Ribs are on the grill!!!

Orio Kid

The spareribs are on the grill. Mustard and J.J.'s rub. I am trying the indirect method first and then J.J.'s direct method later in the week. I am using three fire bricks on bottom with a drip pan filled with beer and water. My two upright firebricks are holding the second grill and the rib rack. Dome temp is at 250*. It is 12:10 here in Illinois and I am four beers in to the cook.
Hoping to still be standing by game time.
Jake

Car Wash Mike

Orio Kid, It is 12:10 in Missouri and I just mine on. Dome temp at about 260 cooking indirect no water pan.[p]CWM

Orio Kid

Car Wash Mike,
Wanna race?

Char-Woody

Orio Kid, don't touch a thing for four hours. Just maintain the 225 to 250 range. Don't even open the dome. OK to peek into the top if your desperate. 4 hours, not 3.6 or 4.4, do it 4 hours. Don't waver..don't even wiggle. [p]I am gonna take flack here.[p]In part, this method is very similar to other postings. Not trying to "shadow" the next guy with redundancy.[p]My good friend JJ and I have good naturedly disagreed with each other in private with this..and JJ is a top notch #1 ribmaster. Don't forget it. He loves spares, I love loinbacks (babybacks) and we fight over this one. JJ is a purist, I am a sneaky foil wrapper. Been doing it this way for a few years now.
REmember...4 hours...Then...for this trip, get out your large foil..Not narrow skimpy foil...large thick HD foil.[p]Quickly, one by one, remove the ribs (should be showing some shrink on the bone tips at this time) apply sauce to th foil, put the rib meat side down on the foil, wiggle it in the sauce, and apply sauce to the top side, smish it around with a mop or big spoon, and pull the foil up around and wrap that sucker. Then put it in another foil, and wrap it again..! stack em on a platter as you go. When done, return them to the grill, and by this time your cooker is starting to heat from added air. Don't worry about it. Put the ribs back on and throttle down the lower vent and the top vent to a crack. Let em rest in there for another hour.
Open one package and if they are not pull apart tender, rewrap it..and wait another half hour..Test again. When you can pull a rib from the meat, then eat heartily.[p]Dang..I love to talk...back to ya.[p]Char-Woody
(Sorry JJ...stay calm my friend :-)

Nature Boy

Car Wash Mike,
Almost 2 hours into the cook here. Started around 210 with a healthy dose of cherry smoke. Riding along at about 240 now. Dry drip pan this time. The thin flap of meat that I cut off the ribs should be ready for munching on in another hour. Seems to be a day for ribs.
Latah!
NB

Nature Boy

Orio Kid,
Pretty cool that after a couple failures you come right back to it again! That's what its all about. [p]Couldn't hurt to slap a polder probe in a good spot between the bones after the first 4 hours to see where you stand. Might as well leave it in there too to give you an idea when you move out of the 160s plateau. Remember that the liquid in the drip pan will never get over 212, and that makes your cooking temps lower. [p]Whatever method you use....direct / indirect. / foil / no foil / water / no water....great ribs can be had. Plenty of smoke flavor, tender, moist, pull cleanly from the bone. Pretty cool that so many methods can result in killer ribs. You will soon settle on a method that gives YOU the best results.[p]Enjoy
NB

Char-Woody

Thats peeking. Forget the themometer. Lets try and get him on his feet with a edible meal.
C~W[p]

Cornfed

Char-Woody,[p]Wow, so much controversy about how to cook ribs lately. Just to add to it, I've had at least what I consider to be great ribs that were cooked with the assistance of a thermometer to help the cook know what temp things are at. Plus, with a polder, there's no need to peek, right? I thought the purpse of a polder was to allow the cook to know the temp without peeking.[p]Then again, what do I know. i usually get by cooking ribs without a thermometer using "rule of thumb" times and temps to guide my actions.[p]To each, his own.
Cornfed

Car Wash Mike

Nature Boy, Two hours in here also. Just rearranged and added a small pork loin. Temps holding right at 250. Darn good BB game last night.[p]CWM

