Why flip your ribs?

T

The Virginian

Knows what a fatty is.
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I have had several highly regarded bbq competition cooks say that they flip ribs part way through the cook, from meat side up to meat side down, before wrapping. I never bothered to ask why, and they never bothered to say. I do not flip my ribs over, but am looking for any little thing that might take them up half a notch. SOOOO, can anyone explain why flipping ribs part way through the cook would make them better? Theories?

Thanks,
Brett
 
Flip them over when you foil so the meat cooks in the juices. If you are adding stuff when you foil you want the meat in the "stuff". If its meat up the meat isn't in the "stuff" you added at foil time
 
I do keep them meat side down when I wrap, but the recommendation is to flip them over in the smoker an hour or so before wrapping. I am looking for a reason why that should improve the final product.
 
Hopefully you'll be doing a few practice cooks. I suggest flipping one right next to one un-flipped; taste the results side-by-side.
 
I suppose it would depend on what kind of cooker you're using. I flip mine, but I use a UDS. With the more direct heat cooking you get with a UDS flipping does two things: One, it creates a little more bark on the meat. Two, it keeps the bone side from getting TOO blackened.
 
Wait....flippin ribs is COOL lookin?


Dangit! No WONDER......






As said, we flip when we wrap, but don't see the need to do before. Personally, I'd be afraid of messing up the beautiful color with "grate crud", but maybe that's just me.
 
I never flip, and I never wrap.

Considering that I've had a few 1st places, as well as other top place finishes, I will not be doing either in the forseeable future.

So, I have no idea what it does.
 
I think flipping helps get more uniform color, also I have a theory that it more even distributes the juices in the meat??? No scientific research to back this up.

Eggspert BBQ
 
Wampus said:
Wait....flippin ribs is COOL lookin?


Dangit! No WONDER......






As said, we flip when we wrap, but don't see the need to do before. Personally, I'd be afraid of messing up the beautiful color with "grate crud", but maybe that's just me.
Click to expand...

It's just you!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
Oh, we clean the grates, but there's still sometimes a light residue on them. I don't want grill or grate marks on our purty ribs!
 
The Virginian said:
I have had several highly regarded bbq competition cooks say that they flip ribs part way through the cook, from meat side up to meat side down, before wrapping. I never bothered to ask why, and they never bothered to say. I do not flip my ribs over, but am looking for any little thing that might take them up half a notch. SOOOO, can anyone explain why flipping ribs part way through the cook would make them better? Theories?

Thanks,
Brett
Click to expand...

Even cooking. Cook your ribs meat up for the entire cook. My bet is there is unevenness in the color on the meat side vs. the bone side. There may be examples of pits that have a perfect balance of heat but most do not.

Flipping the ribs allows you to create a perfect balance of caramelized crust on both sides which in theory should lead to tastier ribs. When to flip in the cooking process depends on the cooker but the idea is to create even color on both sides.
 
I'm new to this forum, but not to competition. I've seen guys do it, but just when they were getting a little too much char on the bone side. I only flip when I foil.
 
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