Slow cooking ribs

[spinsheet]

I have 'Weber's Big Book of Grilling', which I really like. The recipe for baby back ribs says to cook them for about 1.5 - 2 hours at indirect medium heat (which they call 350). Would I be better off at about 250 for perhaps 3 hours?

I've seen some people here that post that they cook for almost 6 hours. What do you guys recommend?

I also have a rib rack that holds the ribs up so they don't take up so much space on the grill. Are these recommended? The rack makes it difficult to baste with BBQ sauce but I tend to dry rub mine anyway and just serve the wet stuff on the side.

[landgraftj]

I've only cooked ribs once on my kettle, quite a few times my smoker. Baby backs I cooked around 2 hrs then foiled and cooked for another hr. temp was 275-300 the whole time, indirect heat. Turned out well.

[spinsheet]

What is the purpose of foiling them? Is that to keep them from drying out? Have you done it without foiling them as a comparison?

[jcnaz]

I smoked three racks of St. Louis ribs last night for about five hours using a snake . I was going to post pics but I was battling thunderstorms and flash floods!

Here is the setup.

And here are the prepped ribs.

I put hot water in the pans and dumped 1/2 chimney of lit coals on the left end of the snake. The rolled ribs stood on the grate over the pans. It held 265°-285° for almost four hours, then dropped to 200°. I dropped about eight lit coals on top of the last 8" of the snake and the temp went back to 275° for the last hour.
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[landgraftj]

Foiling stops the meat from taking on more smoke and keeps em from drying out. I put apple juice, brown sugar, and honey in the foil as well.

[Bosibus]

Foiling will also give a nicer color.  I prefer not to foil in general in WSM.

[1buckie]

What is the purpose of foiling them? Is that to keep them from drying out? Have you done it without foiling them as a comparison?

Take care with foil.....let 'em go too long braizing in liquids (even their own juice) and you end up w/ pulled pork.....they WILL over-tenderize..............

Usually don't foil unless for transport, then a little apple juice / apple cider vinegar.....


Like Terry (landgraftj) does works great if you'd like sweeter, saucier ribs....a lot of people really will go for those !!!!

[landgraftj]

Yes sir Buckie, most of my ribs are on the sweeter side. But, that's how the wife and daughter like em. I like mine any way I can get them but mostly unsauced with some bite.

[1buckie]

'I like mine any way I can get them but mostly unsauced with some bite."


You bet...T......that's the way I'd always rather do them, but if I do several different racks, several different ways, the fall off the bones ones go 1st....followed closely by the sauced & sticky crowd & then that leaves the SMOKED, UNSAUCED RIBS....for me..... (hopefully).....

[harris92]

Low and slow on the Oklahoma Joe  (5-6 hours)......