Margarine on ribs?

SteveKing

SteveKing

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For as many years as I've been cooking ribs, I've never put margarine on them and I'd made plenty of delicious ribs. With some of the "competition ribs" videos popping up, I see a lot of use of margarine. What does margarine bring to the table?
 
It brings added moisture and some flavor to the wrapping process. It also helps develop a nice sheen on the meat.

I personally don't like to use margarine,I prefer natural butter. I also don't like wrap my ribs , but have done it in the few competitions I was in.
 
Give it a try as see if you like it. For me it adds some savory'ness while also giving a shine that aawa mentioned. It's not for everyone of course, but you will never know until you try. Also give butter a whirl and see what you get. Nothing like cooking 2 racks differently side by side :clap2:
 
Jrogers84 said:
Depends. Margarine holds up better at high heat. I dont condone using it since its about a step away from plastic though.
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Yea i wouldn't know. Its been 20 years since I've even considered using it. My parents kept it in the fridge, never did taste quite right.

Ironic how it was supposed to be a healthier alternative to butter but ended up being worse.......

....kinda like K2
 
If you beleive that "The more chemicals that you put on food the better it tastes" then add some margarine. :tape:.
I like butter, but as stated it has a lower smoke point.
 
Couldn't find any BLU margarine here in Italy.
So I moved toward butter (salted unsalted) and definitively it adds tons of flavour to the end product (together with brown sugar, honey and some apple juice)
 
Alright, for those who insist on using butter instead (I don't really care), what does it bring to the party?
 
smoke ninja said:
Yea i wouldn't know. Its been 20 years since I've even considered using it. My parents kept it in the fridge, never did taste quite right.

Ironic how it was supposed to be a healthier alternative to butter but ended up being worse.......

....kinda like K2
Click to expand...

My mom still insists its healthier. Only thing she will use.....:doh:
 
Jrogers84 said:
As stated by many, flavor
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That's kind of obvious. I was hoping someone could describe this better. Does it add some sort of richness? If so, how does that affect the flavor? Does it bring out more porkiness? More this/that flavor, etc?
 
SteveKing said:
That's kind of obvious. I was hoping someone could describe this better. Does it add some sort of richness? If so, how does that affect the flavor? Does it bring out more porkiness? More this/that flavor, etc?
Click to expand...

I wouldnt say it brings out more of the pork flavor. I think it adds to the savory side of it with adding a bit of tenderness. I honestly think it takes away from pork flavor. I am not a fan in general
 
SteveKing said:
That's kind of obvious. I was hoping someone could describe this better. Does it add some sort of richness? If so, how does that affect the flavor? Does it bring out more porkiness? More this/that flavor, etc?
Click to expand...

To me it, it takes away from the porky flavor. Ribs by themselves have a great fatty richness too them. When you add in butter or margarine you add even more fatty richness to the ribs that really coat the tongue. The delicate flavors seem to get lost to me, and the stronger flavors are the only ones that cut through the butter/richness. Most people will use butter and then add in sweetners such as brown sugar, honey, fruit juice, soda etc. The sweetners are enhanced by the richness, but really take away from the pork flavor and the rub flavors imho.

That is the reason why I prefer just a dry rub cook, only wrapping when the color is where I want it.

Now it does add a very pretty sheen when using butter or margarine. Seeing pictures of ribs that were cooked in a wrap with some butter. Ooooooo weee they are pretty looking.
 
I'd say it adds some tenderness, some sweetness and helps for the "candy" rib style that is very common in competition.

Those comp style ribs tend to be OVERKILL in everything for a good reason - you need to blow somebody's socks off with one bite, so it's important to be robust. I compare normal 'backyard' ribs to competition ribs like this:

Backyard ribs: Milk Chocolate Hershey Bar
Competition Ribs: A block of fudge

If you only get one bite, the fudge is what you want to go for, but if you ate two bricks of fudge you'd probably be sick.

I only do the wrap/butter/brn sugar/etc for comp ribs, not for normal meal eating.
 
Margarine (Or butter if you prefer) adds depth of flavor in the way of savoriness and extra fat for the ribs to cook in to retain moisture. Whether you like it on your ribs is your own personal opinion but it gives you a larger window for the "perfect" doneness required in competition while also adding flavor and shine.

As for the competition ribs being like fudge I kindly disagree. Some folks comp ribs could be very overpowering but the ones I make are eaten regularly by my family and guests. Many people eat 4-6 bones easily. I've tasted a few other competitors comp ribs and thought to myself "wow I could eat a whole rack of those"

Comp and backyard are different animals, but there are many techniques from both that can enhance your overall bbq experience by trying and seeing additional methods that you've never thought of before.
 
Johnny Triggs method. A ton of comp cooks do it now. Parkay for (high heat) brown sugar, Honey, tiger sauce. then wrap. Won him several awards.

Makes ribs into candy one bite wonders!
 
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