I'm grilling baby back ribs tomorrow, and I plan on doing all of the cooking on the bbq. Here is my plan for making the ribs:

• Prep ribs and put a rub on them to allow about 6 - 8 hrs of marinating. Ribs will be divided into half racks.
• Prep grill for indirect cooking - not sure if I'll put all coals to one side or split to 2 sides
• Cook time expected to be about 1.5 - 2 hrs between 300 - 320 deg (by lid thermometer)
• Drip pan will be used on the indirect cooking side with about 1/4th to 1/3rd full of water for moisture
• Add bbq sauce to last 20 minutes of the cooking time. May do a quick sear over direct heat - not sure
  

I'm going to make the rub on the fly - no formal recipe - and will likely use:

3 T Spanish Paprika (all I have on hand),
1 T brown sugar,
2 t salt,
1.5 t black pepper,
1 t ground mustard

BBQ sauce will be as follows:

3 tablespoons onions, chopped.
2 tablespoons butter or 2 tablespoons margarine.
2 tablespoons granulated sugar.
2 tablespoons vinegar.
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce.
1⁄4 cup lemon juice.
1 cup catsup.
1⁄2 cup celery, chopped.

For my current baby back rib recipe I would wrap the ribs in foil and bake on low in oven for about 1.5 to 2 hrs and then finish on medium direct heat on grill with coating of sauce for about 10 min turning frequently. This method is fall off the bone tender. With the above method, I want to see if I can get something moist - maybe not to the level of fall off the bone - but something that would have a little bit more natural bbq flavor.

Anyone have suggestions or modifications that you recommend? I don't have a smoker and I don't have the high accuracy temperature gauge/thermocouple set up.

Someone told me one time to remove the back membrane off ribs. It’s not the meaty part. I think removing it does make a difference

(02-17-2018 02:52 PM)Machiavelli Wrote:  Someone told me one time to remove the back membrane off ribs. It’s not the meaty part. I think removing it does make a difference

Yes. When it cooks it gets tough and stringy.

(02-17-2018 02:52 PM)Machiavelli Wrote:  Someone told me one time to remove the back membrane off ribs. It’s not the meaty part. I think removing it does make a difference

Correct. As kaplony stated it makes the ribs tough. I'll normally take a clean flat head screw driver and lift the membrane off the bones and then pull the membrane off (holding it with a paper towel).

Don't see anything about boiling them. Good man.

(02-17-2018 03:13 PM)miko33 Wrote:  

(02-17-2018 02:52 PM)Machiavelli Wrote:  Someone told me one time to remove the back membrane off ribs. It’s not the meaty part. I think removing it does make a difference

Correct. As kaplony stated it makes the ribs tough. I'll normally take a clean flat head screw driver and lift the membrane off the bones and then pull the membrane off (holding it with a paper towel).

Best thing I've found to remove the membrane is an oyster knife

(02-17-2018 03:52 PM)Kaplony Wrote:  

(02-17-2018 03:13 PM)miko33 Wrote:  

(02-17-2018 02:52 PM)Machiavelli Wrote:  Someone told me one time to remove the back membrane off ribs. It’s not the meaty part. I think removing it does make a difference

Correct. As kaplony stated it makes the ribs tough. I'll normally take a clean flat head screw driver and lift the membrane off the bones and then pull the membrane off (holding it with a paper towel).

Best thing I've found to remove the membrane is an oyster knife

A spoon also works pretty good.

Haven't gotten brave enough to do ribs yet. Plus I'd be the only one eating them. May do some next weekend since I'm Baching it.

Yep, now I'm hungry.

First things first: I know sauces are regional, and I do not want to start an incident, but WTF is up with the celery?!

Otherwise, pretty good looking approach. I used to have a 22.5 kettle and it worked great (now using a 22.5 Smokey Mountain). Maybe too late now but they make these great charcoal baskets that connect to the sides of the kettle to make indirect heating easier. Are you going to put some wood chips on the coals? I highly recommend a handful or two of fruit wood chips.

The beauty of baby backs is they afford a pretty large window for time and temp. I typically cook them a little lower (250-275) and slower (3-4 hrs) on the bbq but have an oven recipe similar to yours that works great. Don’t worry about meat temp. They’re done when the meat is pulling back from the bones and you can easily pull the bones apart.

