3-2-1 method for smoked ribs

[cougjunkie]

In my pre smoker days, I would slow cook the ribs in a covered pan with some liquid at the bottom. Same principle...break down all the tissue. After they were basically done I would sauce and finish on the grill to get a char. They tasted very good but you don't get the smoke ring flavor. Liquid smoke now tastes weird to me so I wouldn't advise that route.

This is what I still do. I finish them on the grill using cedar planks.

[kccougar]

[kccougar]

What I did: The ribs were a couple racks of st. louis style ribs from Costco, pre-rubbed. I thought I had a smoker box for wood chips, but I couldn't find it so I went the lazy way. Put the two racks of ribs on the middle and right side of the grill and then turned on the left burner. Threw a few larger chunks of cherry wood on the grill grate above the left burner and tried to keep the temp at about 250 degrees. It actually smoked pretty good, I think it would have been a decent substitute smoke method, but I didn't foil or anything, just cooked straight through for about 4.5 hours.

With the St. Louis ribs, I should have gone longer or foiled with some liquid. I did slather with sauce for about the last 45 minutes. The meat was done, but it was not particularly tender. And I wasn't really a fan of the Costco rub, but my wife liked them, and we'll have leftovers tonight.

[Green Monstah]

My smoker is still at the cabin, but my wife bought a couple racks of ribs at Costco. Anyone had success grilling ribs (I only have a propane grill - no charcoal)?

Two things to dowhen you find yourself in this predicament: 1. Obviously use indirect heat if possible. 2. make tin-foil smoke packets. Wrap wood chips in tinfoil then poke holes in the tin foil. Put the packets over the direct heat, and they'll add a very mild smoky flavor. It's not the same as cooking them in the smoker, but it's better than straight propane.

[Joe Public]

My smoker is still at the cabin, but my wife bought a couple racks of ribs at Costco. Anyone had success grilling ribs (I only have a propane grill - no charcoal)?

My FIL did that once. The flavor was fine, but it cooked too fast and was chewy because the connective tissue didn't have a chance to break down. Maybe with lower heat, a water pan, etc.

Alton Brown had an oven recipe that looked decent. Rub the ribs, then foil them liquid tight. Before sealing completely, add 1/2 cup white wine, 1 Tbsp white wine vinegar, 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce, 1/2 Tbsp honey, and 1 clove of garlic (minced). Seal the foil. Set on a tray/sheet in a 225F degree oven for 2 hours 30 minutes.

Remove the foiled ribs from the oven. Carefully pour the liquid from the foil into a saucepan. Reduce the liquid until a thick syrup. Brush the sauce onto the ribs and broil or grill to tighten. Slice ribs and coat with remaining sauce as desired. As an alternative, a commercial sauce could be used after removing the ribs from the foil.

I haven't tried the recipe yet, but it looked pretty good.

[TripletDaddy]

In my pre smoker days, I would slow cook the ribs in a covered pan with some liquid at the bottom. Same principle...break down all the tissue. After they were basically done I would sauce and finish on the grill to get a char. They tasted very good but you don't get the smoke ring flavor. Liquid smoke now tastes weird to me so I wouldn't advise that route.

[kccougar]

My smoker is still at the cabin, but my wife bought a couple racks of ribs at Costco. Anyone had success grilling ribs (I only have a propane grill - no charcoal)?

[Drunk Tank]

Alright so here's a question from a novice.

I smoked some ribs this weekend on my regular ole Weber Kettle. I did the indirect heat with the coals on one side and the ribs on the other. They cooked for about 1.5 hours and were done (I think I had my kettle too hot). I then wrapped them in foil and let them sit in the oven in BBQ sauce, brown sugar, and some butter for probably another 30-40 minutes. They were done, and came of the bone just fine, but I didn't get the sense that they were totally tender.

So my question here is...how do you regulate the heat in something like a weber kettle when you're working with indirect heat and trying to smoke for a period of time. Was the 1.5 hours premature to pull them off even though they were done?

I didn't take pictures this time...next time though...

Do you have the briquette separators that Weber sells? They work well for keeping the charcoal to the sides. Also, how many briquettes are you lighting? I'd use something similar to the minion method and only light about 10 briquettes and dump them on top of the unlit briquettes. Make sure your have a good seal with the lid and no air leaks. You'll need to keep the bottom vent nearly closed and the top vents open. Goal is to only provide enough oxygen for the fire to keep burning to maintain the temp you want. Granted, it is a little harder to do with a Weber Kettle as opposed to a WSM, but it can be done.

