Need simple method for 1st time ribs

acegg77

I'm a total newbie with BGE... one month in. There are only 2 of us in the house... wife and I in early 60s... we don't eat like teenagers! I'd like to cook a short rack of ribs that I can buy at the grocery store.) I've never cooked ribs before on the old gas grill.  I don't have the first clue how to cook them on Egg and at this point just want a simple "no fail" method without a ton of prep. (Would there be a difference in cooking beef ribs vs. pork ribs. Don't remember what I saw in the store!) Please point me in the right direction for a simple cook. I can get fancy later on. What sauce to you recommend (we have Kansas City and some Cattlesman's in the house... from Costco.) Do you sauce it first? Use plate setter or raised direct or regular direct?  You guys are great... I know at least one of you was a scared newbie at one time and will help!! I don't want to fail at this if I can avoid it so I'm asking for your assistance. Thanks.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

It does not get any more simple than the way I do it. I put rub in them and smoke them at 250 until they are done. 

Cattleman's is fine to use. Don't sauce them until the last 30 minutes or so if you sauce at all.

They aren't hard to do. 

I assume you have a platesetter to do indirect cooks correct?

Hi54putty

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

It does not get any more simple than the way I do it. I put rub in them and smoke them at 250 until they are done. 

Cattleman's is fine to use. Don't sauce them until the last 30 minutes or so if you sauce at all.

They aren't hard to do. 

I assume you have a platesetter to do indirect cooks correct?

+1. Usually about 5 hours for me.

acegg77

5 hours at 250? When are ribs done? What temp on my instant thermometer thing? Being mostly bone it would be hard to get a reading?

I have platesetter so I should use that?

What do you rub them with? 

Will Egg actually burn for 5 hours without adding more lump? I notice it does not use much charcoal.... but the longest cook I've done was a half chicken for about 1 hour from the Naked Wiz site (it was incredible... never had chicken so good Wife thinks I'm world class chef... but I don't know what the %$#@ I'm really doing... just following the instructions! )

Ribs sound easy. 

Thanks, guys/gals.

This Egg is fun... wife thought I was nuts to buy it... not any more.... and nice people here as well. 

Mickey

Did baby backs for lunch a while back. (Sorry but I can't remember who I got this from.)
350 indirect 1hr 40 min.
Pull membrane , rub. Put on at 350 and leave the hell alone for about that time. I opened 15 min early and sauced my half rack. This is called turbo ribs and I will never go back to 4 and 5 hour ribs.
Note: with or w/o mustard works

travisstrick

I'm doing some today. Just like this. 

cover with rub of choice 

cook indirect for about 4 hours. You will know they are done when the meat pulls back from the bone and the top cracks when picked up with thongs. 

brush with sauce about 15 min before you take them off. 

The Cen-Tex Smoker

acegg77 said:

5 hours at 250? When are ribs done? What temp on my instant thermometer thing? Being mostly bone it would be hard to get a reading?

I have platesetter so I should use that?

What do you rub them with? 

Will Egg actually burn for 5 hours without adding more lump? I notice it does not use much charcoal.... but the longest cook I've done was a half chicken for about 1 hour from the Naked Wiz site (it was incredible... never had chicken so good Wife thinks I'm world class chef... but I don't know what the %$#@ I'm really doing... just following the instructions! )

Ribs sound easy. 

Thanks, guys/gals.

This Egg is fun... wife thought I was nuts to buy it... not any more.... and nice people here as well. 

the egg will go 36+ hours at 250 if it's warm outside. You can cook ribs for days..........

Hard to get a temp read so listen to travis.  A few things to look for: meat pulls back from the bone a bit, the bend in half when you pick them up with tongs, or a toothpick goes in and out of the meat without resistance.

TexanOfTheNorth

I have not done many beef ribs but, most of the comments I'm reading sound like pork. OP mentioned that he was not sure whether he was going to be doing beef or pork.

pasoegg

we used Travis method this week with mustard rubbed on ribs before adding Dizzy Pig dry rub....they were the bomb!!!!  can't miss....wished I had time to do some today!

The Cen-Tex Smoker

pasoegg said:

we used Travis method this week with mustard rubbed on ribs before adding Dizzy Pig dry rub....they were the bomb!!!!  can't miss....wished I had time to do some today!

He has a rib method too? That guy is awesome! 

