Spare ribs, what not to do

[John Boehm]

My first try with grilled ribs. I used the Rendevous direct method. Both burners on low, flip and baste every 15 min for about 90 min. The basting was supposed to keep it from burning. On the Q320 this is simply too much heat. The outside was totally charred, but the meat was actually not bad. Next time I'll try turning the center burner off, the outside burner on low (325-350). Anyone else have luck with this method?

 

[K Kruger]

Yes. But cooking on something so close to to the heat means flipping much more frequently, as much as every 1-3 minutes, depending on the heat. You have to look at the meat to determine when to flip. "Low" doesn't mean much necessarily. Proximity to the heat does.

Basting does not 'keep it from burning' per se. It cools the meat surface after the flip, slowing cooking. Flipping correctly, one avoids burning as a result of this technique but that is not its initial purpose.

 

[George Curtis]

i'm thinkin that it should be cooked indirect and then direct to char it up a bit at the end.

 

[Wolgast]

You nailed the "original" swedish Rib. A few beers to take out the burnt flavor and you are good to go.

Here is some info of Cambodian RIBS on the gasser.

 

[Ted M (FatEddy)]

Whatever your basting with, if it had any sugar, would have accelerated the char.

 

[Pat Smith]

Try Phil Hartcher's direct/indirect method - direct for a short period - maybe 5 - 10 minutes, then remove the ribs, put down a sheet of aluminum foil then put a second grill grate - I use a cooling rack, on top of the foil, elevated either by the little v-shaped legs on the second rack or by about four balled up pieces of foil, then cook the ribs indirect until the very end, then remove the second rack and the foil and finish the ribs briefly directly on the grate.

I had rather cook ribs at a lower temperature than any of my gassers can sustain for a long period, but I've had some pretty good grilled ribs. Still, I think the combination of the heat retained in the cast iron grates and the proximity of the heat source to the meat is going to make it hard to keep the ribs from getting over charred.

Pat

 

[John Boehm]

Redemption. This time was much better. I turned the middle burner off, the big burner on low (275-300), flipped and basted every 15 min. Total time 2 hours. They obviously werent falling off the bone, but they tasted good.

 

[Barret]

Nice job, John! I've only cooked ribs on my OTS 22.5" kettle, but I've wondered how ribs would turn out on a gasser. If I'm at my house, my gasser is not used for ribs. But, if I ever do ribs at my Mom's house on her gasser - Weber Genesis Silver A LP 2000 - in lieu of hauling my kettle over there, I've got your post in mind, and will use it for direction! Thanks!

Barret