Baby back Ribs
Click on pictures for a larger image

 

This is a rack of baby back/loin back ribs from
Costco. I used the Jim W technique from the forum.
Cooked on the Large BGE. I start with a plastic
tray to contain some of the mess.

The very important first step is to remove the
membrane from the ribs. This is very simple to do
once you get the hang of it. I did all three of these
in less than a minute. I prefer to use the handle end
of a regular table spoon. If you take the shorter end
of the rack and work the spoon under the membrane
around the second rib in, it usually loosens up enough
that you can pull the membrane off with a finger to
the closest end.

   

Then using a paper towel you can hold the membrane
and just peel it all the way off, it almost always comes
off in one piece.

Now its time for the rub, here is mine, I like to coat both
sides well and rub it in by hand to get good coverage.

 

Now it`s time to wait, you can either wrap in plastic wrap or
if you have one, you can use a foodsaver. You want to let it
sit in the fridge at least overnight, or you can go directly to
the freezer for a future cook if you used a foodsaver.

Now comes the cook. I clean out any old ash and add new
lump if needed. Place one starter cube in the center of the lump.
Once the starter has burned out I add my wood, two chunks of
apple in my case. One shoved down in the burning center the
other laid off to the side slightly.

 

Now we start building the cooking set up. I use the platesetter
placed on top of the firering, legs up with a drip pan on it.
I like to fill my pan with apple juice. Then we add the regular
grid with a raised grid on top of that. Then the ribs......

   

The Jim W technique is to allow the egg to heat up slowly. So
once you have gotten to this point the egg is still cold, you want
to set your vents NOW, where you would normally run 235°-275°
and leave it alone. It may take as long as 1 1/2 hours to reach
235°-275° but that is fine. Here are my initial vent settings which
never got touched the rest of the cook.

   

At 1 1/2 hours into the cook I am running a steady 250°. We are
smoking along well, and I give them the first flip.

 

I flipped again at the next 1 1/2 hour mark and added a little more
apple juice. Many others will flip at 1 hour intervals, which I also
have done, either way is fine to me.  It is important to get the dome
closed back as quickly as possible. After 3 hours 45 minutes I
decided it was time to add sauce.

 

I like to flip and sauce every 15 minutes, I normally do this 4 times
equaling 1 hour, but decided only twice this cook. At 4 hours
20 minutes I pulled them off to rest. Hind sight...a little to early.

While they may appear to be burnt, they are not, its merely
bark from the sugar in the rub. These certainly would not win
anything on appearance, and truth be told, I rank them in the
lower top 10 of ribs I have prepared. They were still very good.
We learn that ribs, just as any meats, are never the same twice.
You want to see a really good bend in the rack of ribs when you
flip them. You can also grab one of the end rib bones and try to
turn it, if it moves easily they are ready. Ribs will never be cooked
using an exact time and temp method, it`s a learned art.