Ribs burned to a crisp following directions. What does "medium high" mean?
I'm learning about grilling by making mistakes. The instructions on some pre-seasoned "St. Louis Ribs" say the following:
Remove ribs from package. Preheat grill to medium high. Place ribs on grill and cook on medium high for 12-15 min. Flip ribs over and cook for an additional 12-15 mins. Finish cooking ribs on indirect heat on medium high for an additional hour to hour and a half temperature should reach 175 degrees.
They seem quite clear that everything should be at "medium high" the whole time.
I thought things were going well when I flipped the ribs the first time. But when I went to flip the ribs the second time they were on fire and quite black.
Oops! This is a new grill, so I'm a little unfamiliar with it, but I actually had the dials set at about the halfway marker. I would expect that to be somewhat closer to "medium" heat than "medium high". But all nuance is lost when the food catches on fire! Should I have ignored the directions and done the initial searing for less time, or at a lower temperature?
I have another rack, and I'd like to try again tomorrow. What should I adjust about these directions to prevent setting St. Louis on fire? (And even with indirect heat, is medium high the right idea for 90 minutes of cooking?)
Best Answer
Ribs should not be cooked with direct heat, generally. The directions on the meat are VERY defective. You should turn the left burner on, and put the ribs in the right side of the grill. You should cook at a temperature between 250-300F, typically for 4-5 hours. They're done when the meat pulls back from the bone and when you can easily tear the meat between bones, not when they hit a certain temperature.
Check out amazingribs.com, and also get your money back. The instructions on the packaging border on fraud.
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How do you tell if ribs are overcooked or undercooked?
Generally, the ribs will be browned before the meat is done, which is where the balancing act comes in.Why do ribs burn?
Ribs benefit from a lengthy cook time over a low temperature, which can be tough to control on the grill, and can easily lead to burnt meat. Follow this tip: Pre-cooking the ribs before they hit the grill not only gives you more control over the cooking temperature, but it can also make for more tender meat.How do you keep ribs from burning on the grill?
Pretty much every rib recipe out there calls for using a low and slow, indirect grilling method. Grilling them over direct, high heat is a great way to overcook them and have them turn out tough. Indirect, low heat will help create tender meat that will easily tear off of the bone.What temp is overcooked ribs?
If your internal temperature of the meat is 203\xb0F or over, they are overcooked. Your perfectly cooked ribs will be between 195-203\xb0F internally and will be tender and juicy and very easy to separate from the bone. We will dig into this more later but the best way to accomplish this is to cook low and slow.Easy Tips For Grilling Steak - How To Grill Steak At Home
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