Restaurants don’t bother to remove the rib membrane, so why bother at home removing the membrane from pork ribs?
Chapters
00:00 – Insane in the membrane
00:28 – New Double Indirect 2.0 setup
04:07 – Rib prep (remove vs not to remove the membrane)
06:56 – The membrane debate
09:07 – Results & taste test
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44 Comments
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Pulling the membrane is 25% more satisfying than not. It doesn't justify the 2-5% improvement for me.
on ribs I've done the 'scoring crosshatch' for quite a while, and they always seem to come out excellent
I keep the membrane on b/c I do hot and fast hanging on a drum smoker. Membrane gets crisped up a bit and I can just peel it back leaving all the juicy rib left to eat.
Ever tried cooking on an UDS, James? The direct heat method with a mop sauce is definitely to write home about in my not so humble opinion
Great video. I actually just smoked some ribs yesterday where I had left the membrane on by accident; long story, and didn't realize it until I had cut into the ribs.
With that experience, the membrane did actually make a difference in taste, as the rib meat seemed a little mushy, fatty tasting, and not as favorable. Followed my process that has always produced a good product, but not so much this time. Just my experience.
I just subscribed and I enjoyed your cooking.. I am older and my ears do not work as good as they should and I never heard you say if you were cooking pork or beef and I did not hear what kind of ribs those were.. I am not familiar with any of that and I am trying to learn thank you for your video.. you give good instructions on everything especially the temperature but I never did hear you say what kind of ribs those were.. when I am in the store buying cooked ribs I cannot tell the beaf from the pork and sometimes they do not tell you what they are when they are packaged and on display.. also is there a such a thing as baby back beef ribs and baby back pork ribs.. thanks, 👍
Always a good day when you can pull the membrane off in one pull
Interesting comparison👍. Always been team no membrane for low and slow but membrane if doing a fast smoked grill. But now you got me thinking how about 50/50 remove just bottom half of the membrane. I know sounds dumb but do the experiment for me 😁.
I always remove the membrane as it's a part of my prep process . I don't think it makes a difference. Though. For future food test you need a food tester I'm available 🤣
Always remove the membrane. Are going to start leaving silver skin and not trimming our bbq too. Don’t be lazy. Bbq is serious 😂
Why not remove it. It takes seconds and you don’t have to eat a piece of plastic like material.
Hi James. I saw a video on another channel advising to remove the membrane to allow seasoning to penetrate the meat better. Do you think there is truth to that?
Everyone in competition removes the membrane because they are judged on bite and texture. They can be the best tasting ribs, but if the judge doesn't get a clean bite through it will cost the entrant points. The membrane make it harder to get a clean bite and makes it more likely the rib will get pulled off the bone when a judge bites in. Plus you will get judged negatively for the texture. In competition, you don't risk it at all. You pull it off no matter what!
Restaurants don't do it because they are concerned with cost and efficiency. If it takes a minute or two to remove a membrane you're significantly increasing your labor costs when cooking at scale. If you're doing 100 ribs that is an hour and a half to three hours of labor time and costs every day added onto your process.
I've always taken the membrane off. The most ribs I've ever done at once were six, it wasn't a big deal taking it off. I might have to give it a try with the membrane on. I guess it comes down to trade off. What is more important? Do you value moisture, texture, bite, presentation or taste more? This is up to every individual. I've seen some people leave the membrane on, then burn it off at the end. WHO KNOWS!?
Awesome video !! I have been leaving the membrane on my St. Louis ribs for years, prefer them that way for sure! I notice you don't have the "wings" around your ash collector — did I miss that in a video or have you found that to allow a better burn?
My dad was a lazy ass so I just grew up eating the membrane 😅 I didn't even know it was a thing till I was 24.
I have never done a side by side test but I have cooked them both ways often and would never be able to tell you any difference. Now does cutting against the grain actually make something more tender?
I leave it on because my dog gets the bones afterwards. Dogs love to eat that stuff.
Wow…. 15 minute video on something that takes about 15-30 seconds to do, if you want to.
Remove the mustard.
I like pretending I'm a Cenobite from Hellraiser when removing the membrane…No explanation needed if you've seen the movies.🥩🗡😂
Did you notice any difference on the bite through or in chewing?
