Baby Backs on BGE - cant get it right

blakeas · October 2014

I have tried 4 times now in the last 2 months and I cant get it right. My wife finally said put them in the oven like you did before and they come out AMAZING.

a brown sugar type rub on ribs, wrap ribs in 2 layers of foil meat side down, 275 for 4 hours and they come out amazing. Wish I could get the BGE to do em this good.

GASGUY · October 2014

For what it is worth, I have tried low and slow turbo with similar results. By wrapping in foil they do tend to get moister, but be careful you can easily turn them into mush. Have found too much brown sugar gives ribs a burnt appearance. Do not give up, you will find best way for you. Also check this forum, I have found several recommendations on doing ribs......some I liked, some so-so.

TigerTony · October 2014

If you and your wife like the way baby back ribs come out cooked in your oven then it seems like you don't need a Big Green Egg.
Keep using the oven.

Grillin_beers · October 2014

Hey man. Everyone has something that they struggle with. For the first 3 months I couldn't cook a steak anywhere near as good as I could on my webber kettle. I read a lot of advice on hear and kept practicing. Now I can cook a great steak. I was ready to just use my webber for steaks but I'm so glad I didnt. If you search for car wash mikes rib recipes that should help. Good luck man!

BRush00 · October 2014

Why not try to duplicate your oven method in the egg?

Once you get back to that baseline - you'll be able to make small changes here and there to make them more 'egg'-like....

carl292 · October 2014

Here u go, 275 indirect for 3 hrs. Do not open or flip and they will be perfect!

SoCalTim · October 2014

Hey brother ... don't give up. This is a relatively simple cook. You'll nail it, and one day ... oh maybe a year from now you'll look back and laugh. What'll happen then is that you'll be on this forum and see another guy writing about what a tough time he's having on this particular cook.

It'll be then that you've discovered how far you've come.

Since I can't actually be with you to guide you, the only bits of advice I can offer are to use the search box above and (most importantly) don't over-think. That was my downfall.

Good Luck ~ Tim

tjv · October 2014

I think you are comparing two different style for ribs, brasing vs smoking. By wrapping in the oven, you're basically brasing the ribs to doneness. Given the process you outlined, my guess is fall off the bone and very sweet. Try the same process in the egg and I'll bet you get close to your same results.

The egg is smoking, so with no foil, the rib texture will be slightly different. if you wrap the ribs during the back end of the cook, you can get close to your oven results. Google 3-1-1 method, first 1 is hour in foil.

Another thing to consider is the wife may not like the smoke on ribs or she likes 'em real sweet and super fall off the bone done. Can be accomplished on the egg, but not like the oven when ribs are foiled for entire cook.

t

badinfluence · October 2014

Another thought is try spare ribs as baby backs are less forgiving. I use a 2-2-1 methodand they always come out great but I also watch my cooks ppretty close also unless the beer is flowing good

QDude · October 2014

I agree with trying to avoid the brown sugar. It burns them badly, even going indirect.

I always seem to get ribs right. Don't know why, but BB's seem to be my can't miss cook. I do them at 275 indirect for three hours or so. About the last hour, I wrap them in foil with a concoction of honey, margarine, and BBQ sauce. Cook them till they pass the toothpick test. Take them off and rest them for 20 minutes or so.

Don't give up on them. You will get them right!

SoCalTim · October 2014

blakeas has left the building.

rtt121 · October 2014

@carl292 is correct. 250 grate indirect 3 hours.

You are making it too hard.

grege345 · October 2014

@blakeas‌ maybe you can tell us your BGE method?

CMCordial · October 2014

3-1-1 with a good rub, apple juice or Dr. Pepper for liquid at 250. Nail the 3-1-1 and then you can get as creative as you want with the flavor profile and the tenderness.

blakeas · October 2014

I have also tried the dizzy dust but she really likes the alton brown rub (8/3/1) of brown sugar/salt/and a bunch of other things. so the ribs in the oven with meat down with the rub is what she likes.

she really likes them super fall off the bone - so do the same thing on the egg? 275 indirect with foil for 275?

SoCalTim · October 2014

rtt121 said:

@carl292 is correct. 250 grate indirect 3 hours.

You are making it too hard.

x6

Zmokin · October 2014

I just did 2 racks of BB on my electric vertical water smoker the other day

Why not the BGE, because I needed them to be done and delivered at 11:30 AM, so I wanted minimum hassle wake up time in the middle of the night. So at 5 AM, the alarm goes off, I get half dressed, go out and layout the ribs on the grill, plug her in, and back to bed for another 2 hours of much enjoyed sleep with minimal interuption. Get up at 7, take a shower, get my son's breakfast ready, and then go out and foil them. when done with the foil, dip 'em all in a bowl of sauce and back on the smoker for some carmelization. Based on the times, it came out to the 2.5 - 2.5 - 1.33 hour method

blind99 · October 2014

What is your technique on the egg? That's a lot of sugar to get scorched! I guess you could do exactly the same prep, and just use the egg as your heat source. alton's method is braising, not really BBQ / smoking / low and slow cooking.

I'm no rib master, but I had good luck with simple rubs and cooking them indirect at 250 until they were done - usually about 4 hours for baby backs.

bccomstock · October 2014

My last time doing baby back ribs, I got the Egg set around 250 - 275, rubbed them down and just left them in there for 6 hours or so.. I sprayed them with apple cider vinegar a few times during the cook. Pulled them out, and they were fall off the bone good..

bweekes · October 2014

I'm interested to see where this discussion goes. For years, I've had nothing but success with ribs (primarily baby backs). In the last year or so, I can't seem to dial it in. I'm definitely in a slump. I think I need to go back to basics and go low and slow until done (no foil).

rtt121 · October 2014

I think it depends on what you are looking for.

bccomstock said:

Pulled them out, and they were fall off the bone good..

