epicureantease

So I decided to try my hand at beef ribs this week. Not having a clue what I was doing or getting myself into, I naively picked up a package of beef ribs at the store.  I was excited… and then reality hit.

Due to beef ribs being tougher than pork ribs, beef ribs need to be prepared in such a way that the meat is tenderized prior to grilling.  With my limited research, I came across three ways this can be achieved – marinate the ribs in a marinade or rub and refrigerate 6-24 hours, bake them in the oven “low and slow” or brine them, all prior to them going on the grill.

It was Tuesday about 4pm in the afternoon and I was thinking beef ribs for dinner.  That is until I was shot down my lack of preparedness. I hadn’t marinated them overnight. I certainly didn’t have several hours available to pre-bake…  in came brining to my rescue!  Using the below Brine recipe, I brined my ribs for two hours before seasoning them with salt, pepper, garlic powder and Hungarian paprika and adding them to the grill.

Beef Ribs “brining”!

Brine

1 gallon of water
3/4 cup kosher salt (or 1/2 cup table salt)
1/2 cup sugar

Completely submerge ribs for at least 1 hour per pound in a solution of the above.

Rufus Teague Made Some Sauce, BBQ Sauce 🙂

I grilled the ribs to get an initial sear and then I brushed them with “Rufus Teague Made Some Sauce” BBQ sauce, continuing to baste them with sauce with each flip.

Beef Ribs, pre-BBQ sauce

Beef Ribs, post-BBQ sauce

I used my indoor grill, so my smoke-filled house was filled with a mouth-watering delicious aroma and you could hear the drippings hit the hot drip pan with a sizzle.  At one point I heard a rather loud POP that startled me pretty good. I couldn’t tell what exactly the noise resulted from. At first I thought maybe one of the exposed rib bones got too hot. I don’t even know if that’s possible, but that’s a little insight into how my mind works sometimes. 😉  It wasn’t until later that I noticed some of the drippings leaking out onto the counter and found the porcelain basin of my grill cracked. What a bummer! I received that grill from a friend at least 10, but quite possibly more like 15 years ago. Although it was a pain to clean and store, I’ve cooked up all sorts of yummy meals on that grill… kabobs, chicken wings, grilled meats and veggies, with its final showdown being beef ribs! I’ll miss that grill but I must admit I am looking forward to finding a replacement. Hopefully the next will provide at least 10 years of enjoyable and flavorful cooking!

Grilled Beef Ribs!! Deeeeee-licious!!!

I LOVED “Rufus Teague Made Some Sauce, Touch O’ Heat” BBQ sauce!  As the Rufus Teague website states, “Good sauce makes bad barbecue good and good barbeque gooder”. It’s damn good! 🙂