Andy Erickson
TVWBB Pro
Got a surprise afternoon off so decided to break in my brand new Ribolator for my Performer. Went to Sam's and picked up a three pack of babybacks. I usually do spare ribs, but didn't feel like cutting them down to St. Louis style today. This is my first time ever doing babybacks after hundreds of spare cooks.
Here they are:
I rubbed the all down with my own rub. (still trying to get mine right) It's black pepper, cayenne, garlic, onion and chili powder, paprika and turbinado sugar. I put the salt on separate.
I then setup my kettle for a minion start. I lit up 10 briquettes. I loaded up both charcoal trays trying to keep the charcoal against the sides to create a bigger indirect zone. I scattered apple wood chips on the bottom layers of charcoal and put a foil pouch of apple chips on top of the lit. I then put a water pan in between. I put the grate on just in case one of the ribs might flipover.
I then set up the ribolator. My initial impression is that you have to make sure everything is balanced correctly, but it is hard to try and get the trays on perfectly straight since the wingnuts are on only one side which then tilts the trays slightly. But that shouldn't be that big of a deal.
I then put the ribs on. I was going to do all three with a counterweight on the third tray, but I couldn't find anything I wanted to try on that tray and decided to just do two racks. I vacuum sealed the other rack for later.
Aiming for 250 lid temp. Will cook in smoke for about 3 hours, then 45 minutes in foil and then unfoiled until done. Will also spray with apple juice every time I crack the lid and sauce with Sweet Baby Rays at the end. Will keep this updated as I move along.
*Update 1*
After 3 hours with lid temps between 240 and 275, I cracked the lid for the first time. The ribs look great and evenly cooked with no hot spots noticed. I sprayed with apple juice and then put in foil and back on the ribolator.
I also noticed I was almost out of fuel and added some more unlit on top of what was left after shaking the baskets to knock the ash off.
*Update 2 Final*
After an hour in the foil they are back on and getting basted with a Sweet Baby Rays and Apple Vinegar sauce.
After about 20 minutes of being glazed up, they are off the grill and resting.
Here they are cut up into individual ribs.
And the end results:
Conclusion: This was a dream cook where everything went off without a hitch. The ribolator worked as advertised and these ribs were spot on. I loved the fact the ribs lay flat and there are no hot spots, whereas in my 18.5 WSM I had to cut ribs in half and put in a rib rack and it had hot spots on the outer edges outside the water pan.
First time doing Babybacks and I was amazed at how much meat was on the bone. They do cost more, but if you cut spares into St. Louis style you are cutting a lot of the meat off that you are paying for.
I have to say I was in mid-season form eating these ribs too. I remembered to keep my pinky clean so that I could still change the remote control without getting it dirty with BBQ sauce.
I would recommend this setup to anyone.
Here they are:
I rubbed the all down with my own rub. (still trying to get mine right) It's black pepper, cayenne, garlic, onion and chili powder, paprika and turbinado sugar. I put the salt on separate.
I then setup my kettle for a minion start. I lit up 10 briquettes. I loaded up both charcoal trays trying to keep the charcoal against the sides to create a bigger indirect zone. I scattered apple wood chips on the bottom layers of charcoal and put a foil pouch of apple chips on top of the lit. I then put a water pan in between. I put the grate on just in case one of the ribs might flipover.
I then set up the ribolator. My initial impression is that you have to make sure everything is balanced correctly, but it is hard to try and get the trays on perfectly straight since the wingnuts are on only one side which then tilts the trays slightly. But that shouldn't be that big of a deal.
I then put the ribs on. I was going to do all three with a counterweight on the third tray, but I couldn't find anything I wanted to try on that tray and decided to just do two racks. I vacuum sealed the other rack for later.
Aiming for 250 lid temp. Will cook in smoke for about 3 hours, then 45 minutes in foil and then unfoiled until done. Will also spray with apple juice every time I crack the lid and sauce with Sweet Baby Rays at the end. Will keep this updated as I move along.
*Update 1*
After 3 hours with lid temps between 240 and 275, I cracked the lid for the first time. The ribs look great and evenly cooked with no hot spots noticed. I sprayed with apple juice and then put in foil and back on the ribolator.
I also noticed I was almost out of fuel and added some more unlit on top of what was left after shaking the baskets to knock the ash off.
*Update 2 Final*
After an hour in the foil they are back on and getting basted with a Sweet Baby Rays and Apple Vinegar sauce.
After about 20 minutes of being glazed up, they are off the grill and resting.
Here they are cut up into individual ribs.
And the end results:
Conclusion: This was a dream cook where everything went off without a hitch. The ribolator worked as advertised and these ribs were spot on. I loved the fact the ribs lay flat and there are no hot spots, whereas in my 18.5 WSM I had to cut ribs in half and put in a rib rack and it had hot spots on the outer edges outside the water pan.
First time doing Babybacks and I was amazed at how much meat was on the bone. They do cost more, but if you cut spares into St. Louis style you are cutting a lot of the meat off that you are paying for.
I have to say I was in mid-season form eating these ribs too. I remembered to keep my pinky clean so that I could still change the remote control without getting it dirty with BBQ sauce.
I would recommend this setup to anyone.