Also, if your weber lid doesn't have a dome thermometer, get a digital pit thermometer and stick in on the grate and run the cord through the vent.


Or, try this.

http://www.amazon.com/SMOKENATOR-100.../dp/B000HI3I68

[mtnbiker]

I did this on Saturday for about 30 (baby backs only) and it turned out great.

I forgot to ask... how big of a smoker do you have to cook enough ribs for 30 people? Do you have a huge smoker like cowboy or DT?

Every smoker has hot spots. looking at your pic, the beef ribs are sitting in the hottest zone on the Texas. That end runs 35-45 degrees hotter, sometimes more depending on how high a temp you are trying to reach. In short, yes that will change how fast the meat cooks.

I've wondered about that, but haven't really noticed much of a difference from end to end with past cooks. What I really notice is if I let the meat extend beyond where the drip tray is, then it gets pretty badly burned. The heat comes up the sides (well, it's front and back, actually) of the drip tray and really does a number on the meat. There is at least an inch to 1 1/2" gap on either side of the drip tray that I have to watch out for. Does everyone else with a Texas have the same problem? I've wondered if it would help or hurt to extend the drip tray foil a bit to give me more usable space on the grate. It also seems that my smoker cooks a little cooler than everyone else's here, as it takes longer for meat to cook for me than what people have posted. I usually end up just adding an extra click on the temperature setting of the controller to compensate on the timed cooks, and it comes out right.

[Green Monstah]

Alright so here's a question from a novice.

Ihow do you regulate the heat in something like a weber kettle when you're working with indirect heat and trying to smoke for a period of time. Was the 1.5 hours premature to pull them off even though they were done?

You regulate heat via the amount of oxygen the coals have access to. Does your weber have disc-like dampers you can partially open or close, or does it have the lever at the bottom that you can open or close. If the former, it should be a matter of opening/closing the damper. If the latter, temp control will be more difficult because it's more like an on and off switch.

Although I didn't do this when I smoked meat in a kettle, I wonder if putting a line of bricks down the middle of your charcoal grate is a good idea when you smoke--the idea is that the bricks absorb and release the heat in a more uniform manner.

1.5 hours and higher heat probably accounts for the lack of tenderness. If they came clean off the bone, though, that's atypical.

[DrumNFeather]

Alright so here's a question from a novice.

I smoked some ribs this weekend on my regular ole Weber Kettle. I did the indirect heat with the coals on one side and the ribs on the other. They cooked for about 1.5 hours and were done (I think I had my kettle too hot). I then wrapped them in foil and let them sit in the oven in BBQ sauce, brown sugar, and some butter for probably another 30-40 minutes. They were done, and came of the bone just fine, but I didn't get the sense that they were totally tender.

So my question here is...how do you regulate the heat in something like a weber kettle when you're working with indirect heat and trying to smoke for a period of time. Was the 1.5 hours premature to pull them off even though they were done?

I didn't take pictures this time...next time though...

[Coach McGuirk]

Interesting. I bought a big bottle of that rub a year ago and nobody liked it so I threw it away.

same.

[Jeff Lebowski]

I did this on Saturday for about 30 (baby backs only) and it turned out great. Costco is now selling (or I have only recently noticed) their rib rub so I tried that. Everyone thought they were very good - very tender and excellent taste.

Interesting. I bought a big bottle of that rub a year ago and nobody liked it so I threw it away.

[Green Monstah]

The baby backs look awesome.

[Coach McGuirk]

Yes, I cooked them the same amount of time. For the initial stage I was gone to church so I put them on at the same time. I ended up coming home for a minute to change temps and get an ice bag for my wife, who sprained her wrist just before church, and wish I'd have held off the beef until then. Having split the beef into smaller bits, they were much smaller and thinner than the pork ribs.



Yup. Used pretty much every bit of it. Last time I cooked up ribs, I did 5 and filled it then, too. I guess I could get the vertical rib rack to save space. How much does that really help, though? Does it change the way the meat cooks at all?

Every smoker has hot spots. looking at your pic, the beef ribs are sitting in the hottest zone on the Texas. That end runs 35-45 degrees hotter, sometimes more depending on how high a temp you are trying to reach. In short, yes that will change how fast the meat cooks.