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grilling Smoking/cooking Ribs on a Gas Grill

Hells Kitchen

Hells Kitchen

In a couple of weeks I have a week off work and the place to myself (life is good!!!) so want to have a BBQ and booze orgy. 
 
I only have a gas grill and have read up on recipes, methods etc. The confusing part is that there seem to be as many different cooking methods and times as there are stars in the universe. Some advocate the 3-2-1 technique, others state that the ribs will cook in only 1-1.5 hours, some say wrap in foil for the last xx minutes while others dont, some suggest 225F, others 275F..... blimey!
 
I'm going to experiment just using store bought rubs for the time being and perhaps compare different temps, cooking times and methods but would like to see what you guys think aswell. Tips and hints welcome!  
 
 
 
 
225-275 or anywhere in between is fine. I myself just prefer lower and slower at 225.
 
Put a good rub on the ribs.
 
Most of the time I just use salt, pepper, and brown sugar.
 
Let the ribs go for a couple hours and then check them.
 
Pick them up in the middle with a pair of tongs. 
 
If they sag and bow and the meat is pulled back well from the bone they're done.
 
Some use foil for the last hour but it's not necessary if you don't want to.
 
Take your time and chillax and it'll all be all guud!
 
Also there will be a tough membrane on one side of the ribs that many/most remove before adding the rub. Just get a knife under it on one end to get it started, then take a paper towel in hand to get a better grip on it and peel it off.
 
Leave the fat side up the whole time to help baste the meat as it melts, and spritz the ribs with apple cider or apple juice once an hour.
 
I always coat the meat with my favorite BBQ sauce and wrap with foil for the last hour, usually in a 225 oven since I use charcoal and it's all used up by then.
 
+1 TB and mecdave - soak wood chips in water for 1/2 hr and wrap in foil to put on the grill for more smokey goodness.
 
I prefer a 3-1-1 for ribs this leaves enough of a bite and 3-2-1 I feel makes'em  mooooshy. Also when you wrap in foil with the rest of your mop save the liquid and add to your sauce for additional love. 1-1.5 hrs is grilled and Im not a big fan, 225 and a 12pk is about right
 
BBQ in America is very different depending on which part of the country you're in.  If you're after the classic sauced and tender ribs you'll find at most restaurants you'll want to stay between 225 and 250 degrees and your cook time will be around 4-5 hours for babyback ribs.  Take ribs, remove membrane, dust with rub, add to grill and make sure you're using indirect heat.  Close up the lid and check the temp - stay around 250 - and add your wood chips.  Let the smoke get on them for the first two hours, but you don't want them in smoke for the whole time.  After 3 hours check the ribs using Texas Blues 'hang' method - they'll be close to done.  If you want them real tender wrap in foil and cook for another hour or so - the ribs will braise and get very (sometimes too) tender.  Here's a link to a rich resource of information about all things grilling and smoking Hells Kitchen - enough info over there to help you on your way ;)  
 
Good luck - and have fun with the meat n booze orgy!
 
I would not foil as the last step, I would foil as the middle step. You want the ribs directly on the smoker first and last.
 
I would not add any liquid to the foiled step, this will cause braising. You can braise indoors in a crock pot. Put butter and rub on the bottom of the foil and lay the ribs meat side down and wrap tightly. You want fall apart meat, but firm, not stew meat.
 
You want the ribs on the smoker unfoiled that last hour. You don't want wet rub sludge. The last hour they'll get more smoke and the surface water will be removed and the rub will tighten up.
 
3-2-1, 2-2-1, 2-1-1, whatever, all depends on the temps. You can cook them a bit faster at higher temps. 225 for 6 hours. 250 for 5 hours. 275 for 4 hours. If you like more of a bite to them, you can cook them for 5 hours at 225, for example. It's all formulas.

I would suggest 5 hours at 225. More of a competition rib, and not fall-off-the-bone.
 
NO SAUCE DURING COOKING!
 
SPRITZ after the rub forms a crust (I don't really consider it a bark). Don't over spritz. You just want to moisten the rub so it doesn't turn black. When it looks dry, spritz. Avoid sugars. Use water. Sugar is already in the rub. You don't need to keep adding apple juice! You don't need to keep adding spices! People over mop because they're bored and think they need to keep busy and keep adding ingredients. Water is all you need. When you cook a steak do you stand there and add salt and pepper every minute?
 
"But water is so boring!" Fine, so go with your apple juice, spice rub, beef broth mixture. All up to you! But all the flavor you need is in the smoke and the rub. I say... stop the madness! There is no point in moistening with sugars, when those sugars will caramelize into a black bark.
 
