May 24, 2025 • 11 mins
On this episode of The Fork Report, Neil Saavedra serves up his Technique of the Week—grilling the perfect ribs! From cleaning and prepping to mastering indirect heat, Neil covers everything you need to know to elevate your rib game. He also dives into the importance of internal temperature and why patience is key to that fall-off-the-bone goodness. Whether you're a backyard beginner or a seasoned grill master, this episode has the juicy tips you’ve been craving.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Very simple and basic rib outline today for technique of
the week, as it might be something you want to
do this weekend, it being a long weekend and all
I love ribs. Now, there's two different things between you know,
you cooking ribs at home and let's say competition style ribs.
(00:22):
Competition style ribs are cooked a little differently. So when
I've had the pleasure to judge at a barbecue contest
or something like that, they don't do you know what
a lot of people say, like, oh it's falling off
the bone goodness and delicious and tender. That would be
a no no. In competition style ribs. You want them
(00:45):
stuck to the bone. You want to have a perfect
indentation of where your teeth bite in and pull that
meat from the bone and it's still stuck to the bone. Now,
this we're going to talk a little differer because I
have found that most people when they cook them at home,
don't really go for or even want a competition competition
(01:09):
style rib They want slightly overcooked ribs which pull from
the bone. So that's kind of what I'll be talking about, because, hey,
the reality is this is the way you want them.
You're not probably not going to be a contestant anywhere.
So just getting to a place where you're cooking grilling
some pork ribs to like. Another thing is I'm not
(01:31):
going to get into smoking or any of those things
because I'm going to assume the vast majority of you
listening are really you know, have a gas grill and
that's going to be your focus and this will work
great on that. So grilling pork ribs is just that
we're not going for barbecue, super low and slow barbecue,
(01:54):
but will go lower and slower than typical grilling, which
is high heat, getting that camelization, cooking them quickly and
getting them off. So we'll stay away from the smokers,
the wood chips and all that for right now and
we'll just go to non stress, simple but delicious, and
you can do it with your gas grill. Just make sure,
(02:16):
as always, if you're running from a propaine tank.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
That it is full.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
A couple of ways to test that is well, you
could lift it up and shake it and see there
they do make little magnetic things.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
It will tell where the meter is as well.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
One way to do this is you could disconnect it,
bring it out and pour hot water on the outside
of it, and when you run your hand, the metal
that does not have propane up against it will be
warm because it's warm it has been warmed through by
the hot water. Whereas the area that does have propaine
(02:56):
will remain cool because it will dissipate that heat. So
you can tell by where it goes from warm to cold.
That's about the line as to where it's filled. So
once you got all that stuff out of the way
and you're ready to go, well, then get ready to go.
You want to prep your ribs. So for this basic layout,
(03:18):
what you're going to look for is you're going to
look for baby back ribs or Saint Louis style will
work as well, if that's if you prefer.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
Some people go by one name and the other. A
dry rub.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
Now, a dry rub is a spice mix that is
good for pork. In this case, it could be store bought.
I'll give you an easy homemade version in just a
little bit. You want unsweetened apple juice. This is going
to add moisture without adding extra sugar. Sugar burns. Keep
(03:52):
in mind, so people that put their barbecue sauce on
too early, they'll find that it burns the sugar burns
and then it makes it a nasty taste. In this
case unsweetened apple juice, orange marmalade, and I love this.
You can use peach or applecot preserves as well, but
(04:12):
this is you're gonna make a glaze for later in
the process, apple cide or vinegar. This adds a little
bit of tang also tenderness. And then a large disposable
aluminum tray that's just to make clean up a little easier.
You can find those at the grocery store, similar to
what you find you know around like a roasting you
(04:35):
know ten.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
But it doesn't have to be that big, all.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
Right, So you're gonna need about an hour and a
half or so, plus a little bit for resting times.
But you want to get the ribs. You're gonna take
them out of the package and you're gonna you're gonna
pat them dry. Part of the process here is you know,
prepping them to be to be perfect for this grilling process.
(05:00):
You want to pull up, pull off that thin shiny
membrane on the back of uh, the ribs. They call
that silver the silver skin that pull that part off
that is chewy and nasty and not gonna do anything
for you. It's not gonna help the ribs stay moist.
(05:22):
It's not gonna do anything it brings anything good.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
It's tough to it.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
Then you want to rub them with your favorite dry rub.
Now again, this is not a sauce. It is a
dry rub. We continue to tip our hat and be
thoughtful about this weekend and those that have given their
lives for us to be able to enjoy it this weekend.
Talking about ribs a very simple recipe and grilling technique.
