Ribs 3-1-1 method

fiver29 · June 2013

You can do 3-1.5-1

You can do 3-1-.5

This is 3-1-1

Just follow this and you will see exactly how to do this method and produce the desired results you want. If you are looking for the 'fall off the bone' type of rib then this is probably for you! This is a quick picture tutorial for the process I used when I cooked ribs back in 2004. I still pretty much do the same thing today! Its evolved a little bit here and there. But the foundation is the same. Last year I cooked 6 full racks for Fathers Day. This way. I still had Aunts and Uncles asking me if I boiled first. That's like nails on a chalk board!!

Step 1. Lay out your ribs and admire them like I do here:

Step 2. You have to get off the membrane on the underside so you expose the meat. Otherwise, you are just seasoning the membrane. And eating it is tough! This part takes a little practice. Get one end with a paper towel and work it free. Once free it just peels off like this:

Note: here is one more picture. The rack on the left has the membrane off. The rack on the right has it on. You can clearly see the difference. Right? The meat is now showing on the rack to the left with the membrane removed. That's what I want to season!!

Step 3. Season it. There are lots of methods to this part. I'm keeping it simple and using a rub on both sides. Stacking them then wrapping them. They will then spend the night in the fridge to season.

Step 4. Next day stabilize your egg to 250. Here I have a PS with legs up, drip pan with nothing in it, and the BGE V Rack. Notice I could have fit one more full rack to the far left? I've done that before. And put 3 more racks layed on top of the V Rack. So I've done 9 full racks on my Large before.

This is the 3 in the 3-1-1. They go at 250 for 3 hours. I rotate 180 degrees every hour.

Step 5. Next is the first 1 in the 3-1-1. I put the ribs in foil for 1 hour. Some folks prefer 1.5 hours if they want them fall off the bone. I may go that long if the ribs are super meaty. 2 hours here and you may turn them to mush. EWWWWW! I won't go past 1.5 hours no matter what!

Step 6. Take the ribs out of the foil after 1-1.5 hours. Whatever your preference. The ribs actually steam in the foil. That's what tenderizes them and makes them 'fall off the bone.' Use some gloves please!!!! I burn my hands enough with high temp cooks. I don't need to do it this way, too!!

Step 7. Here's the last 1 in the 3-1-1. You want the ribs after steaming in the foil to set up a bit. In the pictures here I keep my setup indirect for this part. Today, I'd take out the PS and put the ribs on direct for only 30 minutes. Turning every 5-10 minutes while saucing. You will notice there is no char on these. Even plated on the table. Well, I've found an appreciation for the char. You only get that with direct cooking at this point. If you don't want the char then do what I did here. Either way, enjoy!!!

MrCookingNurse · June 2013

Nice write up. Great looking food. Your egg is blue.

Philly35 · June 2013

So when you foil the ribs for the first 1 in the 3-1-1, do they go back on the grill or in a cooler?

Socalcajudo · June 2013

Whoa a blue egg. Nice. Did it come like that or you spray paint it?

Duganboy · June 2013

Philly35 said:

So when you foil the ribs for the first 1 in the 3-1-1, do they go back on the grill or in a cooler?

They go back on the grill so you can tighten the bark back up a little bit. I rarely foil, but I have a son that loves them that way, so I foil his, put them back on to dry up a little bit and then sauce. Wife and I eat ours dry.

CPARKTX · June 2013

Great write up, thank you. What rub and sauce do you use?

WalrusBBQ · June 2013

Good pictures and write up, thanks for sharing

So your final verdict is direct for the last 0.5-1 ?

Wylecyot · June 2013

This is a great write up! When foiling do you add anything (I.e. juice, brown sugar, honey)? I would also like to know what sauce you use.

Thanks again!

fiver29 · June 2013

@philly35 - the ribs are on the grill for the entire cook. They go on the grill.

@socalcajudo - it is not spray painted. It came that way.

@CPARKTX - I used to make my own rub and sauces. Now I use Dizzy Dust on ribs. And I pick up different sauces to try at the grocery store. The wife likes sweet baby rays. I've been really liking old Carolina sauces. It's a local place here in the Cleveland area.

@walrusbbq - correct. When I cook ribs today I do the last .5-1 hour direct. They usually only take about half hour. And I don't leave the grill until they are done. I will sauce and let them go about 10 minutes. Sauce and flip some more. Let it go another 10 minutes or so. I will flip every 5 minutes from here until I take them off if I haven't done so already.