Car Wash Mike

orio kid, Low and slow. The hare never won anything worth a darn. With all this good advice you got, you should be eating pretty good ribs in a few hours.[p]CWM

Orio Kid

Car Wash Mike,
I didn't want to race with the ribs. I meant a beer! I asked my wife if she wanted to chug one with me, she said I was depriving some remote village of an idiot.
The Villiage Idiot,
aka Jake

Car Wash Mike

orio kid, I drink beer cold and slow. How's them ribs coming along? I just flipped my on the bone side up. I leave them this way for an hour. The crust from the mustard is taking great shape. I forgot to do the Nature Boy thing and cook a small munchie.[p]CWM

Char-Woody

Cornfed, I guess the thermometer crutch is one way to go. Been there done that and tossed it a long time ago. The ribs tell ya better. No real need for a thermometer when you already know the basic times and temps except for a final hour or so in the cook.
But the very simplest formula to a edible meal is as I described. It isn't law, or pounded in cement. But it will get him to a mouth watereing rib. When he gets his BBQ wings, he can do a dozen different approaches.
Best to ya..
C~W[p]

Orio Kid

Char-Woody,
Do you mean I can earn WINGS?
Jake

Char-Woody

orio kid, I will draw you a pair tonight and mail em..Hey, we all have to get back to the fun of the cook..but I sincerely hope you find the niche of the rib success. And you will.
Too many well meaning but confusing posts just tends to disrupt the essence. We all have a "unique" method.
Good luck.
C~W[p]

Orio Kid

Car Wash Mike,
I just took mine out of the foil. Extra half of an hour shouldn't hurt...beer sure is relaxing. Getting ready to start adding some sauce.
Jake

Char-Woody

Car Wash Mike, truer words like that are well spoken. Ribs is a low and slow process..and when indirect, even lower and slower. I gotta eat out tonight. Neighbor invite..Chow.

Car Wash Mike

orio kid, My family is throwing away white, clean bones as I speak. Hope yours turns out.[p]CWM

Cornfed

Char-Woody,[p]Best to "ya," too. Interesting to call the thermometer a "crutch" with ribs and an indespensible tool with things like pulled pork. I guess it comes with experience - ie new people are supposed to sense when ribs are done while depending on thermometers to tell them when briskets and pp are done.[p]Just one of those things Jersey boys like me don't know, I guess...[p]Either way, as long as people don't go on and post about "spewing venom" or eating "edible meals" the adice here will help the newbies.[p]R-I-B-S RIBS RIBS RIBS!!![p]Cornfed

Char-Woody

Cornfed, I sense your confusion regarding my view of thermometers. You as well as others are entitled to your opinion, as well as I am.
I will continue to cook as I need them, not as a full time cooking apparatus. Cherrio..
C~W

Nature Boy

Char-Woody,
Orio Kid had two failures with ribs, and was looking for success. Lets get him some good ribs first, then we can learn him how to do it without "crutches".[p]Would you rather your polder tell you the ribs are not done?? Or your guests??
The O Kid had lots of time to learn Purism if he decides to. Know wum sayin?[p]Best of Mondays to ya
NB

Char-Woody

Nature Boy, I digress!!
I guess I am one of the unfortunate few that can do superb ribs time after time repeatedly with very little deviation with no thermometer stuck in the ribs. Ribs are not turkey breasts and Boston butts or brisket. As you mentioned, and I agree, selection of your meat is part of it.
And as far as the latter is concerned, once you learn the curves and the ratios of time vs temp, you can fly even there without constant monitoring of the meat. A good steak man can go by touch for doneness, no thermometer in a top steak house will you see. I can just imaging those guy's dinking around with em.
We cooked innumberable ribs, brisket, butts, steak, chops, chicken and turkey here on this forum before a Polder was even invented. And did it successfully.
The only really important thing a thermometer does anymore is give everyone something to talk about. I find my Polder does its best job monitoring the stack temperature thru the daisy wheel. The meat keeps on cookin..! Next thing you know they will be trying to monitor a Pizza with em.
Have a better Tuesday my friend..
C~W[p]