Alright, the day has come! I convinced my wife to let me get a PBX about a month and a half ago, with the understanding that I could cook a dozen ribs for my FIL’s 70th birthday party. Said party is this Saturday and while I’ve got a few PBX cooks under my belt, I’m still within the learning curve (and haven’t had a rib cook that I was super satisfied with). So I thought I’d run my game plan by everyone for advice, comment, etc.
Like I said, I’m cooking up 12 St. Louis cut ribs. The plan is to eat at 4 pm. All the ribs are between 3.15 - 3.4 lbs (was the closest weight range I could get for that many). All were purchased at my local grocery store, so nothing fancy. My plan is to prep them Friday night, remove the membrane, salt, and possibly do some minimal trimming. Then, at 8 am on Saturday, I’ll fire up the PBX. I’m planning on putting 2 chimneys of unlit B&B briquettes with several pieces of hickory chunks in the charcoal bin and pour another 40 lit briquettes on top of that. Let that burn for about 15 minutes and then place the lid on the PBX. I’m hoping to keep the temps around 250 - 275, as measured by my Thermoworks Smoke by hanging the probe off the middle of the center bar and down ~6 inches. During this time, I’ll apply Meathead’s Memphis Rub to the ribs. At 9 a.m. I’ll hang the ribs (daisy chain). I’m going to try to keep the heavier ribs on air intake side of the PBX and the lighter ribs on the opposite, but no promises. I’ll let that cook until around 2 pm, then I’ll pull them, brush them with sauce (my own Lexington-Maple syrup sauce), and put them back on. Around 3 - 3:30 pm I’ll pull them off the PBX, cool slightly, slice, and serve around 4 pm. I know that’s about a 6 hr cook time, but I figure a larger cook like this will take longer than my normal 3 - 4 rack cook, and my family very much prefers ‘fall off the bone.’ I’m also at 6,000 ft, so I’ve learned that bbq takes longer in general. Plus, I’d rather them finish early and keep them warm, than late.
What says you PitMasters? Anything I should do differently or tweak? Like I said, I’m still learning the PBX, so any advice will be helpful.
Like I said, I’m cooking up 12 St. Louis cut ribs. The plan is to eat at 4 pm. All the ribs are between 3.15 - 3.4 lbs (was the closest weight range I could get for that many). All were purchased at my local grocery store, so nothing fancy. My plan is to prep them Friday night, remove the membrane, salt, and possibly do some minimal trimming. Then, at 8 am on Saturday, I’ll fire up the PBX. I’m planning on putting 2 chimneys of unlit B&B briquettes with several pieces of hickory chunks in the charcoal bin and pour another 40 lit briquettes on top of that. Let that burn for about 15 minutes and then place the lid on the PBX. I’m hoping to keep the temps around 250 - 275, as measured by my Thermoworks Smoke by hanging the probe off the middle of the center bar and down ~6 inches. During this time, I’ll apply Meathead’s Memphis Rub to the ribs. At 9 a.m. I’ll hang the ribs (daisy chain). I’m going to try to keep the heavier ribs on air intake side of the PBX and the lighter ribs on the opposite, but no promises. I’ll let that cook until around 2 pm, then I’ll pull them, brush them with sauce (my own Lexington-Maple syrup sauce), and put them back on. Around 3 - 3:30 pm I’ll pull them off the PBX, cool slightly, slice, and serve around 4 pm. I know that’s about a 6 hr cook time, but I figure a larger cook like this will take longer than my normal 3 - 4 rack cook, and my family very much prefers ‘fall off the bone.’ I’m also at 6,000 ft, so I’ve learned that bbq takes longer in general. Plus, I’d rather them finish early and keep them warm, than late.
What says you PitMasters? Anything I should do differently or tweak? Like I said, I’m still learning the PBX, so any advice will be helpful.
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