Ribs on a propane grill - Slowngreen alert!!!

[w_r_ranch]

Just giving you a heads up... I'm going to attempt this tomorrow, although I haven't done it in 30 years. I don't want to get your hopes up, but the last time I did it, my friend said that I should open a restaurant, LOL!!!

I'll document this for you & hopefully you pick up something that helps you out...

 

[Slowngreen]

hey now lol. Please do, Ive seen tips and trick for it since my incident, lol, but I dig your write ups and you look to cook things the way I like to eat them.

 

[whistech]

Mr. Ranch, I am forward to your tutorial.

 

[w_r_ranch]

OK. the ribs are thawed out & resting peaceably in the refrigerator until it showtime!!!

As I said earlier, cooking ribs which produces a genuine barbecue flavor using a gas grill, is darn near impossible. Propane grills are great for hot and fast cooking, but not worth a darn when you need to turn a rack of ribs into tender, smoky barbecue. However, there are some tricks you can use. To get the best possible ribs from your gas burner, all you need is to follow this multi-step process.

For this example, I am using a full rack of baby back ribs spareribs trimmed. You can use trimmed spareribs with this same method, however you will need increase the cooking times about 10 minutes per stage. The total cooking time for baby backs will be about 75 minutes.

Your grill must be large enough and contain at least two burners, since ribs need to be cooked indirectly. This means the heat will not be below the rack of ribs, but off to the side of the grill. I will explain the set up in detail as we progress.

For our cook today, we will need the following:

One rack of ribs
Rib Rub
BBQ sauce
1/2 Cup apple juice
Aluminum foil
Wood chips for smoke (I'm using hickory chips as that is all the grocery store here had, other than mesquite which is not good for pork)

I got started by making the 'smoke bombs' ahead of time this morning. Making proper smoke on a gas grill while cooking at lower temperatures is a real challenge. To be honest, while we might be able to give these ribs a some of smoke, they are not going to have a strong smoke flavor. That is the sacrifice we make by using a gas burner, although we are certainly going to give it our best shot by throwing in a couple of 'smoke bombs' to generate smoke.

To make a 'smoke bomb', I started by placing about 1 to 1 1/2 cups of damp (not wet) wood chips on a piece of foil. Wrap the wood chips so that one side has a single layer of foil. Poke several holes in the foil to let the smoke out. I'm using two 'smoke bombs', but you can use more or less if you wish to suit your taste.

We will be placing the 'smoke bombs' under the cooking grate as close as possible to the burner we are using prior to putting the ribs on. More on this later. Here are our 'smoke bombs':

 

[w_r_ranch]

Menu for supper will consist of the ribs (my wife requested that I glaze them), baked potatoes, a salad, fresh homemade bread & oatmeal/pecan/raisin cookies for desert.

The bread is shaped/rising now & the cookies are in the oven as I write this. Margaritas will be served at 1400 hrs... it's starting to come together...

 

[w_r_ranch]

Cookies & bread are done. The ribs have been properly trimmed & the membrane was removed. I applied a light coat of canola oil and then the rub. Wrapped & put them back into the refrigerator...

 

[w_r_ranch]

3 Minutes to 'showtime'. going to get my chair & haul it down to the party barn... I'll be back in about 3 hrs & post up the pictures/writeup. I'm going to eat first of course, LOL!!!

 

[w_r_ranch]

Sorry, but I omitted the following in my last post... I got caught up in the heat of the moment... I tried to prepare this ahead of time, but I'm more than somewhat anal-retentive when I start focusing on things...

Preparing the Rack:
It is seldom to find store bought spareribs that are properly trimmed. You will need to do some basic trimming before we get started. Ideally, what you're looking for is a rack of ribs with a square shape and an even thickness throughout. Make sure you inspect the ribs for any loose pieces of meat or fat. Cut off any excess scraps or excessive fat from the rack. This doesn't mean cutting all the fat off, just thick useless sections.

Since we are grilling these ribs faster than we would on the smoker, the benefit of the fat isn't as great. We still need some fat to keep the meat moist but, we don't want to end up with an overly greasy finished product.