(05:51):
This is not your competition style rib This is not
smoking or any of those things. This is just a
basic you can throw on your gas grill and enjoy yourself.
So prepping the ribs, we already got into getting rid
of the silver skin there, pulling that off membrane, getting
(06:12):
that off, and then putting the rub on low and slow. Yes,
but it's not as low and slow as you can
go if you are smoking it. So you want the
heat to meet medium blow and you're gonna cook for
about one to two hours. You're looking for an internal temp. Now,
(06:33):
I know normally when you're cooking pork you go to
one for five. That's when you know it's safe. However,
if you want these ultra tender, that kind of melting
your mouth texture, you're gonna go hotter and more done.
You're going to look for an internal temperature about eight
(06:53):
one eight to one ninety.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
Now, again.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
This is not competing Tissian style, where you want to
be able to see your teeth bite into the meat
but they still stick to the bone. This is kind
of what people expect, that kind of pulling away from
the bone style, and that's what we're focusing on. You're
going to use indirect heat, Okay, that means you don't
(07:19):
want the ribs placed on top of the heat. You
want the heat to warm the area around them, but
not cook directly underneath them. So depending on your burner system,
let's say you have three burners, three burner areas, which
is what I have in mind, I would leave the
middle one completely off and then put the flank, the
(07:42):
left and the right with low to medium heat and
that's what's going to give you, you know, that slower
and lower process there, and that's what's going to give
you that tender rib. So grill, you're going to set
it to a ground three hundred and three hundred is
(08:05):
kind of what you're looking for. You don't want to
go any hotter than that. You don't need to go
any lower than that, although you could. You have a
clean grate, you want to oil them up a little
bit from you know, so it doesn't stick to the ribs.
And again that indirect heat is what you're going to do.
So you put foil covered tray of ribs on the
(08:28):
grill over indirect heat, close the lid, and you let
them cook for about an hour, maybe up to two hours,
depending on the grill thickness of the ribs, that kind
of thing. Use a thermometer you want to check, aiming
for one hundred and eighty to one hundred and ninety degrees,
like I said, in the thickest part of the meat.
And I know normally that would be way too overcooked.
(08:49):
But this process is going to get you where you
want to go. In a small pot, you want to
mix the orange marmalade, some apple cid or vinegar over
medium heat until and bubbly. It takes just a couple
of minutes. You remove the ribs from the pan. You
place them directly on the grill at this point, still
over low heat, and you brush that glaze on, close
(09:11):
the grill and cook for another five minute minutes. You
repeat one more time with that glaze. That'll thicken up
and caramelize in all that great goodness, and then you
let them rests. It's pretty pretty.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
Simple.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
So again, one rack of baby back pork ribs, cup
pork seasoning rub. This could be over the counter. I'll
give you a really quick recipe in a sect. One
cup of unsweetened apple juice, one large disposable aluminum tray,
aluminum foil, half cup of orange marmalade, a quarter cup
(09:48):
of apple cider vinegar. So you remove that baby back
pork ribs from the packaging, padded dry paper towel, spray
the aluminum pan with nonstick cooking spray, or you can
rub with oil. Place the ribs into the pan, remove
that silver skin off there, and from the back side
of the ribs, you sprinkle some of that half cup
(10:09):
pork seasoning rub onto the ribs and you want to
rub it. I mean seriously, you want to rub that in,
really get it in there every nook and granny. And
if it makes it easier, you cut the rack of
ribs in half that you know is easier for you
to handle, flip the ribs over you seison the other side.
(10:31):
Rule of thumb with rub is, however much naturally sticks
to the rib is enough. Whatever falls off after rub
rubbing can be discarded. And then you pour one cup
of that unsweetened apple juice into the bottom of the
large disposable aluminum tray. You cover the pan with aluminum foil,
and you place in the fridge until your grill is ready.
(10:53):
Heat that grill, get it to three hundred, maintain this
temperature through the cooking process. You know, want them to
cook too fast, and you get them up to one
eighty to one ninety, and you make that that glaze
and you'll be good to go. As far as a
homemade pork seasoning rub, this is simple. Half cup brown sugar,
(11:16):
quarter cup smoked paprika, one tablespoon coarse ground black pepper,
one tablespoon kosher salt, one tablespoon chili powder, one tablespoon
garlic powder, one tablespoon onion powder, and one teaspoon of cayenne,
and you're good to go. So enjoy and let me
(11:39):
know how it goes.
Very simple and basic rib outline today for technique of
the week, as it might be something you want to
do this weekend, it being a long weekend and all
I love ribs. Now, there's two different things between you know,
you cooking ribs at home and let's say competition style ribs.