Could tell by the title that you were already team membrane on. "Is it worth?" made that quite obvious. Therefore, I knew what you would settle on at the end. Plus when talking about the arguments for and against membrane on, it was also glaringly obvious you prefered to not hassel with it. Therefore, you should've fed others in a blind test and asked which they preferred, but thats just my opinion. & I'm not buying the "slightly" juicier. Nor am i buying the idea that the flavor was identical. No way the rub or the smoke penetrated the bottom side as good with that membrane on unless it got scored. Also, every time ive ever had ribs with membrane, the membrane is just nasty to chew.
I keep trying the wood below method my my classic 2 has a plate with holes in the bottom and I noticed your grill has no bottom. I wonder if I can remove that plate.
are the drip pan and the water pan the same thing from smokeware? all i see on there site is the drip pan…..also what size ones are you using?? Thanks
I’ve gotten to where I only remove on comp ribs. Great video
This double indirect plus water pan works great! Been using it for a while. But … I think you might still be too conservative with the wood. 2-4 big chunks underneath (I do front and back vs middle because it seems to last longer) and two on top. Also starting with bottom vent closed down but control tower on largest setting can get 1-1.5 hours of thick but clean smoke before having to close down the top vent. Briskets can come out meteorite black this way.
If you leave the membrane on why waste the rub on the bottom?
I agree for the extra effort keep it on, have been leaving it on my ribs the past few cooks
I’ve tried no membrane but couldn’t tell the difference. Plus, I like the tendons, connective tissue, ligaments etc on meat so I leave it on. Don’t get complaints or people leaving it on their plate 🙂 good video James. Thanks
never removed it and it doesnt bother me, so much time and frustration saved over the years!
Texas has some of the worst pork ribs. They do beef ribs well but not pork…KC And SC have better pork ribs
James, after seeing Mad Scientist BBQ score his ribs, I've been doing that for years now and really like the results.
Anyone else now have Cypress Hill playing in their head? Lol. I like the ribs with the membrane off.
Of course it does. The reason BBQ restaurants don't do it is because it's too time intensive to remove the membrane from hundreds of racks of ribs every day. But if you take a knife and score the membrane, as it cooks it will be pretty close to the effect of removing it it. A lot of BBQ joints do that, because it takes a lot less time.
As a butcher the only way my knife would drag across the back of the bones in that fashion is opening the package. Those ribs are usually bought at a store in a cryo vac and the customer cuts the package and gets those marks?
Curious as to why you lowered the temp from 300 in your St. Louis Rib video to 270 in this one? Both seemed to take about 3hrs, also saw that you added mustard as a binder in this one. Keep it up, love them all.
Been just scoring it for years.
James amazing video! I have a big joe 3. Are you saying put the ceramic plates on the basket top, then a water pan, then the divide and conquer, the slow roller, then a drip pan and then the grates? I’ve never seen you do that before. Are you recommending that for all longer smokes like brisket, plate ribs etc?
Very interesting, thank you!!!! I've got to try it now for myself.
I'm in the camp where I'll try to get the membrane off, but if it's putting up a struggle I'm not going to fight it. Since Costco ribs are usually a 3 pack I'll try membrane off, membrane on, and membrane scored the next time I snag some from them.
Off topic but because I watched you clean the ash out of the bottom – I used to use a gloved hand but of course it gets the left glove pretty dusty. I decided to grab a paint brush that had seen better days and used it. Much better result than gloved fingers and my glove didn't get dust all over it. A few taps of the brush before I put it in my cabinet and I'm good to go.
Don’t fancy a mouthful of membrane. Have tried both methods myself too 👍
I remove the membrane because of smoke and seasoning penetration. Quick story, my wife God love her thinks I make the best ribs ever and one time she watched me prepare them and when I removed the membrane she was stunned because she had never seen that… she asked if I always do that and I was like uh yea… not everybody knows that trick lol she was so turned on I have no choice but to remove it every time now lmao
Glad you did the test as I have always removed it. But if you don't remove the membrane, you still are eating about half of the membrane. You didn't say anything bad about chewing the membrane, so I guess the cooking made it soft enough to eat. Thanks again for your tests!
I slice the membrane along the bone. After cooking the membrane shrivels up on each individual bone. Don’t even notice it’s there when eating.