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Doing ribs for the 1st time on the BGE

JaybirdQC
JaybirdQC Posts: 12
in EggHead Forum
Good evening,
 New comer here - had the egg about 3 weeks. Looking for some recommendations for ribs. I am planning on doing a couple racks on Sunday when the Panthers go to 14-0! What is the best rib to get? Baby back? St. Loius cut? Probably going to do a dry rub. What kind of temps and times do you guys recommend?
Thank you and Go Panthers!

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Comments

  • Homebrewguy
    Homebrewguy Posts: 158
    Baby back!  I haven't been impressed with spare ribs. I've made them a couple times and have never gotten them to be tender enough.
    LBGE & Masterbuilt 30" Stainless Electric Digital Smokehouse w/Cold Smoker
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  • Thatgrimguy
    Thatgrimguy Posts: 4,738
    Personally I like St. Louis with a dry rub only at 275 for about 4-5 hours no wrap, no spritz, no fuss. Just let them go till they pass the bend test and have decent pull back across all the bones.
    XL, Small, Mini & Mini Max Green Egg, Shirley Fab Trailer, 6 gal and 2.5 gal Cajun Fryers, BlueStar 60" Range, 48" Lonestar Grillz Santa Maria, Alto Shaam 1200s, Gozney Dome, Gateway 55g Drum
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  • Mattman3969
    Mattman3969 Posts: 10,458
    I like @thatgrimguy suggestion and that is normally how I do ribs. If I'm in a hurry and don't need extra time to drink beer I will turbo baby backs. 350 indirect for about 1 1/2 - 1:45 until they pass the bend test.  

    -----------------------------------------

    analyze adapt overcome

    2008 -Large BGE. 2013- Small BGE and 2015 - Mini. Henderson, Ky.
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  • JaybirdQC
    JaybirdQC Posts: 12
    Thanks for the info. Thinking about doing them low and slow. 

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  • slovelad
    slovelad Posts: 1,742
    I'm a big fan of the 2 2 1. 2 hours at 250. Then wrap on foil and put some apple juice in the foil. Back on for two hours, meat side down. Then back on for an hour or so without the foil to get a good crust.

    it makes them more tender in my opinion

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  • xfire_ATX
    xfire_ATX Posts: 1,184
    Thatgrimguy said:
    Personally I like St. Louis with a dry rub only at 275 for about 4-5 hours no wrap, no spritz, no fuss. Just let them go till they pass the bend test and have decent pull back across all the bones.
    +2 I am usually 3-3.5 hours though
    XLBGE, LBGE, Charbroil Gas Grill, Weber Q200, Old Weber Kettle, Rectec RT-B380, Yeti 65, Yeti Hopper 20, RTIC 20, RTIC 20 Soft Side - Too many drinkware vessels to mention.

    Not quite in Austin, TX City Limits
    Just Vote- What if you could choose "none of the above" on an election ballot? Millions of Americans do just that, in effect, by not voting.  The result in 2016: "Nobody" won more counties, more states, and more electoral votes than either candidate for president. 
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  • Foghorn
    Foghorn Posts: 10,227

    As you can probably tell, we all have our preferences.  Don't let the contradictory responses bother you.  The most important thing is that you learn how to tell when they are done.  Ideally you want them to bend but not actually fall off the bone.  And a toothpick should probe through the meat without resistance - like "buttah".  A reasonable rule of thumb (depending on the size of the ribs and where you are measuring the temp) is that a low and slow will take you 3.5-4.5 hours at 275, 4-5.5 hours at 250 and 5-6 hours at 225.

    The second most important thing is that over time you figure out how YOU like them. 

    babyback vs St. Louis vs spare

    spritz with apple juice vs spritz with water vs no spritz

    foil or no foil

    glaze vs naked vs sauce on the side

    I've done all of the above at some point except the water spritz.  At this point, I don't have a fixed favorite.  Over Thanksgiving weekend I felt like having some spares without sauce so that's what I cooked.  Last weekend I felt like having some babybacks with a glaze - so we did. 

    I'm still enjoying the journey.  Take one of the recommendations from this thread and start yours.  Welcome aboard.  This place is a lot of fun.

