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Wrap Baby Backs or not

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MGOms
MGOms Posts: 21
in Pork
I’ve always cooked baby back ribs using a 2-2-1 method but have seen several posts where folks don’t wrap their ribs after the first 2 hours. I have two racks on the large BGE and looking for opinions on wrapping. Thinking of doing one rack without wrapping and taking them off after they have been on about 4 hours. Dome temp is between 235-250. 
Large BGE
Milton, WV but from the Deep South. 
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  • MJG
    MJG Posts: 598
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    I have never wrapped nor never seen the need. Typically 4 hours and good to go. Your mileage may vary. Would be interested to hear results if you wrap one and leave the other al fresco. 
    Large Big Green Egg in a nest. North Shore of Boston.
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  • SmokeyPitt
    SmokeyPitt Posts: 10,490
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    Ribs cook faster when wrapped, so you may need to leave the unwrapped ribs on longer depending on how you want them. For my liking, 4 hours at 235-250 is probably not going to get them where I like them...but this also depends on how thick they are. 

    Which came first the chicken or the egg?  I egged the chicken and then I ate his leg. 

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  • StillH2OEgger
    StillH2OEgger Posts: 3,746
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    Doing one of each is a great idea. Everybody has different sweet spot for ribs and this is the way to figure out which way produces the result you and/or your family prefers. I wrap for an hour without adding liquid and that delivers what we're looking for -- good texture without getting mushy.
    Stillwater, MN
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  • Legume
    Legume Posts: 14,624
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    StillH2OEgger said:
    Doing one of each is a great idea. Everybody has different sweet spot for ribs and this is the way to figure out which way produces the result you and/or your family prefers. I wrap for an hour without adding liquid and that delivers what we're looking for -- good texture without getting mushy.
    I never used to wrap, lately I’ve been wrapping for 30 min or so with a little sauce and like the way it just softens them up a little and keeps them moist.
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  • Hub
    Hub Posts: 927
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    Aluminum foil is one of the greatest inventions in the history of Earth.  Wrapping your ribs for part of your cook will cause your ribs to cook faster and maintain more moisture.  There is no way that is a bad thing.
    Beautiful and lovely Villa Rica, Georgia
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  • Foghorn
    Foghorn Posts: 9,842
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    Your plan sounds great.  I’ve done them both ways. Now I tailor the cook to the audience. If it’s just me and my son - or other guys who really like rib meat - I cook them naked. If my wife or other civilized people are partaking I cook them the way I learned from a competition team - by wrapping with Parkay squeeze margarine and brown sugar... (try it - but you may never go back due to demand of those who ate them).

    Both are great in the right setting. 

    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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  • kcw
    kcw Posts: 58
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    Wrapping them is steaming them. I just mist with apple juice & cider vinegar every hour or so.
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  • bikesAndBBQ
    bikesAndBBQ Posts: 284
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    I don’t wrap anything. Too much work for me. The egg holds moisture so well I don’t think wrapping would do much. I cook ribs around 300 so they finish quickly without wrapping. 
    Pittsburgh, PA. LBGE
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  • MGOms
    MGOms Posts: 21
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    I’m with Foghorn; the consensus is to not wrap now that we did them side by side  both are awesome though. The pic with the separated bone is the wrapped; they were fall apart tender when I took out of the wrap to get the color on them. Going to do some for a neighbor tomorrow and they want 1/2 and 1/2. 
    Large BGE
    Milton, WV but from the Deep South. 
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  • StillH2OEgger
    StillH2OEgger Posts: 3,746
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    So how long do you go in the foil?
    Stillwater, MN
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  • MGOms
    MGOms Posts: 21
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    I did 2 hours unwrapped then 2 hours wrapped and then 1 unwrapped. On my electric, I’ve done 2 unwrapped, then 1 1/2 wrapped and then 1 1/2 unwrapped. 
    Large BGE
    Milton, WV but from the Deep South. 
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  • StillH2OEgger
    StillH2OEgger Posts: 3,746
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    If you're doing another round tomorrow, I'd suggest trying one hour in foil and see how like that.
    Stillwater, MN
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  • pgprescott
    pgprescott Posts: 14,544
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    I don’t wrap my BB’s. I find the stl cut is far fattier and lends itself to the wrap. It’s not that you can’t wrap them to impart a deeper flavor profile but you have to really watch them as they tend to overlook way faster than the spares. Your margin for error on wrapped BB’s is quite narrow. I’m too lazy for the narrow window. I do wrap the stl cut. As others have suggested, I spritz or mop to replicate the layered flavor profile of my spares.

    Get er done!
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