Intro and ribs advice

Frist, welcome to the lifestyle!

What @TexanOfTheNorth said. 

I probably should have added that my method does not produce "fall off the bone" ribs but will give you a rib where the meat pulls cleanly off the bone with little or no effort. That's just my personal preference.

ThisChickGrills said:

Great tips. Was planning to use whiskey barrel smoking chips. Any experience with this flavor combo and ribs?

They are good.  Mix a couple of handfuls evenly into your pile of lump.  I then add some more lump on the top without any chips, and this is what I light and let the egg come up to temp with.  No point burning chips warming up the egg. 

My typical rib method is 275 degrees egg temperature, cook indirect (with platesetter) for 3 hours, wrap in foil with liquid and cook for about 90 minutes, then back on the egg until they pass the bend test and sauce if you wish.  The last stage usually only takes 20-30 minutes. 

Welcome aboard! Have fun and make sure and take pics! (or it didn't happen)

Welcome and enjoy!

@Ladeback69 I don't usually foil, I like mine bite off the rib. But if you want fall off, the foil will do it.

Welcome,

I normally cook Baby Backs for 6 hours straight at 250 dome temp, like others have said pull the membrane, coat with a rub and then sauce the last hour or so. Whiskey chips will work just fine but try and find some chunks as you get more steady clean smoke. I normally use a ratio of cherry or peach with pecan. Dont forget to post pictures of the final product

I forgot I had Car Wash Mike's technique saved on my phone..... Here ya go!

BABY BACK RIB CLASS

by

Car Wash Mike

I don’t claim to be a rib eggspert but I will give you some basics today to get you started in the right direction. First, I cook baby backs exclusively. A 3 pack at Sam’s club works well.

THE PREP!

After opening up the package. Pat the ribs down with paper towels. Take the membrane off the bone side. To do this take a paper towel on the small end and pull towards the large end. Today I used Dizzy Pig Original for the rub. Leave the ribs meat side down. Now, I actually rub, the rub in, on the bone in side. Flip over, lightly coat with mustard. The mustard will not give any flavor. It gives you three different values in my opinion, others will argue. The vinegar in the mustard will start breaking down the collagen in the ribs. It will give a better bark. It will also help the last coating of the rub to stick to the ribs. After applying the mustard. Coat with Dizzy Pig Original Rub. After prepping put back in the fridge for at least 1 hour, but no more than 2. If you haven’t lit your egg, now is the time.

THE COOK!

Okay, the process just got a little complicated. I have cooked over a 100 slabs of baby backs, EVERY YEAR for over 15 years. I tell you this, so you don’t get discouraged if your first few attempts are not desired. Practice makes perfect. Put your wood of choice on the clean burning fire of the egg. Add 3-4 wood chunks. Try to stick with fruit woods. I used apple and cherry wood. They are going to start smoking right away. Put your plate setter on the fire ring, legs up. A large drip pan on the plate setter. You need to let the wood smoke for at least 30 minutes before putting the ribs on. I always use an inverted V-Rack. I think the heat off the plate setter and drip pan, cause a tough skin on the bone in side. Get your egg stabilized at 200-225. The first few hours are the most important. Your ribs need to be cold when placing on the Egg. They tend to soak up the smoke better and have a better smoke ring. I like to mist the ribs. I like to use a 50/50 mixture of apple juice/apple cider vinegar after the first hour. I do this every hour until done. After 3 hours bump that temp up to 250. Opening up the egg for misting may accomplish this.

Okay, we have had our ribs on for 3 hours and we've bumped the temp up to 250. Cook for 1 hour and then mist one more time. Let go another 30 minutes. The ribs have been on 4-1/2 hours. Pick a slab up. If it folds in half easily, it is time to finish. If not, put back on for another 30 minutes. Also, another way to check is that the meat should have pulled back approximately 1-1/2 inches. Another way is to, go ahead and pull a slab off and cut. If the bone is white in color they are ready.

This is where experience comes in. The texture you want will determine when to pull off. If you want fall off the bone. Let them go 5-1/2 hours. Remember though. You might be taking a chance on them drying out.

THE FINISH!

There are all kinds of good bbq sauces out there. I think the secret to great sticky finger ribs is a good sauce. I always use a sugar based sauce. I make sure my bbq sauce is cold (been in the fridge) for a few hours or days. This makes the sugar thicken up. This will produce a full flavor of sauce on the ribs.

Our ribs have been on between 4-1/2 and 5-1/2 hours. After pulling them, set them aside and get the egg up to 275. While the temp is climbing apply the desired amount of bbq sauce on the ribs evenly. Today we used Blues Hog. Many competitors use this. Pull the V-Rack off. You want your ribs laying flat when finishing. Place the ribs back on the egg bone side down. Leave on for 20-30 minutes. If your guests allow, pull off, let rest for 5-10 minutes, slice up and enjoy.

I have used oak barrel chips and chunks from wine barrel staves, the oak is STRONG. I would stick with pecan or fruitwood, my wife like cherry wood for smoking ribs.  The CWM recipe that @DAVERICHARDSON posted is great.

When I first got my egg, I didn't mind spending 4+ hours cooking ribs or 12+ cooking a butt. Many here consider longer cooks a point of pride. But I grew tired of it. I do my baby backs a la Mickey, turbo: 300* grate, 350* dome. After 1 hour, 40 minutes I check for doneness. I usually need to go 2 hours. I like a little pull on mine. I use just salt and pepper with sauce at the table. Mix of cherry and hickory chunks (I don't think chips will give you enough smoke for long enough). These are so effortless that I end up making them more than I should. 

A before pic is better than no pic at all! Nicely done.

Will you marry me?