direct/inderect bbb ribs

Unknown

okay..i'm basically a newbie...i'm attempting my first baby back ribs (pork) today...and i've gone over alot of your recipes...what i can't seem to find is a straight up answer about direct and indirect cooking. i get the idea, but when i look at the recipes, when do i use direct and when indirect...and will a pizza stone, with the ribs standing upright in the v-cooker (used upside) qualify as 'indirect' or should i just cover them in hd aluminum foil....help please...love my egg...adore your website and all of you eggers out there! thanks
gogogumbo

badbruce

Greetings gogogumbo,
And welcome.
How I did my babybacks last Sun.
Washed throughly, removed membrane, patted dry, applied generous coating of rub & vacumed sealed overnight in the frig.
Got the egg up to about 250 & grilled 'em direct for about 30 minutes per side.
I wrapped them in saran wrap & then foil
I use fire bricks for indirect grilling.
Put 'em back on the grill indirect for about 3 hours at the same 250.
Removed foil & saran, applied sauce (that's the way the my ladies like 'em) and back on the grill for about 30/40 minutes, 15/20 minutes direct per side , no fire bricks.
Just the way I do 'em.
bruce

Unknown

badbruce,
hi...when you say you use 'firebricks'...is that like me using the pizza stone?....or would the v-cooker (inverted) over the pizza stone with a drip pan in between work better...thanks for all of your help
gogo

Unknown

badbruce,
hi...when you say you use 'firebricks'...is that like me using the pizza stone?....or would the v-cooker (inverted) over the pizza stone with a drip pan in between work better...thanks for all of your help
gogo

tach18k

gogogumbo, some of us have used this method for a first indirect. Get a Webber grate from home depot or such, take the BGE grate and place it on the fire ring, next place fire bricks (from your local rock /stone/ brick supplier) and place about 3-4 of them flat and center on the BGE grate. Have two more on edges to the outside edge of the egg, now put the new grate on that. Now you have an indirect setup. cook the ribs on the top grate for about 3 hours with out looking at them. Next remove them and wrap in foil, put them back on the top grate. After an hour remove them and the foil. Remove everyting but the BGE grate on the fire ring. Now get your sauce and sauce and grill for the last hour or so. Now your done.

katman

gogogumbo,
Don't let all the different cooking techniques get you chasing your tail. Direct or indirect, to foil or not, whether to use a mop toward the end of the cook, misting and other preferences end up being what works best for you. There is no "right way" to do ribs unless you are doing a competition. Then, the right way that day is whatever the winner did. I don't do baby backs often, but the last ones I did were indirect at about 250 for a couple of hours and then cooked direct for about 45 minutes with frequent basting. I used a combo of maple syrup and apple cider. Nice crust on the outside and tender on the inside. The guests loved them, I thought they were okay. I'll try something different next time.[p]Go ahead and use the pizza stone and the inverted rack. Maybe put an aluminum pie plate between the two to create some airspace. Biggest thing with ribs is to take the membrane off during the prep stage.

badbruce

Hi gogogumbo,
Yes, firebricks & pizza stone will work equally well for indirect grilling.
The reason I use fire bricks is I cracked my first 2 pizza stones even after preheating them in the oven.
bruce