If you want fall off the bone almost braised ribs go ahead foil them up.

I want smokey bbq ribs that are almost crunchy on the outside but tender and drippy in the interior. When I take a bite I want to see a nice bite mark removed and the rest of the meat stay right where it is.. on the bone.

blakeas · October 2014

I guess we like braised ribs then? thx for the discussion

HendersonTRKing · October 2014

Abandon the cut. St. Louis style are meatier, bigger, better accepting of the smoke and low-slow or turbo cook. Once I tried them, I never went back to BB.

dstearn · October 2014

I have found that cooking and slow around 250 grid 280 dome for around 3 hours and then raising the temp to 275 grid after 3 hours into the cook worked for me. The ribs were tender but not fall off the bone which is what I prefer. The bones were white in color .I started spritzing with apple juice and cider vinegar after 2 hours. Used the Dizzy Dust rub which is now my favorite. Once it passes the bend test I brush on the sauce and let them sit for another 20 minutes. Best BB ribs I have cooked to date.

JT_Thomas · October 2014

I've tried low and slow, and turbo. I can't tell the difference, so I tend to lean w/ the turbo method simply to save time. Here is what I do:

- Place rubbed ribs on the rib rack in the BGE, and cook at 325 for about 1 1/2 hours

- Take them up, brush them with honey and place them in a deep foil pan with about an inch or 2 of apple juice. I sit them up so as not to wash off the rub. Cover tightly w/ foil and put back on the BGE for an hour.

- Take them up, brush lightly w/ your favorite sauce and serve.

Works perfectly. Ribs are tender w/out being mushy. Served them multiple times and continue to get rave reviews.

Ragtop99 · October 2014

I find BB to be harder to get right than spares. My last slabs had significant variation in thickness of the meat. The thick end had an inch of meat above the bone, whereas the thin end had a half inch or less. The thick end was tender and moist, but the thin end was dry and more crunchy than I like. Spares just seem to come out consistently tender and good. Both are cooked the same way w/o foil.

Derrick300 · December 2014

Seems like a lot of you guys get good results from 275 for 3 hours indirect. My only question is this, do you guys throw your ribs on the smoker cold or do you let them sit out and warm up?

If you do take them out before how long are you letting them set?

scruffee81 · December 2014

Here is what I do....and they turn out AWESOME every time!!!

Prep: First remove the membrane off the back of the ribs (bone side). Using a paper towel to grab will make for easier removal. Using mustard, cover and smear both sides of the ribs and apply a liberal amount of your desired rub. Cover and place in fridge and let sit overnight.

Mop: (used every 45 mins in the first 2hrs of the cook)

· 1 Cup Apple Juice

· ¼ Cup Garlic Red Wine Vinegar

· ¼ Cup Olive Oil

· 1 Cup Water

**Pull ribs out of the fridge and let sit at least ONE hour before cook.

Directions:

Get your smoker stabilized at 235 deg and place wood chunks in smoker. Place ribs on grill(bone side down), plate setter with feet up for indirect cooking, set timer for 45 mins. Base them with the MOP and reapply your dry rub in 45 min intervals for the first 2 hours of your cook only on top side not bone.

Roughly after 2 hours the ribs should have the right color and perfect amount of smoke embedded into the meat. Pull the ribs off and now its time to wrap.

You will need:

Parkay Butter, Brown Sugar, and Honey

Rip off large sheets of tinfoil and place the ribs on the foil and on each side of the ribs apply in this order:

1. Mop - Dry Rub – Butter - Brown Sugar – Honey

Once you have the ribs wrapped, make sure they are sealed with no punctures, and place them back on the smoker at 235 for another 1.5-2 hours…the longer you cook the more “falling off the bone” they will be.

After 1.5-2 hrs pull them off and unwrap, select your bbq sauce of choice and smoother the ribs down on both sides. Place back on the grill with a lower temp of 220 for about 20 mins to allow the bbq sauce to get “tacky”. Pull off and let sit for about 15 mins and enjoy!

rtt121 · December 2014

Derrick300 said:
Seems like a lot of you guys get good results from 275 for 3 hours indirect. My only question is this, do you guys throw your ribs on the smoker cold or do you let them sit out and warm up?
If you do take them out before how long are you letting them set?

Cold. Other than the time it takes to rub.

Mikee · December 2014

Sprinkle with the rub of choice. Cooked them low and slow for hours. Then baste with Mikee's homemade (better that Baby Ray's) BBQ sauce for the last 30 minutes.

ChicagoEgghead20 · December 2014

@Mikee - I'm going to get something off my chest. The reason, the only reason the Eggheadforum exists to so that eggheads can help other eggheads share their love for cookin (and drinkin), maybe you don't mean to, but when every post has wording that is perceived to be arrogant, it makes me laugh, cry and roll my eyes.

Maybe try this, "Hey everyone, I've been told my BBQ sauce is better than Baby Ray's. The ingredients and weights (lol) are below, give it a try and tell me what you think." That way, when we all run out to our neighborhood grocer, pick up the ingredients, try it and get rave reviews, we will come back onto the forum and say WOW!!!! You were right, that is OUTSTANDING! Please give us more recipes! Just my $0.02 -

Baby Backs on BGE - cant get it right

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