bite through and another fall of the bone. Everyone's happy.

[shush]

A friend of mine was married to a woman that said she made the best ribs. He said that he agreed... So, I asked for a cook off. I smoked the ribs, light sauce, following pretty much Meatheads method (using the same rub, etc.). I wrapped them up, took them to his home, and he said that his were not quite done yet.
So, I asked if I could put the ribs in the oven on warm, just to keep some temp. He said no because his wife was about to take her ribs out of the water and put them in the oven... I asked 'water?' and he said that she boiled them because ti made them juicy and they would fall off the bone.

I do not think my ribs were the reason for their divorce, however, I do know he said that he wanted to buy a smoker after having my ribs. She was quite upset. She took a bite and then relented.

Please yourself, let others try. If they don't like it, that is fine at least they got to taste another version.

[Panhead John]

I thought that boiling ribs stuff was just folklore…..😳

[shush]

Sadly, no.

[smokenoob]

One rack my way, after that their way. No one ever said it was easy being right 😁😎

[Spinaker]

Make what you make. You are not competing in BBQ hall of fame. I always make BBQ the way I like to make it.

Go to Texas and ask them for a Carolina sauce with your brisket and see how that goes over. Or go to Kansas City and ask for a thin, vinegary sauce to go with those ribs. Same thing. Not to mention, you are buying, spending the time etc.

They should appreciate your style for what it is. Generally, that makes everyone happy. If they don't like it, I am sure there is a Subway around the corner.

[TripleB]

Have a servant's heart and cater to your friends and family. The needs of the many, outweigh the needs of the few.

[bbqLuv]

Excellent.

[cooperhud]

Since most smokers have an end that runs a little hotter, place the end to be FOTB in the hotter end. Splits the difference.

[jfmorris]

I have this same delimma, and if cooking for a bunch of folks, MOST people expect fall off the bone tender, and I just bite the bullet, and wrap them in foil for 2 hours of the cook, then finish the final hour unwrapped to firm back up. In other words, I cook to please the crowd. If cooking for JUST me, and the wife, I'll not wrap.

You can wrap one rack and leave one unwrapped, and get the best of both worlds. Or even cut the slab of ribs in half, if just doing one, and wrap half, not wrap half.

[FireMan]

Teach em! Cook em the way you eat em so's they know what good fer em!
Now ya have ta take
in consideration yer best half and her preferences. Others? Teach em!

[bbqLuv]

I am slowly getting the wife to eat less cooked steak, going from well done to medium well, to now medium. Next stop medium rare hopefully in my lifetime.

[Santamarina]

My ribs are bite tender and dry, Memphis style. If people want gooey KC style ribs they’re free to dump a bunch of sauce on, but I won’t make ribs like that. Same goes with fotb…THIS is how I serve my ribs. It’s an opportunity to educate people!

The only time I cater to the “over done” crowd is with steaks. My BiL likes chewing on tire rubber, so when I make steaks for the family I put his on first and take it off last.

[FireMan]

Tire rubber! LOL!

[Smoke em if you got em]

The lyrics from Ricky Nelson’s Garden Party immediately come to mind… “You see you can’t please everyone, so you got to please yourself.”
“Lot-da-da Lot-in-da-da-da!”

Who else besides me will have that song stuck in your head for the rest of the day?

[bbqLuv]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLkCWT2neuI

[Finster]

Great song so I’m ok with it

[DaveD]

Came here to post about this song!

[realdocBBQ]

If they don't like it, I am sure there is a Subway around the corner.

This is the ultimate response.

[Alan Brice]

My bros baby mama would always eat Wendy's BEFORE they came over for a family get together. Sup wit dat?

[Santamarina]

Over the years we’ve had a couple families who’d invite us for dinner and I’d always eat before because the food was either not great or they simply didn’t make enough for everyone.

[briano52]

I like a little bite to my ribs. Not too much. I have found that most (but not quite all of my guests) love them even if they are not used to a little al dente.

And I cook quite a bit in a variety of cuisines from French Nouvelle to backyard BBQ. I entertain a lot for everything from formal dinner parties to plain old backyard grilling and BBQ. I have found that the only way to cook is to make the food the way it is supposed to be made. If you try to anticipate every guest's individual likes and dislikes, things don't come out the way they should. And, even if you do try to cater to the odd tastes of picky eaters, they are rarely happy, no matter what you do. In fact, I think that they get more pleasure out of complaining and announcing their many dislikes than they do in eating properly made food.

Now that may sound harsh and not so accommodating. But it has worked well for me. The vast majority of my guests can't wait to come back.

[jfmorris]

Well put!

I have one picky son in law, who pretty much only eats chicken if given the choice. I used to cater to him by throwing a little yard bird in the corner of the grill when making whatever I was making for everyone else. I stopped doing it after a year or two, as he is a grown man, and even if he was MY kid, he would eat what I put in front of him. I laughed when seeing him eat a little bitty slice of prime rib and a huge salad back at Christmas...