(02-17-2018 02:34 PM)miko33 Wrote:  I'm grilling baby back ribs tomorrow, and I plan on doing all of the cooking on the bbq. Here is my plan for making the ribs:

• Prep ribs and put a rub on them to allow about 6 - 8 hrs of marinating. Ribs will be divided into half racks.
• Prep grill for indirect cooking - not sure if I'll put all coals to one side or split to 2 sides
• Cook time expected to be about 1.5 - 2 hrs between 300 - 320 deg (by lid thermometer)
• Drip pan will be used on the indirect cooking side with about 1/4th to 1/3rd full of water for moisture
• Add bbq sauce to last 20 minutes of the cooking time. May do a quick sear over direct heat - not sure
  

I'm going to make the rub on the fly - no formal recipe - and will likely use:

3 T Spanish Paprika (all I have on hand),
1 T brown sugar,
2 t salt,
1.5 t black pepper,
1 t ground mustard

BBQ sauce will be as follows:

3 tablespoons onions, chopped.
2 tablespoons butter or 2 tablespoons margarine.
2 tablespoons granulated sugar.
2 tablespoons vinegar.
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce.
1⁄4 cup lemon juice.
1 cup catsup.
1⁄2 cup celery, chopped.

For my current baby back rib recipe I would wrap the ribs in foil and bake on low in oven for about 1.5 to 2 hrs and then finish on medium direct heat on grill with coating of sauce for about 10 min turning frequently. This method is fall off the bone tender. With the above method, I want to see if I can get something moist - maybe not to the level of fall off the bone - but something that would have a little bit more natural bbq flavor.

Anyone have suggestions or modifications that you recommend? I don't have a smoker and I don't have the high accuracy temperature gauge/thermocouple set up.

I would recommend adding 1/2 teaspoon chili powder to your BBQ Sauce, it gives it just a hint of spicy.

(02-17-2018 06:57 PM)THE NC Herd Fan Wrote:  

(02-17-2018 02:34 PM)miko33 Wrote:  I'm grilling baby back ribs tomorrow, and I plan on doing all of the cooking on the bbq. Here is my plan for making the ribs:

• Prep ribs and put a rub on them to allow about 6 - 8 hrs of marinating. Ribs will be divided into half racks.
• Prep grill for indirect cooking - not sure if I'll put all coals to one side or split to 2 sides
• Cook time expected to be about 1.5 - 2 hrs between 300 - 320 deg (by lid thermometer)
• Drip pan will be used on the indirect cooking side with about 1/4th to 1/3rd full of water for moisture
• Add bbq sauce to last 20 minutes of the cooking time. May do a quick sear over direct heat - not sure
  

I'm going to make the rub on the fly - no formal recipe - and will likely use:

3 T Spanish Paprika (all I have on hand),
1 T brown sugar,
2 t salt,
1.5 t black pepper,
1 t ground mustard

BBQ sauce will be as follows:

3 tablespoons onions, chopped.
2 tablespoons butter or 2 tablespoons margarine.
2 tablespoons granulated sugar.
2 tablespoons vinegar.
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce.
1⁄4 cup lemon juice.
1 cup catsup.
1⁄2 cup celery, chopped.

For my current baby back rib recipe I would wrap the ribs in foil and bake on low in oven for about 1.5 to 2 hrs and then finish on medium direct heat on grill with coating of sauce for about 10 min turning frequently. This method is fall off the bone tender. With the above method, I want to see if I can get something moist - maybe not to the level of fall off the bone - but something that would have a little bit more natural bbq flavor.

Anyone have suggestions or modifications that you recommend? I don't have a smoker and I don't have the high accuracy temperature gauge/thermocouple set up.

I would recommend adding 1/2 teaspoon chili powder to your BBQ Sauce, it gives it just a hint of spicy.

I'd say put it in the rub for the best effect. Cumin on pork is very underrated.

Yeah, I tend to put something spicy in my sauce: Tabasco/sriracha/red rooster.

(02-17-2018 06:43 PM)Brookes Owl Wrote:  First things first: I know sauces are regional, and I do not want to start an incident, but WTF is up with the celery?!

Otherwise, pretty good looking approach. I used to have a 22.5 kettle and it worked great (now using a 22.5 Smokey Mountain). Maybe too late now but they make these great charcoal baskets that connect to the sides of the kettle to make indirect heating easier. Are you going to put some wood chips on the coals? I highly recommend a handful or two of fruit wood chips.

The beauty of baby backs is they afford a pretty large window for time and temp. I typically cook them a little lower (250-275) and slower (3-4 hrs) on the bbq but have an oven recipe similar to yours that works great. Don’t worry about meat temp. They’re done when the meat is pulling back from the bones and you can easily pull the bones apart.

