Beef ribs help please

Carolina Q

I have never cooked them before, but with all the great looking ribs I I’ve seen lately, I decided to try. I don’t even know if I bought the right thing. The label says bone in short ribs so we’ll see.

I'm not at home so I have no egg, just a kettle. I also forgot my instant read thermo and have no way to check pit temp either. My plan is to put about a chimney’s worth of lump in the kettle, light it in one spot and shove it all to one side. Close the top vent most of the way, add some white oak and put the meat on the other side. @SSN686 said his cooked for 6 hrs at 260 I think. I expect I’ll have to add lump at least once.

If anyone has any suggestions, I’d love to hear them. I know people do lo n slo cooks on Webers all the time but it’s been a VERY long time since I did. Any help will be much appreciated! Thanks!!

dmourati

Put em in the freezer and wait for a better setup imo.

lousubcap

Your plan sounds good as long as you maintain a decent one-sided fire. I used to go with a split set-up on my old kettle, briquettes on either side with the middle "indirect". Worked fine. And I always had to add charcoal.

Get yourself a toothpick for the finish-line and have fun wth the cook. You've got this.

westernbbq

Go to youtube and follow Aaron Franklin'sguide for beef ribs. Follow time and temp guide and you cant go wrong

Legume

Do it. Rotate them now and then so one side doesn’t face the fire the whole time. Really hard to overlook or dry them out, so toothpick as Cap says.

Carolina Q

https://eggheadforum.com/discussion/comment/2422494#Comment_2422494

Ahh, where’s your sense of adventure? =)

Carolina Q

https://eggheadforum.com/discussion/comment/2422498#Comment_2422498

Good idea, I expect Aaron knows a bit about ribs. Following his temp recs will be hard without a thermo though.

Carolina Q

@lousubcap and @Legume thanks for the tips, gentlemen. Looks like I have to get some toothpicks. :)

DoubleEgger

Smoke them for two hours then put in a pan with a beef broth mixture. Cover and cook in the oven until done.

Carolina Q

https://eggheadforum.com/discussion/comment/2422515#Comment_2422515

You may win the prize today! Smoke til I run out of lump (at whatever temp Weber gives me), then oven at 275-ish. I had actually considered that, but I hadn’t thought of the broth. Thx.

caliking

For lo n slo on a kettle, I would suggest arranging the lump in a ring along the periphery of the kettle. If using briqs, maybe 2 briqs wide by 2-3 briqs high. Leave a gap in the ring of briqs, so that only one end burns when you light. Intersperse wood chunks along the ring of charcoal . You can do the same thing if you only have lump available . Open the bottom vent all the way, and crack the top vent maybe 25% open.

Let it go for 5-6 hrs. If it's not done, then cover and finish in the oven.

Carolina Q

@caliking I have heard of that method, but long after I bought an egg and had pretty much stopped using my kettle. Thanks for the step by step!

Headed out to buy toothpicks and a cheap oven thermo (so I’ll at least have some idea of oven temp)!

caliking

https://eggheadforum.com/discussion/comment/2422526#Comment_2422526

I have personally used that method and it works well.

Carolina Q

Ok, I now have a Taylor oven thermo and a box of toothpicks! Looking forward to it! When I get home. I’ll have to compare Taylor with a calibrated Tel-Tru.

Legume

Carolina Q

Lol I’m not THAT far off track! I at least have canola and paper towels.

Canugghead

What cali said, +1 for snake method, whole chimney of lit charcoal may be challenging for temp control. Can of water for steam may also help. Rotate lid occasionally so vent holes are farthest from the burning spot.

lousubcap

@Carolina Q Way to get into it. Nothing like having fun outside the normal comfort zone. Could be epic 😎

Carolina Q

Ribs on about 1pm. @caliking‘s snake method is working great. My $5 Taylor thermo reads 250 so I opened the top vent a bit.

Probably a stupid question, but if I put more lump in the Weber, but don’t light it, will the heat burn off the VOCs without ruining the cook? If so, I’ll just rebuild my snake as it burns up. Or should I just put it in the oven when I run out of lump?

caliking

I think it will. If you’re dedicated to completing the cook in the kettle, just lay more lump ahead of the currently burning lump and you should be fine.

Carolina Q

Last time I looked temp was down to 150 or so. I rearranged lump and added another oil soaked paper towel to restart. This is why eggs are bettah!

caliking

Not necessarily. It’s the Indian, not the arrow 😄

nothing wrong with finishing in the oven if you’re pressed for time. You’ve got as much as you can from cooking over lump by now.

Carolina Q

Temp is now back to 275-ish. About half of my original lump left. Might be okay after all.

lousubcap

Can't wait to the finish-line. Even with all the hic-cups it sounds like you are having fun with this adventure. Great eats await!

Carolina Q

I think you’re right! Ribs are resting now, while fries and asparagus are cooking. Toothpick probes like buttah!

Carolina Q

Ok, ribs were great! I took a few pics and If I knew how to post pics from my phone, I would! Thanks for the advice and encouragement, guys!

NPHuskerFL

It's BBQ not rocket science. Get your pit warm. Finagle in some sort of way to be indirect in heat source and add in some smoking wood (Oak for beef is a solid combo). IT not as important as "feel" imho. Seasoning? KISS theorem works well with these just as it does with brisket.

caliking

Post em up. I’ll bet even sideways pics will look delicious 😀

lousubcap

Pass on the phone-just a delayed response when you send them to yourself, then to your hard drive and then here where we can enjoy your victory and brisket on a stick. Congrats! Glad it all turned out-never a doubt.

bgebrent

Didn’t happen.🤣

Biggreenpharmacist

Fake news