Newbie with rib questions

Kmooose · July 2014

Doing my first attempt at ribs tomorrow. I have a slab of BB and a slab of St. Louis style. I plan on doing the 3-2-1 I keep reading about. My question is the drip pan. Some ppl say water, some say no water and make sure it is raised above the plate or with foil on the plate. I also see a lot about making sure it is clean smoke before you put the ribs on, can someone explain that better? I have an xl egg and it seems I need to light it in 3-4 diff places to make sure the whole thing is lit. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

Nanook · July 2014

No need to light in more than one spot. You don't need all the lump to be burning.

Tjcoley · July 2014

Drip pan - no water needed. Raised off the stone to prevent burning of the drippings. You can use Egg feet, pennies, foil balls, cooper plumbing tees, or others. When you first light the Egg, you will notice a lot of white, bad smelling smoke. Wait til this clears before putting on the ribs. If the smoke smells good, you are ok to go. 3-2-1 for me is too long. I usually do 3-1-1 or just 4-0-0. No foil, just smoke and go.

Nanook · July 2014

Also, no need for liquid in the drip pan, but do line with tinfoil and raise it off the plate setter. I use little rolled up balls of tinfoil to raise it.

Kmooose · July 2014

@Tjcoley‌ I see a lot of people say no foil unless I want fall off the bone which I don't. So if we go no foil then what dome temp and about how long?

NPHuskerFL · July 2014

@Kmooose‌ in 3 spots (why? I just do). Let creosote (bad smoke) clear which is typically a thick whitish smoke. Once it clears and you have good smoke (smells good) go ahead and stabilize your temp. I don't use a drip pan and I don't use foil to wrap them. I do wrap the PS w/ foil for ease of cleanup.

Tjcoley · July 2014

4 hours indirect at 300-325. If not done, or if you want more crust or sauce finish, end direct up to another hour until done. Just be careful with the hot platesetter when converting from indirect to direct. I keep a galvanized steel pail next to the Egg to rest the hot platsetter on, requiring only seconds of contact with gloved hands. If wearing shorts, be careful not to rub up against the hot platesetter (speaking from experience, with a just healed third degree burn on my thigh)

Scottborasjr · July 2014

Dear lord I wish I had access to ribs with enough meat to do what @Tjcoley says. If I go that temp on ribs I'm done in 2 and a half to three hours without adding sauce. If I'm in a hurry I can do quick ribs in under 2 hours @350 indirect.

SoCalTim · July 2014

I remember when I first got my egg, I had a serious tendency to 'overthink' things. The lesson I learned is to keep things simple. I don't use a drip on. I don't foil ... 250 - 285 straight thru for 4 hrs.

Newbie with rib questions

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