4th of July Cookout--need a little advice!

When I'm using a foil step my baby backs are more predictable, and I foil them after 3 hours. For the St Louis cut, I eyeball them at 4 hours and often they will need 5 hours before going to the foil.

My favorite foil time for baby back ribs is 45 minutes with a 15 to 20 minute rest. I foil St Louis ribs at least an hour, then peek and test tenderness with a toothpick. some racks will take 1-1/2 hours to steam tender. I rest them too.

I agree with you on wrapping individually, and I put the meat side down on a base of at least 2 of the following: brown sugar/honey/sauce/Parkay, then add some liquid like apple juice before sealing the last fold.



Have your double layer foils all ready and stacked on the counter and have your juice warmed. This way the ribs won't cool off too much while you're doing the prep. I do my foil step in a 250°-260° oven. Once they are foiled, the ribs don't care where they are.



They will look just like this coming out of the foil. You may be okay with this presentation, or you can go back on the cooker to set them up a little. Oh, and be sure to save all the foil juices. They can be served as a table sauce or mixed into a store bought sauce for more flavor.





The rack on the left was foil finished only, the one on the right went back on the cooker for 15 or 20 minutes.

I would offset the time by at least an hour.