Need Help Want To Cook Baby Backs Semi High Heat With No Wrap On My Pellet Grill.


 
Rich Dahl

Rich Dahl

TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
Want to try a simpler way to cook some baby backs without the mess of the wrap and the all day cook.
I just saw something on here about that but of course I can't find it now.
Any guidance would be appreciated.
 
Cooked a lot of no wrap ribs, both spares and baby backs, last summer. Mostly at 275 to 300F, both on a kettle and Traeger. Kept them moist by spritzing. First spritz once the rub has set, usually between 1 and 1 1/2 hours, and every 40 minutes or so after that. No other real difference in technique. After trying several spritzing solutions settled on a 50/50 mix of water and ACV.

We developed a liking for Texas style ribs so pretty much done with wrapping unless we have company. Probably do wrapped and no wrap in that case.
 
I like 275/300f for bb ribs. I've done higher on gas with a rotisserie with great results too.

On the pellet grill I do a mustard base then season with Weber smoky brown sugar rub. No spritz, then sauce them up 30 minutes or so before taking them off. Total time is usually around the 4 hour mark. I like a good bark on my ribs.
 
Bob Erdman said:
I like 275/300f for bb ribs. I've done higher on gas with a rotisserie with great results too.

On the pellet grill I do a mustard base then season with Weber smoky brown sugar rub. No spritz, then sauce them up 30 minutes or so before taking them off. Total time is usually around the 4 hour mark. I like a good bark on my ribs.
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Have only done a couple slabs on the kettle rotisserie, one BB and one spares, and loved them both. As soon as the spring winds die down will be doing some on the open fire roti.

Dang, just thought about it, since resurrecting my NG grill I've got 3 rotisseries now. They will be getting used a lot this Summer.
 
Bob Bailey said:
Have only done a couple slabs on the kettle rotisserie, one BB and one spares, and loved them both. As soon as the spring winds die down will be doing some on the open fire roti.

Dang, just thought about it, since resurrecting my NG grill I've got 3 rotisseries now. They will be getting used a lot this Summer.
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I love the open fire cooks. Been a long time.
 
Rich Dahl said:
Want to try a simpler way to cook some baby backs without the mess of the wrap and the all day cook.
I just saw something on here about that but of course I can't find it now.
Any guidance would be appreciated.
Click to expand...
I don't get the mess of the wrap and not wrapping them is a contradiction for an all day cook. There is now way you cannot be done in 4 and 1/2 hours at 275 temps for back ribs that would be close to falling off the bone less time if you want a bite mark which my family won't eat. I differ from Harry in that when I wrap I do not hit the ribs on the bone side with the honey and stuff just do the meat side.

 
Will post tomorrow, 275 4hrs, ACV and water spritz at 2 and 3 hours. Bumped up at 4hrs to 300 and added BBQ sauce. Pulled 40 minutes later, wrapped in tin foil and let rest for 20 minuets.
Both Barb and I thought the ribs were great very tender considering they were in the freezer for a year and a half. Just an easy pull off the bone. Neither one of us like fall off the bone ribs.
 
I'd much rather spritz with apple juice as acv, no acid needed for what I am after. save the acv to make BBQ sauce with lol
 
Wrap speeds the cook, while keeping it tender... That's why everybody wraps in foil. Steams it

Faster simply requires higher temperature .,.but....

300 is about as hot as you want to go and even that will start to harden edges , etc.
I did 325 a few times as experiment.... It's definitely fast......

250-275 is best imo for quick enough and still slow enough to time it perfectly to get it just right.
But the more racks you cook, and different thicknesses etc cook it different speeds and that gets tough to get them all the same . Particularly with back ribs some of them can be 2 in thick at one end... And 1 in thick at the other.

Usually at 270 ish ....i do 1.5-2 hrs .....but until have set surface ....., wrap 45 min- 1 hr face down , Open the foil and flip them over.when bendy.....brush with sauce, and let go another 30 minutes....about 3-3.5 hrs.

Probe placement makes a difference.in wsm....its not a uniform cooker....too small and uninsulated with large surface area........ I've had some take considerably more time...... With same probe temp reading

18" WSM sucks for ribs.. it's just too small. There's only one way to cook ribs well and EASY, and that's to lay them flat
 
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I used to wrap, but am a no wrap convert for ribs and do full rides.