Once done trimming, rinse the rack of ribs with cold water and pat dry with paper towels.

Rubbing the Ribs:
Once the ribs are trimmed and rinsed, it is time to apply the rub. A good rib rub adds flavor but doesn't overpower the meat. You want to apply the rub all over the rack. This means back and front as well as the side and ends. Apply as much rub as will stick. I like to apply a light coating of canola to hold the rub on.

You can apply the rub up to an hour or two before you start cooking. If you need to return the rack to the refrigerator after putting on the rub, wrap it in plastic wrap. Preferably, try to get the ribs to the grill within 1 to 2 hours.

Placing the 'Smoke Bombs':
Place the smoke bombs under the cooking grate as close as possible to the burner you are using. You will need to preheat the grill hot enough to get the combustion of the wood started. Once you see smoke coming out of the smoke bombs (remember we want smoke, not fire). Now turn down the heat and place the ribs on the grill.



Placing the Ribs on the Grill:
The grill placement is most important. We need indirect heat to cook our ribs without drying them out or overcooking them. We also need to be able to hit temperatures up to 375 degrees F. On the grill I am using, the burners run front to back.

If you have a grill with the burners in the front & back, it is best to use the front burner & place the ribs in the very back (the rack is placed running parallel to the burners).

Place the rack, bone side down on the grill, close the lid, and adjust the grill until it holds a temperature of 275 to 300 degrees. Now, let the ribs cook for 45 minutes. Don't open the lid, as doing so will release the smoke. NOTE: Don't expect a lot of smoke to billow out of the grill as there won't be a whole lot of of smoke production...

Foiling the Ribs:
Once the ribs have been on the grill for 30 minutes, it is time to move on to the next stage. The ribs should be kind of browned on all sides (if they appear raw on the surface, continue grilling for another 10 to 15 minutes). If they look sufficiently browned, we can continue. We are going to make the ribs tender by steaming them with apple juice. The secret is to wrap the ribs tightly in foil. You want to make it as water tight as possible after pouring in the apple juice.

With a tightly wrapped packet, place the ribs back on the grill in the indirect grilling space. Now close the lid and increase the grill temperature to around 375 degrees. At this temperature the apple juice will boil, tenderizing the ribs and cooking them quickly.

Glazing with Barbecue Sauce:
After the ribs have been steaming in foil for 30 minutes, it is time to turn down the heat and unwrap the ribs. They should be mostly cooked at this point. Look for the rack of ribs to be more flexible. If you pick up the wrapped rack on the end, it should droop down. If not, continue grilling for another 10 to 15 minutes.

Once the ribs are ready to continue, set your grill temperature around 250 degrees (but definitely not more than 265 degrees, which is the burning temperature of sugar). Place the ribs back in the same place to finish cooking.

When smoking ribs it is up to you whether to add sauce or not. However, with the gas grill method I think its best to the use a good barbecue sauce. It adds barbecue flavor to your ribs and adds to the surface texture of the meat.

The secret to a good sticky rib is multiple coats of barbecue sauce. The best method is to sauce one side of the ribs, close the lid and cook for 5 minutes. Then open the lid, flip the ribs and sauce the other side. Repeat this again so that we at least 2 coats per side.



Five minutes after you put on the last coat, take your ribs off & let them rest for 5 minutes. Now all that is left to do is cut & serve them. Enjoy!!!





All in all, the ribs where pretty good... Not any where near what we get off of the smoker, but not bad... Even have leftovers for tomorrow!!!

 

[BigCountry]

WOW...those look great, i actually made some in the oven tonight, turned out pretty good,(they are very easy to over cook this way, so i ran to the oven alot checking them, plan on making somemore on the smoker next weekend.

 

[Slowngreen]

They look perfect! Im gonna follow this next time to the letter.

 

[whistech]

Mr. Ranch, thank you for documenting the process. The ribs look excellent!

 

[w_r_ranch]

You're welcome guys. They were pretty good. although you would need a magnifying glass to see the smoke ring (about 1/32")... LOL!!!

I'll be glad when this burn ban gets lifted... I got some stuff in the freezer, but my BBQ's stuff is getting low.