Beer Ribs

Everybody believes they make the best ribs and the assumption is usually based on their bar-b-q sauce.  The ribs themselves are probably under or over cooked, a little tough.  I wasn’t an exception until I talked to my friend Tim who has won rib cook-offs, been in the restaurant business for years, and truly makes the best ribs I ever ate.  Using some of his secrets I came up with the following idea and, if I must say so myself, has a fantastic deep taste.

Even more important though, it doesn’t take very long and you can buy most of the components if you want so you are not stuck in the kitchen while all your friends are having fun.

Ingredients:

1 or 2 slab of ribs

2 or 3 cans of beer

Some marinade

Some Bar-B-Q sauce

Directions:

First; buy yourself a nice marinade and bar-b-q sauce.  If you don’t want people to know they are from the grocery store just pour them into jars and tell everyone you made them.  If you do want to make them yourself I will try to help you in a separate post.

Second; freeze the ribs.  I know, people say they can taste it if meat has been frozen but the truth is, they can’t.  Pretty much all meat is frozen to transport without spoiling.  Besides, all you are doing here is making it easier to remove the membrane.

Third; remove the membrane.    This is a lot easier if the ribs are frozen and you use a sharp knife.  The membrane is that thin white thing on the back of the ribs.  Start in one corner and carefully run your knife between it and the ribs until it is removed.  Tim can do this in such a way that he can take the entire thing off in one sheet but I can’t.  Just keep working at it and don’t cut yourself.  Nobody wants food that you have been bleeding over and a trip to the hospital can really ruin your timing.

Then run your knife between each rib and over each rib on both sides and cut the entire thing into two or three rib sections.

What you have accomplished is the removal of the one thing that prevents the heat, marinade, and sauce from penetrating the meat.  If you just do this and plop the ribs on a grill it will be better than anything your neighbors cook.  But you want it even better.

Fourth; pre-cook the ribs.  You can steam them but if you don’t have the correct hardware you may want to try this method.  Put the ribs in a large Dutch oven and pour the beer over it.  If that doesn’t cover the ribs then add water.  I usually put the water into the used beer cans, slosh it around, and then pour it in.  Why waste the beer taste?  I usually use a Lager for many reasons, the primary being that I drink Lager and it is handy.  Guinness would be good also since it is one my favorite drinking and cooking beers.  The key here is to add flavor to the liquid or else you are just boiling the meat and that can cost you in flavor.,

Fifth; bring the ribs to boiling, turn down to a simmer, cover, and cook for about an hour.

Sixth; put the cooked ribs into a container and pour the marinade over it.  Stir it around to make sure everything is coated.  Cover this and let it sit for a while.  Look at the directions on the bottle/envelope to get an idea of the timing.  Put it in a cooler or refrigerator for this phase.

Seventh; cook it on the grill.  You can also cook it in your oven at 350 degrees.  Flip the ribs about every 5 minutes or so and baste them with the remaining marinade.  When you have about 10 minutes left then baste with the bar-b-q sauce and throw the remaining marinade away.

Unless the ribs are real thick you should see the meat separate from the bone.  You are probably done at that time unless you want jerky.