Paper Palate

I find ribs to be an enticing, but intimidating, meat to grill. Good ribs are quite an achievement, and I consider it one of my quests in life to be the person all my friends ask to make the ribs. So, this article in the Sacramento Bee by Gwen Schoen caught my eye. She had a discussion with a friend who attended a party where the cook parboiled the ribs prior to grilling them. Parboiling means you partially cook the meat by boiling it. Schoen set out to determine the merits of this technique.

She began at the source of all grilling knowledge: Weber. From them, she learned that not only should you never parboil your ribs, you should never parboil anything before grilling it. Doing so only results in “boiling away all the flavor.” Instead of parboiling, Shoen learned to cook beef or pork ribs “slowly over low, indirect heat, Weber experts say.”

Weber also offered several other tips so you can become your neighborhood rib grilling champion:

• Always let ribs come to room temperature before grilling.

• If you like pork ribs a little crispy on the outside, start them out over direct, medium heat, meat side down, for about 15 minutes. Then flip them over and move them away from the heat.

• Grill beef ribs over indirect, medium heat until very tender, 1 1/2 to 2 hours, turning once halfway through grilling time. Serve the ribs hot with the sauce on the side.

• For baby back ribs, grill them rib side down over indirect medium heat until the meat is very tender and has pulled back from the ends of the bones, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. If you are using a mop, baste the ribs frequently throughout grilling time, but stop basting during the last 10 minutes. Remove the ribs from the grill and allow them to rest for 5 to 10 minutes before slicing into individual ribs.

• Using a rub on beef ribs gives them great flavor. Trim beef ribs of any excess fat. Press the rub into the meat, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 8 to 12 hours. Before you grill them, allow the ribs to stand at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes. Sear the ribs over direct, medium heat until they are evenly browned, about 10 minutes, turning once halfway through searing time.

• Plan on at least one pound of ribs per person, and don’t expect any leftovers.

Let me know if you have any other great tips for grilling ribs. I am convinced that someday I WILL find that perfect combination of recipe and technique….

[Photo from www.weber.com]