First Attempt at Ribs on BGE after Having BGE for Five Years... Happy and Had Fun Doing the Cook

havertyj

I did my first try at ribs on BGE after having BGE for about five years. Not the best ribs I have ever had but not the worst either. I used Micky's Turbo ribs that has been mentioned in this forum although slightly modified as I did not have some items that were mentioned. I did do the mustard, salt, and some other spice I found in the cabinet.

The ribs were huge and barely fit on the BGE. Went right to the edges when I put them on, but I was able to fold them in a bit. I cooked them for an hour without opening the dome keeping the temp right around 350 degrees. Overall, it cooked for almost four hours.

The meat went right to the edges and probably touched the dome too. Huge rack that we had in our freezer for a few years on a mess up from a order we did in 2020/2021.

I was finally able to split them up and added another deck to separate them which helped. The one on the top in the above picture had the bottom one partially on it through the first hour or so. This helped to split them up and by that time they had shrunk a little so they were not touching the dome.

Finished and ready to eat. Overall, I was happy with my first try. I had some difficulty pulling the membrane off of the ribs. I have two more of these oversized ribs to cook and test out a new process the next time. It was a fun process and a learning exercise for me.

I have a lot of leftovers. My wife has been out of town, so I am interested to see what she says when she tries them out tomorrow or Thursday.

Langner91

Nice!

Those look like Spare Ribs.  Were they?  I usually trim mine to St. Louis style.  Did the tails get overdone?

lousubcap

Foil protect any overhang and that will greatly reduce the likelihood of excessive cooking. 

havertyj

Langner91 said:

Nice!

Those look like Spare Ribs.  Were they?  I usually trim mine to St. Louis style.  Did the tails get overdone?

Yes, they were spare ribs. I trimmed as much as I could to get rid of fat and tried to pull off the membrane. The edges were a little crispy, but I can still eat them with a little crunch.

havertyj

lousubcap said:

Foil protect any overhang and that will greatly reduce the likelihood of excessive cooking. 

Thank you. They were so large for the top rack that I was not sure I was going to be able to close the lid. One of those instances where in the kitchen prepping and thinking it will be tight to the point where I got out there to put them on the BGE and started thinking I was going to retreat to cut them up. I am glad I did not and left them. A little crispy on the edges, but seemed to come out good. I will try foil on overhang in the future.

lkapigian

The finish looks great, Full spares are the best 

StillH2OEgger

They look great. Congrats.

You may have done this as well, but the membrane comes off much easier if you left them sit out 20-30 minutes or so rather than attempting the removal right after you pull them out of the fridge.

caliking

That's a BIG rack

If your wife is out of town, you should have another egg by now...

havertyj

StillH2OEgger said:

They look great. Congrats.

You may have done this as well, but the membrane comes off much easier if you left them sit out 20-30 minutes or so rather than attempting the removal right after you pull them out of the fridge.

Yes, I let them sit for 20 - 30 minutes before trying to get membrane off. I heard someone else say that using a paper towel to grab the membrane can help. I was using a knife and my hands to try and pull at it which only partially worked.

Having leftovers again today for lunch.

lkapigian

havertyj said:

StillH2OEgger said:

They look great. Congrats.

You may have done this as well, but the membrane comes off much easier if you left them sit out 20-30 minutes or so rather than attempting the removal right after you pull them out of the fridge.

Yes, I let them sit for 20 - 30 minutes before trying to get membrane off. I heard someone else say that using a paper towel to grab the membrane can help. I was using a knife and my hands to try and pull at it which only partially worked.

Having leftovers again today for lunch.

Membrane Meh,leave it on, you can score it if you feel the need 

StillH2OEgger

havertyj said:

StillH2OEgger said:

They look great. Congrats.

You may have done this as well, but the membrane comes off much easier if you left them sit out 20-30 minutes or so rather than attempting the removal right after you pull them out of the fridge.

Yes, I let them sit for 20 - 30 minutes before trying to get membrane off. I heard someone else say that using a paper towel to grab the membrane can help. I was using a knife and my hands to try and pull at it which only partially worked.

Having leftovers again today for lunch.

Yes, paper towel(s) is invaluable for this.

havertyj

StillH2OEgger said:

Yes, paper towel(s) is invaluable for this.

Thanks. I did not research this part of it enough going into the cook. I will try paper towels for the next one. Probably did not help I had already drank a few beers when I was trying to get the membrane off of there... LOL

Langner91

Remember, it's the pig, not the puller.  Some come off easier than others.

Botch

havertyj said:
Yes, I let them sit for 20 - 30 minutes before trying to get membrane off. I heard someone else say that using a paper towel to grab the membrane can help. I was using a knife and my hands to try and pull at it which only partially worked. 

Having leftovers again today for lunch.

Two other things that help me, fwiw:
1.  I use a butter knife on a center rib (on the bone, not the meat in between), slip it along the bone 3/8" or so, and then pry upwards, which peels the silverskin off for another inch or so.  Slide the knife further along the bone until it hits "contact", and pry upwards again.  Continue until you're all the way across that central bone.
2.  From there, just grab the silverskin where it's severed (it'll still be attached at both ends of the rack) and you can usually pull straight up and get it off, even without a paper towel.  
 
I do agree with a couple folks above though; every once in awhile, you get a silverskin that Just.  Won't.  Cooperate!  (The Pig drives the Peel™)  Accept that, slash the silverskin if necessary (for brining/rubs), and move on.  

GrateEggspectations

Ribs look great. 

For the membrane, I prefer to remove it, but will leave it on if it’s putting up a fight - which many seem to.