first fire

Jo

This is the week for firsts for me![p]At 2 PM PST I opened the bottom draft and top all the way and loaded in about 3 small shovels of BGE charcoal (1" above the holes loosely packed) and then touched it off with a firestarter stick I got at the grocery store. I put the lid down and came back inside. I took the Obie-Cue (sweet spice rub) covered country ribs out of the refrigerator and set them on the sinkboard to warm to room temperature. I added a dozen hickory chunks to a bucket and added water.[p]Ten minutes later the fire was started and you could see flames when you opened the dome. The dome temp registered 300 and the dome was comfortably warm to the touch. I delicately stirred the coals, put the metal daisy wheel with the small holes opened all the way and closed the bottom draft to about 1 inch and returned to the house. [p]Twenty minutes later I returned to the fire. You could see white smoke coming out and the dome temp was about 275. I stirred the charcoal one last time and placed the drip pan in and then placed the grilling grate on after it had been sprayed with Pam. [p]I washed a potato and coated it with oil and covered it in aluminum foil and stuck probe #2 of my Remote Thermometer through it. [p]I returned at 3 PM PST with the ribs and opened the lid. Realized there was no hickory on the fire (DUH!) and went back in got the bucket with the hickory. Then of course I didn't want to lift the grate so I opened the lift up sides of the grate and dropped the hickory around the sides of the drip pan and it slid nicely into the fire sending up billows of delicious smelling smoke that left me crying. I then stuck probe #1 of my Remote Thermometer in the fattest rib I had making sure I wasn't touching bone. [p]I watched the thermometer with trepidation. I started at about 54 for the Ribs and about 165 for grill level. It slowly climbed until at 4 PM PST grill level was 204 and the meat was 155 internal. I love this remote check thermometer it's wonderful. [p]Now it's 4:45 PST and the grill temp had appeared to settle around 213 to 216 slowly swinging back and forth however now it's moved up a notch to 219 so I'm off to readjust the holes a tad to keep it right around 215 to 220.[p]Anyway it's now 5:30 PM PST and the temp after opening the grill is up to 219 now and the meat internally is 158. [p]I wonder how long this will end up taking it is certainly fun.[p]Jo

Tim M

Jo,
If you're cooking ribs direct - figure about 3 hours. If you 're cooking indirect (with drip pan) it will be longer at the temps your cooking at. You could easily go up to 250-275 withthe drip pan their. [p]You really don't need to stir the coals after you lite them. Only stir the old cold stuff before adding more lump and liting it.[p]Enjoy - good luck with the ribs. Let us know how they come out.[p]Tim

not Jo

Tim M ,
Thanks! I didn't realize I could cook something as fatty as country ribs without a drip pan. This actually works out perfectly though because I would like to eat them no earlier than say 10 PM. So looks like I should be able to dawdle my way on to 10 PM Do you happen to have any idea how long one load of charcoal will burn? So I need to add more after 3 or 4 hours?[p]Also I just noticed when I clicked the link to my name that some person has this name already. I sure hope no one sent email to that address thinking it was me. So I'm changing my name over to not Jo since this name rightfully belongs to someone else
Jo

Wise One

not Jo, you're catching on faster than most of us. (we wonder why no one ever writes for a month or two before we figure it out). You're going to love EGGperimenting with your cooking. Enjoy. As gfw says "Life is Good."

Tim M

not Jo,[p]I didn't know from your original post that you were doing country style ribs. They are not actually ribs and don't even have bones sometimes. They are cut off the shoulder and require longer slower temps. You want the meat close to 190 internal which can take a long while so most people eat them around 170 and they can be tough then. I don't do them very often so I have few tips, others can help more. Drying them out is the biggest fear since they are already cut and have lots of surface area. Flip often and add sauce at the end.[p]If you fill the fire box 2" over the holes (3/4 full) you can cook at 250 for approx 10 hrs. Maybe 4 hrs at 350. These are approx only. A full firebox will go 20+ hrs at 225-250 with manybe a little stir near the end.