(00:22):
Competition style ribs are cooked a little differently. So when
I've had the pleasure to judge at a barbecue contest
or something like that, they don't do you know what
a lot of people say, like, oh it's falling off
the bone goodness and delicious and tender. That would be
a no no. In competition style ribs. You want them
(00:45):
stuck to the bone. You want to have a perfect
indentation of where your teeth bite in and pull that
meat from the bone and it's still stuck to the bone. Now,
this we're going to talk a little differer because I
have found that most people when they cook them at home,
don't really go for or even want a competition competition
(01:09):
style rib They want slightly overcooked ribs which pull from
the bone. So that's kind of what I'll be talking about, because, hey,
the reality is this is the way you want them.
You're not probably not going to be a contestant anywhere.
So just getting to a place where you're cooking grilling
some pork ribs to like. Another thing is I'm not
(01:31):
going to get into smoking or any of those things
because I'm going to assume the vast majority of you
listening are really you know, have a gas grill and
that's going to be your focus and this will work
great on that. So grilling pork ribs is just that
we're not going for barbecue, super low and slow barbecue,
(01:54):
but will go lower and slower than typical grilling, which
is high heat, getting that camelization, cooking them quickly and
getting them off. So we'll stay away from the smokers,
the wood chips and all that for right now and
we'll just go to non stress, simple but delicious, and
you can do it with your gas grill. Just make sure,
(02:16):
as always, if you're running from a propaine tank.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
That it is full.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
A couple of ways to test that is well, you
could lift it up and shake it and see there
they do make little magnetic things.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
It will tell where the meter is as well.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
One way to do this is you could disconnect it,
bring it out and pour hot water on the outside
of it, and when you run your hand, the metal
that does not have propane up against it will be
warm because it's warm it has been warmed through by
the hot water. Whereas the area that does have propaine
(02:56):
will remain cool because it will dissipate that heat. So
you can tell by where it goes from warm to cold.
That's about the line as to where it's filled. So
once you got all that stuff out of the way
and you're ready to go, well, then get ready to go.
You want to prep your ribs. So for this basic layout,
(03:18):
what you're going to look for is you're going to
look for baby back ribs or Saint Louis style will
work as well, if that's if you prefer.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
Some people go by one name and the other. A
dry rub.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
Now, a dry rub is a spice mix that is
good for pork. In this case, it could be store bought.
I'll give you an easy homemade version in just a
little bit. You want unsweetened apple juice. This is going
to add moisture without adding extra sugar. Sugar burns. Keep
(03:52):
in mind, so people that put their barbecue sauce on
too early, they'll find that it burns the sugar burns
and then it makes it a nasty taste. In this
case unsweetened apple juice, orange marmalade, and I love this.
You can use peach or applecot preserves as well, but
(04:12):
this is you're gonna make a glaze for later in
the process, apple cide or vinegar. This adds a little
bit of tang also tenderness. And then a large disposable
aluminum tray that's just to make clean up a little easier.
You can find those at the grocery store, similar to
what you find you know around like a roasting you
(04:35):
know ten.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
But it doesn't have to be that big, all.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
Right, So you're gonna need about an hour and a
half or so, plus a little bit for resting times.
But you want to get the ribs. You're gonna take
them out of the package and you're gonna you're gonna
pat them dry. Part of the process here is you know,
prepping them to be to be perfect for this grilling process.
(05:00):
You want to pull up, pull off that thin shiny
membrane on the back of uh, the ribs. They call
that silver the silver skin that pull that part off
that is chewy and nasty and not gonna do anything
for you. It's not gonna help the ribs stay moist.
(05:22):
It's not gonna do anything it brings anything good.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
It's tough to it.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
Then you want to rub them with your favorite dry rub.
Now again, this is not a sauce. It is a
dry rub. We continue to tip our hat and be
thoughtful about this weekend and those that have given their
lives for us to be able to enjoy it this weekend.
Talking about ribs a very simple recipe and grilling technique.
(05:51):
This is not your competition style rib This is not
smoking or any of those things. This is just a
basic you can throw on your gas grill and enjoy yourself.
So prepping the ribs, we already got into getting rid
of the silver skin there, pulling that off membrane, getting
(06:12):
that off, and then putting the rub on low and slow. Yes,
but it's not as low and slow as you can
go if you are smoking it. So you want the
heat to meet medium blow and you're gonna cook for
about one to two hours. You're looking for an internal temp. Now,
(06:33):
I know normally when you're cooking pork you go to
one for five. That's when you know it's safe. However,
if you want these ultra tender, that kind of melting
your mouth texture, you're gonna go hotter and more done.
