Ribs on a Gasser

Hook_emHornsfan_74

My wife and I are going to Houston tomorrow for cook off at the Houston Rodeo with our daughter who lives there.  On Saturday, her neighbor hood is going to be having their own "cook off" and she volunteered me to make ribs.   That's all fine and dandy, except she only has a gas grill.  It has been a long while since I have cooked ribs on a gasser.  I am open to any and all suggestions on ways to do this.  I was thinking turn on one side of the burners and cook the ribs on the other side.  

Money_Hillbilly

@Hook_emHornsfan_74 When I visit my daughter (no grill) I pre smoke for 2-3 hours until they are ready to wrap.  I then vacseal to transport either refrigerated or frozen.  I then proceed just like at home. Wrap with foil, add brown sugar, butter, honey, etc. and proceed as normal either in the oven or grill.  When tender unwrap, glaze with sauce and dry a few minutes over direct grill.  You will not be able to tell the difference than normally smoked on the egg.

Hook_emHornsfan_74

@Money_Hillbilly I would do that, but we are flying out tomorrow morning and I haven't acquired a vacseal yet.  

Langner91

Does your daughter have a BGE dealer nearby?  Do they deliver?

Hook_emHornsfan_74

@Langner91 ha ha ha  I wish.

TechsasJim

Hook_emHornsfan_74 said:

My wife and I are going to Houston tomorrow for cook off at the Houston Rodeo with our daughter who lives there.  On Saturday, her neighbor hood is going to be having their own "cook off" and she volunteered me to make ribs.   That's all fine and dandy, except she only has a gas grill.  It has been a long while since I have cooked ribs on a gasser.  I am open to any and all suggestions on ways to do this.  I was thinking turn on one side of the burners and cook the ribs on the other side.  

Welcome to the chaos!    It's a great time for sure.   I won't be there but my daughter and friend will.

Hit me up with a DM if you want to borrow my egg for your cook.

kl8ton

I'm thinking pre smoke at home and wrap in foil. Bring to temp slowly in foil on gasser.  Unwrap and direct grill for a bit. You got the skills and knowledge. Adapt and execute!  I'm a way better cook on a gasser now than before I started chatting with y'all.  

Or if a McDonald's is nearby, sometimes they have MaCribs.  

Dyal_SC

You can always impart smoke with wood chips in a foil packet.  Poke holes in the foil and place over the hot/lit side.  Or a chip box. If it’s a large enough gasser with 3 zones, you can place the ribs indirect in the middle between the 2 hot zones. You’ll get a more even heat distribution that way. 

Foghorn

Yep.  As @Dyal_SC says.  Let's face it, all the competition teams essentially spend 1-2 hours getting some smoke on their ribs then they boil them in something (margarine and brown sugar for the team I hang out with, but butter, honey, pepper sauces, and other things can be used) in the foil.  During the foil phase the heat source doesn't matter.  After they come out of the foil, if you want to set the sauce, you can also do that on a gasser with an indirect heat source.

Mark_B_Good

OK, I've done this more than once, and there are definitely some adjustments and learning points:

- the temperature between the dome thermometer and grill is WAY off ... like 60F or more ... and definitely inconsistent from one side to the other. That's the biggest challenge. You have to put a grill temperature measurement next to the meat, or you will be operating blind.
- Yes, put the ribs in the center with end burners on. However, those end burners will still pump a lot of direct heat ... so the ends closest to the burners may dry. To compensate, I put an aluminum deep pan full of water over EACH burner ... this does two things ... helps make it more indirect heat, but also adds humidity to the BBQ atmosphere ... it is a very dry gas ... you will need to add that moisture.
- After you are done smoking, I wrap them and throw them in the oven (set it at 275F, convection) ... no point dealing with that gasser environment, it's too unpredictable and uncontrollable.

TechsasJim

Are y’all suggesting he pre smokes ribs, wraps them and then gets on a plane to finish them a day later?   Don’t know if I’d be trying enough to go that route but I absolutely do not know everything.  

Hook_emHornsfan_74

Thanks guys for the tips!  I am going to get there and see what this gas grill looks like and roll the dice.  @TechsasJim thank you so much for the offer, but I think I am going to see if I can pull this off.  If not, luckily Gabby's is just down the street!  lol.

TechsasJim

Hook_emHornsfan_74 said:

Thanks guys for the tips!  I am going to get there and see what this gas grill looks like and roll the dice.  @TechsasJim thank you so much for the offer, but I think I am going to see if I can pull this off.  If not, luckily Gabby's is just down the street!  lol.

All the best with this man.   Cook off weekend is huge, glad your daughter’s neighborhood is creating their own version.   Keep us posted!

JohnInCarolina

Hook_emHornsfan_74 said:

Thanks guys for the tips!  I am going to get there and see what this gas grill looks like and roll the dice.  @TechsasJim thank you so much for the offer, but I think I am going to see if I can pull this off.  If not, luckily Gabby's is just down the street!  lol.

Hook_emHornsfan_74

TechsasJim said:

Hook_emHornsfan_74 said:

Thanks guys for the tips!  I am going to get there and see what this gas grill looks like and roll the dice.  @TechsasJim thank you so much for the offer, but I think I am going to see if I can pull this off.  If not, luckily Gabby's is just down the street!  lol.

All the best with this man.   Cook off weekend is huge, glad your daughter’s neighborhood is creating their own version.   Keep us posted!

I sure will. Have always wanted to go, just was never able to get off from work. So really looking forward to it. 

lousubcap

You've got this.  Always remember. It's the cook, not the cooker!"

Regardless, enjoy the weekend.  Sounds like a whole lot of fun!