Cole Cooks: Big Green Egg Baby Back Ribs
The Big Green Egg is perfect for cooking ribs. This is our method for Big Green Egg Baby Back Ribs.
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There is always a great deal of controversy over cooking ribs. Competition ribs are different from what most home cooks will prepare. Our Big Green Egg Baby Back Ribs are not competition ready, however they modify some popular recipes to make them a little more competitive in the eyes of a rib snob.
One of my favorite sources of information on grilling and smoking is Meathead at Amazing Ribs. He talks about how to tell when ribs are done and notes that “properly cooked ribs will not not not fall off the bone!” According to Meathead, ribs that fall off the bone have been boiled or steamed.
Many Big Green Egg rib recipes call for a 3-2-1 method. This is where you smoke the ribs for 3 hours, wrap them in aluminum foil with a liquid and cook for another 2 hours. At this point you cook the ribs directly on the grill for another hour.
The problem with this popular method is that it can lead to boiled/steamed ribs while they cook in the liquid for 2 hours. The ribs will taste good to most people, but professional rib chefs will frown on them.
Another one of my favorite BBQ experts is Steve Raichlen. We own four of his cookbooks, our favorites of which are The Barbecue Bible and BBQ USA (my all-time favorite).
Raichlen talks about the 3-2-1 method. He describes it as producing a solid rib but it has a big issue.
According to Raichlen:
“They suffered from a transgression I have consistently condemned in all my books: boiling. For when you wrap and cook ribs in foil, you are, in effect, boiling them in their own juices.
These were easy ribs. Safe ribs. These were ribs almost anyone could love on account of their moistness and tenderness.
But they weren’t hall of fame ribs—ribs with character, with soul—ribs that test a smoke master’s mettle”
Raichlen suggests an alternative method, the 3-1-1 method. This is where the ribs are only wrapped in foil for 1-hour instead of 2. This is the method I use for my Big Green Egg Baby Back Ribs.
After the ribs smoke for 3 hours on the Big Green Egg they are wrapped in the foil and placed back on for an hour. There are many choices of liquid including apple juice, whiskey, or beer. Personally, I like to use our North Carolina BBQ vinegar sauce with some butter. Only a small amount of liquid is added.
The final hour of cooking on the grill is where you decide whether you want a dry rib or a rib with sauce. Purists like dry ribs, most people like sauce. I do half with sauce and half with no sauce.
I add the sauce in the last half hour. Any BBQ sauce can be used but we are partial to the San Diego local sauce from Phil’s BBQ. If you choose not to sauce you can always serve sauce on the side.
You definitely want to add a dry rub to the ribs. I have my own rub, but the possibilities are limitless. Feel free to experiment. This is where each cook can make their own unique flavor.
The most critical part of cooking Big Green Egg Baby Back Ribs or other slow and low recipes is the first half hour before the meat goes on. The Big Green Egg needs to be heated to the proper temperature and then set so it stays at this temperature. Once it is set at the proper temperature it does an excellent job at holding that temperature using the bottom vent and the daisy wheel.
The main challenge is to make sure and keep the temperature of the Big Green Egg in the 225 to 275 range. We have an overview of the Big Green Egg, but the most important point is to shut down the vents quickly as the temperature can rapidly rise to 300 degrees or more.
Go here for general Big Green Egg tips
Personally, I close the vent and daisy wheel to about a quarter inch or less when the temperature starts to hit 200 degrees. It takes a little practice, but now it comes second nature. At first the biggest problem I had was the temperature would soar from 200 to 300+ degrees in seconds. At that point it is hard to bring the temperature down. Once the temperature hits the proper range you only need the vent and daisy wheel open a small crack for it to maintain temperature.
In terms of the ribs being done you are looking for the meat to reach a temperature between 190 and 200 degrees. Our Thermapen seems to work well for checking the temperature. However, most rib masters use the simple toothpick test or bend test.
The bend test is simply picking up a slab with tongs. The slab should start to bow in the middle if they are ready. With the toothpaste test you put a toothpick in various portions of the meat. The toothpick should go in with almost no resistance. Meathead has a full description of ways to test for rib doneness.
We call this Big Green Egg Baby Back Ribs. However, this method should work on most any type of rib.
Big Green Egg Baby Back Ribs
Ingredients
- 1 rack of ribs for every 2 people
- ¼ cup apple cider beer or whiskey per rack of ribs
- butter
Rub
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a bowl combine rub ingredients. Coat ribs with rub on both sides.
- Heat Big Green Egg to 225-275 degrees and soak wood chips in water for half an hour
- Add wood chips to Big Green Egg, close lid and wait for smoke to appear (about 10 to 20 minutes). Place convEGGtor insert plate in grill. Place drip pan on convEGGtor, place grill above drip pan and place ribs meat side up directly on grill or in a rib rack on grill.
- Cook at 250 degrees for 3 hours. Place each rib rack meat side down on a separate piece of aluminum foil. Top ribs with a tablespoon butter per rack and pour liquid (apple cider, whiskey or beer) on top of ribs and seal tightly. Cook for an additional hour.
- Remove ribs from foil. Place back directly on grill meat side up and cook for 1 hour. If desired coat ribs with BBQ sauce or more rub after half an hour. The meat should reach a temperature between 190 and 200 degrees. To see if ribs are done you can use the bend test (pick up ribs with tongs and they should bend easily in the middle) or the toothpick test (place a toothpick between the bones and it should penetrate easily)
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