Ribs Meat Up or Meat Down

[HistoricFoodie]

I just threw three racks into the smoker, and it occurred to me: I always do my ribs with the meaty sides up. If you asked me, now, I'd say that's so the bones protect the meat from the heat. But the fact is, I've always done them that way, for no particular reason.

Got me curious. Do you all do your ribs meat up or meat down? And do you just start them that way, and turn them now and again?

In each case, how come?

[TasunkaWitko]

I always turn and rotate during cooking, so that they receive relatively even heat for cooking.

Having said that, for the first 90 minutes or so, I put them in meaty-side up, bone-side down. The reason for this is so that the mustard slather and rub are protected during the first stage of cooking while they "set." Otherwise, you run the risk of leaving half of your slather and rub on the grates.

[HistoricFoodie]

Ron, don't you lather and rub both sides?

[TasunkaWitko]

I do - but the slather and rub on the bone side is less important than the slather and rub on the meaty side, in my opinon.

Besides, the bones themselves act as kind of a "rack" that sits on the grates, so only the bony points are touching the grates. A little bit of slather and rub off of the bony points is no problem.....

[Richtee]

Meat up..and if thou foils..meat down. After all the point there is to tenderize. Mine are mainly meat up. 3 slabs on now and they will not see foil.

[dsgarner06]

Meat up until foiling, then meat down in the foil with butter, brown sugar and honey. After removing from foil and placing back on the smoker, meat up to finish and caramelize the mop/sauce or finishing rub.

[Mark R]

Meat up. If you put a chicken breast in the smoker for a while then pull it out and look at it. The top will have smoke on it, the bottom will not.

[THUMPERRRR]

up,,,
down after juicing foiling then up to finish...
rub all over...

[HawgHeaven]

Meat up. With the meat side down, you get grill marks in the meat, which can distract from appearance, at least for comp ribs. Ribs don't need grill marks. Just a habit of mine I guess. I stopped foiling, butt when I did foil, meat went down to absorb the juices..

[Fishawn]

Meat up until foiling, then meat down in the foil with butter, brown sugar and honey. After removing from foil and placing back on the smoker, meat up to finish and caramelize the mop/sauce or finishing rub.

X2

[DDave]

Meat up.

Because that's the way I've always done them.

I have thought about the "why" before but could never really see any point to putting them meat side down. When I used to foil I started meat side up, then went meat side down as someone (Fishawn, I think) mentioned that lessens the chance of poking a bone through the foil when you wrap them. But I stopped foiling a couple of years ago so it's always meat up.

don't you lather and rub both sides?

I don't bother with the bone side anymore. Seems like 75% or more of the bone side is, well, bones, so it seemed like kind of a waste of mustard and rub. And Mrs. DDave doesn't like heavy rub anyway so I just do the meat side now.

Dave

[Doug S.]

Meat up until foiling, then meat down in the foil with butter, brown sugar and honey. After removing from foil and placing back on the smoker, meat up to finish and caramelize the mop/sauce or finishing rub.

X2^^^^

[PitRow]

Lately I've been doing mine vertically in the rib rack, no foil, so the question is kind of moot for me, but were I to do them horizontally it'd be bones down/meat up, no foil, for the whole cook.

[gmotoman]

Neither! I use a rib rack and spritzeroo

[solar]

I put them in meaty-side up, bone-side down. The reason for this is so that the mustard slather and rub are protected during the first stage of cooking while they "set." Otherwise, you run the risk of leaving half of your slather and rub on the grates.

The exact same answer I had.