Can we talk about people who sauce their ribs before the last 30 minutes?

I was at a block party in Austin last Saturday and this guy pulls his ribs off the smoker, slathers them in sauce, and then puts them back on for like 5 minutes. They came out all sticky and burnt on the edges. I mean, I'm no expert but I've been doing this for about 6 years now. Don't you want the sauce to set and caramelize a little, not cook into a crust? His wife said they were "the best she ever had" but I saw her grab a napkin to wipe half of it off. Has anyone else seen people rush the sauce like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_sean12d ago

That 5 minute reheat trick is a classic move from the "burn it or bust" school of BBQ. I bet his wife was just being polite while secretly planning a trash can disposal strategy. Honestly, rushing sauce like that is like putting ketchup on a well-done steak then calling it gourmet.

harperp2411d ago

Three minutes of sauce time... that's barely enough to get the sugar to tack up, let alone develop any real depth. My uncle tried that once on his drum smoker, and the whole thing ended up tasting like sweetened ketchup with a side of raw smoke. You gotta let that sauce break down and marry with the meat for at least ten minutes on low heat, or it just sits on top like a sad apology. The "burn it or bust" crowd always skips the patience part of the process, which is basically half the battle in barbecue.

phoenix_martin407d ago

Yeah, you nailed it with the "sweetened ketchup" thing. That's exactly what happens when you rush it, the sugar just sits on the surface and never actually caramelizes into the meat. I've seen people try that quick sauce method and end up with a sticky glaze that peels right off, totally missing that deep, almost jammy layer you get from a proper twenty minute rest.