@Wylecyot - Sometimes I'll spritz with apple juice or apple cider. Or a combo of the two. Maybe some other concoction with a certain beer ,wine, or booze. All depends on my mood and what I'd like. I've foiled with nothing. I've added whatever I'm spritzing. I've added honey once. But I've never tried brown sugar. Skies the limit to your imagination. I just use what I like or what tastes good on ribs. In these pictures they went into the foil with nothing.

BigGreenBamaGriller · June 2013

Curiosity is killing me. Any more detail on the blue egg? Is it the only one. Do you know why it came in blue?

fiver29 · June 2013

@BigGreenBamaGriller - I bought it off a dealer in the Tampa, Florida area. Around 1999-2000. My understanding is BGE was playing with different colors in the late 1990's. They made around 200 Large Big Blue Eggs. That's all I know. Its a full fledged BGE. Only difference is its blue.

CANMAN1976 · June 2013

Wouldn't this be a cool cook for you!!!
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/story/2013/06/09/ns-blue-lobster-caught.html

Terrebandit · June 2013

Good write up. I do mine in a similar fashion.

fiver29 · June 2013

I've had some questions here about the rub and sauce. Both in these pictures were homemade. I learned everything from the fine folks here over the years. When I got started I learned a lot from someone named JJ. He passed on a few years back. But some of his recipes live on. Here's the rub I used on the ribs in the pictures:

http://www.greeneggers.com/index.php?option=com_recipes&Itemid=71&func=detail&id=590

I did a search at that site for the sauce I used here. Couldn't find it. I'm looking at the printout. It looks like its from GFW. Another great egger who helped me a lot when I got started. I just attached the scanned page for you if you want it. Its a no cook bbq sauce.

Black_Badger · June 2013

Great pics, thanks! Bookmarked.

Socalcajudo · June 2013

Very nice egg indeed

Wylecyot · June 2013

@fiver29...this is probably a stupid question but I need to ask...

In your Step 4, you say rotate the ribs 180 degrees. Are you flipping the ribs top to bottom, or rotating the entire rack within the egg (i.e. front to back)?

Thanks again for the steps!

fiver29 · June 2013

@wylecyot good question actually. In the picture I am using the V rack. I flip each rack over end to end. I also picked up a rib rack at Lowes or Home Depot. It has a bottom to each so I can simply rotate 180 degrees. That's usually what I use these days unless I'm cooking more racks.

jaydub58 · June 2013

fiver29, great looking cook. I can't tell by the pics, are those baby backs or spares?

I'm just putting on two racks of St Louis spares right now and considering following your excellent tutorial. If yours are baby backs, how much time should I add for SRs?

TIA

milesbrown4 · June 2013

Great looking cook - definitely a bookmark!

fiver29 · June 2013

@wylecyot Here is a picture of the racks I use for ribs. The one on the right has a bottom to it which makes it easy to rotate the racks 180 degrees at once. The BGE V rack doesn't have that so I flip the racks end to end.

@jaydub58 They are baby backs. I do spares the same way. I don't adjust time for spares. If they aren't really flexible at 1 hour I may let them go another half hour. Just to make sure they are good and tender.

jaydub58 · June 2013

Many thanks, I think I'll try it on the SR's I have cooking now!

BTW.................................did anyone mention to you that your egg is blue?

B-)

yellowdogbbq · June 2013

Nice looking ribs! I was wondering what you were up to. Great post.

Aviator · June 2013

Oh Good heavens no. We are plumb outta SBR. All I have is sticky fingers habanero hot, BSS habanero, and the spicy one Bowhunr sent me in a piggy bottle - Baby Huey Sweet Fire, that I was savin for another day. Is that day here already?

Oh almost forgot, I have an unopened jar of Bourbon BBQ sauce from Williams Sonoma, does anyone know what it does to already outstanding, excellent ribs?

Aviator · June 2013

Too late for a response. Went with baby huey and preliminary QA tests are outstanding. I might have to get with @bowhunr for a case.

Aviator · June 2013

Here is how it came out. Outstanding! It was well pulled and tasted like heaven! Dinner, for once, will be served in an hour. I have been always late with the ribs.

Ribs 3-1-1 method

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