I also go St Louis over b-backs, but that's just me. 2 full racks for a family of 4, with all the side dishes makes a perfect meal.

18WSM, target temp of 240-250F on the dome thermometer. 4hours-ish with some plain water spritzing after the bark firms if needed, bbq slather at about the 3 1/2 hour mark for the last 30 minutes.

I use aluminum foil balls under each full rack to get them to fit on the top grate - easy peasy - then remove about an hour later - nice and flat.

I keep a log of all my cooks, and it may not win at competitions, but this gets *me* great results and family reviews all the time.
 
Thanks all for the info on how you do your ribs, so many different ways to do them. My mobility is degrading and looking for ways to cut back the up and down in my cooks. The process I used will be tweaked a little but otherwise I'm quite happy with the results.
My main reason for this was I've had my Camp Chef almost 5 years it's a base unit nothing fancy no WiFi (use my smoke to monitor) and it did a good job. But I was concerned about the wild temp swings I was watching and the limited smoke control. So, I upgraded the controller to a PID. Quite a difference in the temp swings. From 20-30 degrees to under 10. The smoke control is far better also.
I after a one hour burn test, I did a couple whole chickens, and they came out perfect same with the ribs.
Well worth the investment seeing Camp Chef wanted $150 for the controller and I got the exact same one from Amazon for $50 on sale.
Thanks again for your input.
 
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Controllers are definitely a game changer. Nothing better than waking up in the morning to an almost done butt or brisket. The ability remotely monitor time, temp and even shut down is great when your busy doing other things, home or away.
 
Rich Dahl said:
Want to try a simpler way to cook some baby backs without the mess of the wrap and the all day cook.
I just saw something on here about that but of course I can't find it now.
Any guidance would be appreciated.
Click to expand...
hey Rich,

So I've been sort of thinking about this for a couple weeks now.

Remember we used to say 'friends don't let friends boil ribs'? I recently created a crock pot recipe that is dynamite and I like 'em as much as smoked ribs, and that really challenged me.

Quick version: honey garlic onion soy sauce ginger sesame oil, no water, single layer of ribs, high for about 4 hours, remove and grill with thick teriyaki s to auce. Sprinkle with sesame seeds green onion serve on rice with sauce from the crock pot. I'll post a recipe next time I make it.

I have changed my mind about not simmering ribs, as long as it isn't watery and braising/steaming is what we do when we wrap tightly in foil then cook some more.

After some thought, I tested a new method to try to answer your request in this post: 90 Minute BB Ribs maybe you will give it a try
 
Shawn W said:
hey Rich,

So I've been sort of thinking about this for a couple weeks now.

Remember we used to say 'friends don't let friends boil ribs'? I recently created a crock pot recipe that is dynamite and I like 'em as much as smoked ribs, and that really challenged me.

Quick version: honey garlic onion soy sauce ginger sesame oil, no water, single layer of ribs, high for about 4 hours, remove and grill with thick teriyaki s to auce. Sprinkle with sesame seeds green onion serve on rice with sauce from the crock pot. I'll post a recipe next time I make it.

I have changed my mind about not simmering ribs, as long as it isn't watery and braising/steaming is what we do when we wrap tightly in foil then cook some more.

After some thought, I tested a new method to try to answer your request in this post: 90 Minute BB Ribs maybe you will give it a try
Click to expand...
Shawn, please send me that recipe as my Slow cooker and Instant pot are becoming more and more involved with our menu planning. With Barb coming up for her second surgery they will be even more involved.
Was very pleased with the results of the ribs we just did, but it still involves a lot of hands on in the prep on cook.
 
Rich Dahl said:
Shawn, please send me that recipe as my Slow cooker and Instant pot are becoming more and more involved with our menu planning. With Barb coming up for her second surgery they will be even more involved.
Was very pleased with the results of the ribs we just did, but it still involves a lot of hands on in the prep on cook.
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done, I sent you a PM
 
Rich Dahl said:
Shawn, please send me that recipe as my Slow cooker and Instant pot are becoming more and more involved with our menu planning. With Barb coming up for her second surgery they will be even more involved.
Was very pleased with the results of the ribs we just did, but it still involves a lot of hands on in the prep on cook.
Click to expand...
Sorry...off-topic. I hope Barb's surgery goes well, Rich.
 
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