I would like to get a 22.5" smokey mountain smoker - hopefully in a couple of years. Alternatively, I was looking at the kamado style grills made by Primo - which I think can double as a grill and smoker. The Weber smoker would be a good bit cheaper though and complement the kettle!

The sauce recipe is actually the original Weber Tangy BBQ Sauce. I think the celery is inspired by Kansas City Style bbq - not sure TBH.

(02-17-2018 07:34 PM)Kaplony Wrote:  

(02-17-2018 06:57 PM)THE NC Herd Fan Wrote:  

(02-17-2018 02:34 PM)miko33 Wrote:  I'm grilling baby back ribs tomorrow, and I plan on doing all of the cooking on the bbq. Here is my plan for making the ribs:

• Prep ribs and put a rub on them to allow about 6 - 8 hrs of marinating. Ribs will be divided into half racks.
• Prep grill for indirect cooking - not sure if I'll put all coals to one side or split to 2 sides
• Cook time expected to be about 1.5 - 2 hrs between 300 - 320 deg (by lid thermometer)
• Drip pan will be used on the indirect cooking side with about 1/4th to 1/3rd full of water for moisture
• Add bbq sauce to last 20 minutes of the cooking time. May do a quick sear over direct heat - not sure
  

I'm going to make the rub on the fly - no formal recipe - and will likely use:

3 T Spanish Paprika (all I have on hand),
1 T brown sugar,
2 t salt,
1.5 t black pepper,
1 t ground mustard

BBQ sauce will be as follows:

3 tablespoons onions, chopped.
2 tablespoons butter or 2 tablespoons margarine.
2 tablespoons granulated sugar.
2 tablespoons vinegar.
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce.
1⁄4 cup lemon juice.
1 cup catsup.
1⁄2 cup celery, chopped.

For my current baby back rib recipe I would wrap the ribs in foil and bake on low in oven for about 1.5 to 2 hrs and then finish on medium direct heat on grill with coating of sauce for about 10 min turning frequently. This method is fall off the bone tender. With the above method, I want to see if I can get something moist - maybe not to the level of fall off the bone - but something that would have a little bit more natural bbq flavor.

Anyone have suggestions or modifications that you recommend? I don't have a smoker and I don't have the high accuracy temperature gauge/thermocouple set up.

I would recommend adding 1/2 teaspoon chili powder to your BBQ Sauce, it gives it just a hint of spicy.

I'd say put it in the rub for the best effect. Cumin on pork is very underrated.

I've used both chili powder and cumin on pork with great results. I was thinking about putting a little cumin into the spice rub. The chili powder I think would be fairly similar to the paprika and am going to try it without the chili powder.

brookes, to answer your question on wood chips - I planned on going with hickory soaked for 30 min to an hr. Probably no more than one large handful.

Those komodos are nice. Buddy just got a primos and is extremely satisfied. He did a brisket for Super Bowl Sunday and said it was the best he ever did. Second time firing it up .

I have always had a tendency to burn ribs to ash.

(02-17-2018 09:58 PM)miko33 Wrote:  The sauce recipe is actually the original Weber Tangy BBQ Sauce. I think the celery is inspired by Kansas City Style bbq - not sure TBH.

Huh. Powdered celery seed is a common ingredient in rubs, so I guess it makes sense to flavor sauce with it - I’ve just never had a “chunky” bbq sauce. Now matter - lots of ways to make tasty pork. Good luck - share some pics!

Try adding some spicy brown mustard on one rack when you apply the rib and see what you think.

Turn the heat down to 200-225 and cook a couple more hours.

Fill a spray bottle with apple juice and spritz the ribs every 45-60 min to help keep them from drying out.

Apply apply butter in the last hour and let it cook in for 30ish minutes before you add sauce.

Consider adding some hickory/maple wood chips for the first hour.

(02-17-2018 02:52 PM)Machiavelli Wrote:  Someone told me one time to remove the back membrane off ribs. It’s not the meaty part. I think removing it does make a difference

The silver skin.

Yes.

A pair of latex gloves, sterilized pliers and strong grip, rip that membrane offa there.

I’ve even started cleaving the ribs in to twos or fours, and giving them all a four square rub, smoke and cook.

Try this place for a great poke rub with stuff you probably already have. http://www.smoking-meat.com

15 bucks, for his recipes (rubs and bbq sauce) I think, and “lifetime membership” whatever that is.

I get a new recipe once, twice a month. Have used a many, especially when neighbors bring us venison.

Nothing better.