I like what's called a dry rib. A dry rib is not cooked with sauce, and is not constantly mopped with sugars, or foiled with liquids. The meat is tender and juicy but has a bite. The rib is dry on the surface and you can see the rub, it is not a bark like a pork butt. When you cut the ribs the sides are very flat, not like stew meat. I sauce it AFTER with hot sauce.
 
HAVE FUN!
 
I realized this was about gas after I typed all that. I have no experience with them other than grilling. Can you turn on one burner and offset all the way on the other side? Can you smoke with a chip box? How low can you get it? If 275 you're still good. 3-4 hour smoke depending how you like them.
 
It's a 4 burner, with a fairly large cooking area, plus it's winter and daytime temps are barely touching 15C so shouldn't have issues with temps.  I'll get an oven thermometer so I can monitor the temps. 
 
bbq_zps17b38540.jpg

 
thanks for the tips guys, I'll put them to practice and see what happens  :P
 
do you have a rack that hangs from the hood or on the grill? I would put them up higher from the heat or maybe a rib rack 
 
Buy a Good grill thermometer so you can monitor your temps.  I prefer the wireless type (with 2 probes) like this http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ANCQELE/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00ANCQELE&linkCode=as2&tag=amazi0a8-20
   so I can see Meat and Grill/Smoker temps.
 
 getting that Grill to go down low (225-250) and maintain the temp will be tricky but can be done.    Keep the Meat away from the open flame, try indirect cooking it will reward you.
 
LUCKYDOG said:
do you have a rack that hangs from the hood or on the grill? I would put them up higher from the heat or maybe a rib rack 
Click to expand...
 
Nope. 
 
 
 
PepTalk said:
Buy a Good grill thermometer so you can monitor your temps.  I prefer the wireless type (with 2 probes) like this http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ANCQELE/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00ANCQELE&linkCode=as2&tag=amazi0a8-20
   so I can see Meat and Grill/Smoker temps.
 
 getting that Grill to go down low (225-250) and maintain the temp will be tricky but can be done.    Keep the Meat away from the open flame, try indirect cooking it will reward you.
Click to expand...
 
With one of the outermost burners set to minimum and the ribs on the opposite side surely it'll stay in the required range, it's winter here aswell so probably not going to be too much of an issue. I'm thinking an oven or grill thermometer placed on the grill where the ribs are will be good enough for me, something like this http://www.kitchenwaredirect.com.au/Avanti-Precision-Oven-Thermometer
 
Place it on the grill just to see how the temps behave before actually investing in any ribs first.
 
Hells Kitchen said:
 
Nope. 
 
 
 
 
With one of the outermost burners set to minimum and the ribs on the opposite side surely it'll stay in the required range, it's winter here aswell so probably not going to be too much of an issue. I'm thinking an oven or grill thermometer placed on the grill where the ribs are will be good enough for me, something like this http://www.kitchenwaredirect.com.au/Avanti-Precision-Oven-Thermometer
 
Place it on the grill just to see how the temps behave before actually investing in any ribs first.
Click to expand...
 
Sounds like a good plan ;)
 
We've successfully done ghetto ribs using a gas bbq grill several times. 
 
Do the prep and seasoning as others have described for the ribs.
 
 
Get a heavy (and consider it dispensable)  stainless steel or cast iron pan small enough to fit under the grates of the grill but be able to prop over the gas flames of the unit.   I had a flat SS tray out of a toaster oven to work with.  I off-set it enough off the grill flames and moved the wood chips around to find the sweet spot where they smoked but didn't flame using one burner of the grill.  Had the meat on the other side of the grill (off the flames).   
 
You could probably fabricate a tray out of SEVERAL layers of aluminum foil, it just has to be thick enough to not burn  through from the grill flames.
 
 
3-2-1 method or similar seemed to work but you have to adjust and just go with the gut feeling of "are they done enough to this point?"  If you don't have an accurate thermometer and the ribs seem to be done....go with it! 
 
Have Fun!  and Post Pics!  We luv pics!  :cool:
 
LUCKYDOG said:
a little hotter maybe add a foil ball to the grill lid to get it up to 225-250F
Click to expand...
 
Only had the outermost burner on low and the thermometer was on the opposite side of the grill. This is a 4 burner grill so it can get much hotter. 
 
Just demonstrating that getting the temp low enough won't be an issue at all :)
 
Yes set HK!  I'll be looking forward to the pics of the ribs!
 
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