Final word on baby backs?

Steve-O

I have perused the archives and some of the web sites that others of you have for the best advise on doing baby backs. I will be doing 6 slabs for my family this next weekend and want them to be "perfect" as my brother is a BBQ "expert" (NOT eggspert!) and I would like to impress him. I know that the egg can do it if I can just get my act together. My "problem" is this - I have found a wide range of suggested temps for cooking baby backs indirect, but all for the same approximate time of 3.5 hours. The suggested temps range from 225 - 325; that is quite a wide range of temps for the same cooking time. For an indirect cook with plate setter and a cooking time of 3.5-4 hours, what is the best temperature to use? TIA for your thoughts.

Tim M

Steve-O,[p]3.5 hrs is pretty low if you cook indirect at 250° but about right if you cook at 325°, so you see it matters a lot on what temp you cook. The original use of ceramic was to be able to raise the cooking temps and not burn your food. Over time that was lost, for a time, and everyone started using lower and lower temps until many complained about under done ribs and low grid temps vs dome temps. Well, I urge higher temps when going indirect. One key is meat temp and it's not discussed much (enough). If you meat temp between the bones fails to reach around 185° - you get meat that won't pull clean off. 185-195° seems to be the goal, after that it starts drying out as the fat is pretty much all rendered out by then.[p]Doing 6 racks is a bit tricky, but I would figure 4-4.5 hrs at 300-325° over some ceramic and a drip pan. You should be able to knock'em dead. Add sauce for the last hour.[p]Good luck[p]Tim

Steve-O

Thanks, Tim. Yours sounds like a plan - almost precisely the same one I followed on July 4 for a bunch of spare ribs. I wasn't sure if the same general formula would work for BB's.

Unknown

Steve-O,[p]I did six racks at 250. It took about 6 to 6 1/2 hours for all those ribs. I also wrapped in foil for about an hour.[p]Good luck.[p]