Florida-style Boiled Beef Ribs

This method of cooking ribs involves doing 99% of the cooking in the oven, prior to putting them on the grill. This allows you to arrive at your desired level of tenderness without the use of a slow-smoker. It also means that the spices/sauces used will infuse into the ribs. So you end up with a very tender, very tasty rib that you can throw on the grill to ‘crisp’ up. This can be done immediately after cooking, or the next day if the ribs are properly stored in the fridge.Note: You can use the same recipe for pork ribs as well. Cooking time may very. Just ‘keep an eye on them’.

We start out with two oven dishes. These ribs are big, so you want to make sure they are deep enough. Wrapping in aluminum foil will also work if you don’t have large pans.

Take the ribs out of the fridge/freezer and make sure they are fully defrosted and almost at room temperature. These are large racks, so it helps to cut them into single ribs PRIOR to cooking. Cutting between the rib bones is fairly easy with a good knife.

These are how the ribs should look once they are cut into separate pieces.

Here is a picture of the seasonings I use for the ribs. You can add/subtract any of these, it’s really a matter of preference.These will go directly onto the ribs and be the ‘base’ seasonings for the slow cook. I sprinkle the ‘dry’ seasonings on first and then add the ‘wet’ ingredients. The dry are as follows:
-Salt
-Pepper
-Garlic cloves
-Garlic powder
-Minced onions (fresh or dry)
-Cayenne Pepper (to taste)
-Paprika
-Ground mustard (or yellow mustard)
-Brown sugar

The ‘wet’ seasonings are important. I use a combination of the following to serve as the liquid the ribs will cook in. As the ribs cook they will soften and take on these flavors.-Vinegar
-Soy Sauce
-Worcestershire
-Liquid smoke
-Water
-Hot sauce

You want to add enough liquid to cover the ribs roughly half way. I use a ample amount of vinegar and soy sauce, as those give the best taste to the ribs. Top off with water.

These are the ribs prior to adding vinegar/water. The liquid will need to cover roughly half of the ribs. You will turn then a little after half way through the cooking process.

Cover the ribs with aluminum foil. You want to create as much seal as possible to hold in the steam/flavor.

Slow cooking the ribs is the key to tenderness and flavoring. Set your oven to 250 degrees. They will cook for roughly 2 hours, you will turn them and then cook for another :45 to 1 hour. When you take them out to flip, check to see if they are tender enough. You want them to be soft, but if they are too soft, they will fall of the bone making them hard to grill later.

When you take them out to turn, check on their tenderness. You will be placing the side that was above the liquid, into the liquid. Usually they will only need another :45min on the opposite side. You will notice that they meat contracts, exposing the bone. This will make them much easier for the person eating them to hold.

Now that they are finished, drain off all of the liquid. If you are eating them that day, let them sit for :15minutes on the counter. If you are eating them later, you can put them into the fridge after they cool down.The final step is to ‘crisp’ the ribs on the grill. This will give them the crispy outside while leaving the inside ‘fall off the bone’ tender. In the same dish that you cooked the ribs, add an ample amount of your favorite BBQ sauce. Make sure that all sides of the rib become coated. Most BBQ sauces have sugar, which is important for the ribs on the grill. The sugar will caramelize when grilled, creating the crispy outside and also grill marks.

Since the ribs are already cooked, this process will only take a few minutes. I prefer to put the ribs on a hot fire, quickly, to get the seared effect. Grilling them on a low heat for a long time will take too long to get the desired effect.

This method is also very good if you are going down the islands or to a grill-out. Most of the cooking is already done, so all you will have to do is place the ribs right on the grill. This will not only crisp the outside, but will make them hot to serve.

As with all BBQ, serve additional warm BBQ sauce on the side. Also, make sure you have plenty of napkins.

Enjoy.