You're going to look for an internal temperature about eight
(06:53):
one eight to one ninety.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
Now, again.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
This is not competing Tissian style, where you want to
be able to see your teeth bite into the meat
but they still stick to the bone. This is kind
of what people expect, that kind of pulling away from
the bone style, and that's what we're focusing on. You're
going to use indirect heat, Okay, that means you don't
(07:19):
want the ribs placed on top of the heat. You
want the heat to warm the area around them, but
not cook directly underneath them. So depending on your burner system,
let's say you have three burners, three burner areas, which
is what I have in mind, I would leave the
middle one completely off and then put the flank, the
(07:42):
left and the right with low to medium heat and
that's what's going to give you, you know, that slower
and lower process there, and that's what's going to give
you that tender rib. So grill, you're going to set
it to a ground three hundred and three hundred is
(08:05):
kind of what you're looking for. You don't want to
go any hotter than that. You don't need to go
any lower than that, although you could. You have a
clean grate, you want to oil them up a little
bit from you know, so it doesn't stick to the ribs.
And again that indirect heat is what you're going to do.
So you put foil covered tray of ribs on the
(08:28):
grill over indirect heat, close the lid, and you let
them cook for about an hour, maybe up to two hours,
depending on the grill thickness of the ribs, that kind
of thing. Use a thermometer you want to check, aiming
for one hundred and eighty to one hundred and ninety degrees,
like I said, in the thickest part of the meat.
And I know normally that would be way too overcooked.
(08:49):
But this process is going to get you where you
want to go. In a small pot, you want to
mix the orange marmalade, some apple cid or vinegar over
medium heat until and bubbly. It takes just a couple
of minutes. You remove the ribs from the pan. You
place them directly on the grill at this point, still
over low heat, and you brush that glaze on, close
(09:11):
the grill and cook for another five minute minutes. You
repeat one more time with that glaze. That'll thicken up
and caramelize in all that great goodness, and then you
let them rests. It's pretty pretty.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
Simple.
Speaker 1 (09:28):
So again, one rack of baby back pork ribs, cup
pork seasoning rub. This could be over the counter. I'll
give you a really quick recipe in a sect. One
cup of unsweetened apple juice, one large disposable aluminum tray,
aluminum foil, half cup of orange marmalade, a quarter cup
(09:48):
of apple cider vinegar. So you remove that baby back
pork ribs from the packaging, padded dry paper towel, spray
the aluminum pan with nonstick cooking spray, or you can
rub with oil. Place the ribs into the pan, remove
that silver skin off there, and from the back side
of the ribs, you sprinkle some of that half cup
(10:09):
pork seasoning rub onto the ribs and you want to
rub it. I mean seriously, you want to rub that in,
really get it in there every nook and granny. And
if it makes it easier, you cut the rack of
ribs in half that you know is easier for you
to handle, flip the ribs over you seison the other side.
(10:31):
Rule of thumb with rub is, however much naturally sticks
to the rib is enough. Whatever falls off after rub
rubbing can be discarded. And then you pour one cup
of that unsweetened apple juice into the bottom of the
large disposable aluminum tray. You cover the pan with aluminum foil,
and you place in the fridge until your grill is ready.
(10:53):
Heat that grill, get it to three hundred, maintain this
temperature through the cooking process. You know, want them to
cook too fast, and you get them up to one
eighty to one ninety, and you make that that glaze
and you'll be good to go. As far as a
homemade pork seasoning rub, this is simple. Half cup brown sugar,
(11:16):
quarter cup smoked paprika, one tablespoon coarse ground black pepper,
one tablespoon kosher salt, one tablespoon chili powder, one tablespoon
garlic powder, one tablespoon onion powder, and one teaspoon of cayenne,
and you're good to go. So enjoy and let me
(11:39):
know how it goes.
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Amy Robach & T.J. Holmes present: Aubrey O’Day, Covering the Diddy Trial
Introducing… Aubrey O’Day Diddy’s former protege, television personality, platinum selling music artist, Danity Kane alum Aubrey O’Day joins veteran journalists Amy Robach and TJ Holmes to provide a unique perspective on the trial that has captivated the attention of the nation. Join them throughout the trial as they discuss, debate, and dissect every detail, every aspect of the proceedings. Aubrey will offer her opinions and expertise, as only she is qualified to do given her first-hand knowledge. From her days on Making the Band, as she emerged as the breakout star, the truth of the situation would be the opposite of the glitz and glamour. Listen throughout every minute of the trial, for this exclusive coverage. Amy Robach and TJ Holmes present Aubrey O’Day, Covering the Diddy Trial, an iHeartRadio podcast.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.