The Cen-Tex Smoker

TexanOfTheNorth said:

I have not done many beef ribs but, most of the comments I'm reading sound like pork. OP mentioned that he was not sure whether he was going to be doing beef or pork.

good catch- didn't notice that. 

beef ribs are different and take much longer at those tempse

travisstrick

Whenever cen tex says to listen to me..... Listen to him. :ar!

bbqlearner

Mickey said:

Did baby backs for lunch a while back. (Sorry but I can't remember who I got this from.) 350 indirect 1hr 40 min. Pull membrane , rub. Put on at 350 and leave the hell alone for about that time. I opened 15 min early and sauced my half rack. This is called turbo ribs and I will never go back to 4 and 5 hour ribs. Note: with or w/o mustard works

+1 for the turbo ribs. Learned from the people here in this great forum. Usually takes me 2-2.5 hours though. I've been doing this a couple of times and haven't looked back to doing the low slow 250F of 5 hours.

acegg77

I'll buy pork ribs tomorrow.

What is the "Travis method"?

Turbo ribs? 

Mustard on ribs? That sounds strange... but I guess it works.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

acegg77 said:

I'll buy pork ribs tomorrow.

What is the "Travis method"?

Turbo ribs? 

Mustard on ribs? That sounds strange... but I guess it works.

People use mustard as a binder to hold on the rub. You really don't need it but it makes it a bit easier to get more rub to stick. It does not impart any flavor at all to the meat once it dries out during the cook. You should try it some time and see if it works for you but it's not mandatory

TexanOfTheNorth

I've never used the turbo method myself so can't speak to that.

You'll want to make sure that you pull the thin membrane off of the back of the ribs before cooking them. I don't have time to find a link for that but do a google search. It can be a little tricky but you should be able to get the hang of it.

Like cen-tex said, the mustard will not affect the taste of the ribs and will help keep more of the rub on them. I like to put the rub on my ribs and wrap them in plastic wrap and throw them in the fridge (usually over night) but even for a few hours will help give the meat a chance to absorb some of the ribs.

Good luck and make sure you let us know how they turn out!

acegg77

This site shows newbie (me!) how to remove membrane. I didn't know there was one... never cooked ribs in my life before. 

http://www.smoking-meat.com/july-12-2012-221-baby-back-ribs-on-big-green-egg-ceramic-cooker

This site's method is pretty involved... not for a newbie. I like the "set it and forget it" method of cooking... by the time you have a couple of martinis, dinner is ready.

I kind of like the shorter turbo method... less time... less chance I'll screw it up!

The Cen-Tex Smoker

acegg77 said:

This site shows newbie (me!) how to remove membrane. I didn't know there was one... never cooked ribs in my life before. 

http://www.smoking-meat.com/july-12-2012-221-baby-back-ribs-on-big-green-egg-ceramic-cooker

This site's method is pretty involved... not for a newbie. I like the "set it and forget it" method of cooking... by the time you have a couple of martinis, dinner is ready.

I kind of like the shorter turbo method... less time... less chance I'll screw it up!

you can leave it on. I always remove but there is a debate over whether you need to. if you don't feel like it's something you want to tackle tonight, don't sweat it. Once you've done a few it takes 10 seconds to remove it. 

Ribs are easy and fun. hard to screw up unless you pull them off too early. If they go too long, they fall apart but they are still awesome.

pasoegg

@acegg77

the "Travis method" i was referring to was how he was cooking his today (see above travistrick).  I did not sauce mine though...I let them rest a few minutes and then devoured them with my favorite cold beverage that goes great with ribs...or any other food.

shtgunal3

@travisstrick do you really use "thongs" to pick up your ribs? :(

The Cen-Tex Smoker

shtgunal3 said:

@travisstrick do you really use "thongs" to pick up your ribs? :(

He's usually in a thong but he uses his bare hands. here's a pic of Travis' rib cooking thong at the Florida eggfest last month:

shtgunal3

)

The Cen-Tex Smoker

No need to worry. He did wear gloves when serving.

bbqlearner

I like to use mustard on mine most of the time. Olive oil works well also. Sometimes when I'm in the mood, I would also let the ribs go direct in the last 10-15 of minutes while brushing with sauce to caramelize it.

Dave in Florida

How I do baby backs or spares.  Only 2 hours.  Make sure you pull the membrane off the back of the ribs.

http://www.greeneggers.com/index.php?option=com_simpleboard&func=view&id=1312564&catid=1

lousubcap

As you can see, many roads will get you there-just pick one and give it a shot.  If that doesn't meet with your approval change something the next time and go again.  BGE is quite forgiving and as you note can make us all look good.  Welcome and enjoy-many here more than willing to debate any way to cook any thing-generally all in the right spirit!