     

    XXL BGE, Karebecue, Klose BYC, Chargiller Akorn Kamado, Weber Smokey Mountain, Grand Turbo gasser, Weber Smoky Joe, and the wheelbarrow that my grandfather used to cook steaks from his cattle

    San Antonio, TX

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  • SciAggie
    SciAggie Posts: 6,481
    Thatgrimguy said:
    Personally I like St. Louis with a dry rub only at 275 for about 4-5 hours no wrap, no spritz, no fuss. Just let them go till they pass the bend test and have decent pull back across all the bones.
    This. Only difference for me is I usually run about 250 and close to six hours. They'll be great. 
    Coleman, Texas
    Large BGE & Mini Max for the wok. A few old camp Dutch ovens and a wood fired oven. LSG 24” cabinet offset smoker. There are a few paella pans and a Patagonia cross in the barn. A curing chamber for bacterial transformation of meats...
    "Bourbon slushies. Sure you can cook on the BGE without them, but why would you?"
                                                                                                                          YukonRon
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  • Mosca
    Mosca Posts: 456
    SciAggie said:
    Thatgrimguy said:
    Personally I like St. Louis with a dry rub only at 275 for about 4-5 hours no wrap, no spritz, no fuss. Just let them go till they pass the bend test and have decent pull back across all the bones.
    This. Only difference for me is I usually run about 250 and close to six hours. They'll be great. 
    And I do mine @ 225 for about 6 1/2 hours. Hmmm. There is a pattern emerging....
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  • pgprescott
    pgprescott Posts: 14,544
    I think it depends on where you get your ribs and how they look. In my area, the Kroger sells spares, St. Louis, and BB's. The BB ribs are loaded with loin meat on them. The St. Louis are just ok. I hate doing spares. I go anywhere from 4-5 hours at 250-275. Take almost an hour off if you foil. The tooth pick test works best for me. I like them short of fall off the bone, a little tug.  Good luck we will be awaiting the results. 
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  • SciAggie
    SciAggie Posts: 6,481
    Mosca said:
    SciAggie said:
    Thatgrimguy said:
    Personally I like St. Louis with a dry rub only at 275 for about 4-5 hours no wrap, no spritz, no fuss. Just let them go till they pass the bend test and have decent pull back across all the bones.
    This. Only difference for me is I usually run about 250 and close to six hours. They'll be great. 
    And I do mine @ 225 for about 6 1/2 hours. Hmmm. There is a pattern emerging....
    And I bet all of these are good eats. 
    Coleman, Texas
    Large BGE & Mini Max for the wok. A few old camp Dutch ovens and a wood fired oven. LSG 24” cabinet offset smoker. There are a few paella pans and a Patagonia cross in the barn. A curing chamber for bacterial transformation of meats...
    "Bourbon slushies. Sure you can cook on the BGE without them, but why would you?"
                                                                                                                          YukonRon
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  • Tinyfish
    Tinyfish Posts: 1,755
    I agree with @Foghorn. Many ways to do ribs. Pick a way and take notes. Try different ways till you find your way. 

    I do baby backs myself which are very thin not much loin meat on them. I cook indirect at 225f dome temp for about 4 hours. If the ribs are thicker I cook longer.
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  • orbbq
    orbbq Posts: 39
    I've tried quite a few ways, always use st louis cut.  I do mustard and a dry rub, serran wrap the night before and leave in the fridge.  Onto the egg at 225 for 3 hours, with a pie pan on the plate setter with apple juice in it.  pull the racks at 3 hours and into foil with a couple pats of butter and a little more apple juice, back on for 1.5 - 2 hours at 225 and then out of the foil and brush with sauce, and leave them in there for 30-1hr before devouring them.

    I've tried the spritz, i've tried no foil, and this is what i've come to like.  not mushy, but definitely a bit more tender than just smoke all the way.  With a pit tender, i can come home at lunch setup the egg, stop back by the house once in the afternoon to foil them up and have ribs for dinner with almost no effort.
    BGE XL in the Pacific NW
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  • saluki2007
    saluki2007 Posts: 6,354
    Foghorn nailed it.  Just pick one that sounds good to you and run with it.  Everyone has their way and you won't know what you like until you try it.  I've done almost every way possible and still do it different every time.  Just depends on what's happening that day.
    Large and Small BGE
    Central, IL

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  • JaybirdQC
    JaybirdQC Posts: 12
    Awesome guys.  Thank you.  I will post my results on Sunday!

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  • Jeepster47
    Jeepster47 Posts: 3,827
    A couple of racks of ribs?  Then why not start the experimentation right now.  Buy one rack of baby backs (250 degrees for ~5 hrs dry rub only) and one rack of spares (250 degrees for ~6 hrs dry rub only).  Spares on an hour before the baby backs and they'll both be done about the same time.  Later on you'll be cutting the racks in half to test out two different rubs, so do focus on the toothpick method of establishing when they're done. 

    Buy both racks from the same store ... baby backs from Costco, Krogers, or HyVee will all be different.  How the pig was raised and how the butcher at the processing plant trims will greatly affect the quality of the rack.  Yep, where you buy your meat from will be another variable to quantify.

    Listen to @Foghorn 's "I'm still enjoying the journey." comment ... that's really what it's all about.

    Washington, IL  >  Queen Creek, AZ ... Two large eggs and an adopted Mini Max

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  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 36,796
    Welcome aboard and enjoy the journey.  As has been said, many ways to get there.  And you will find that to be the case with most anything you cook on your BGE. 
    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period. CHEETO (aka Agent Orange) makes Nixon look like a saint.  
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