First Beef Plate Rib Cook

[Reds Fan 5]

Attempting my first ever beef plate rib cook tomorrow. Two racks about 4.5 lbs each. OK Joe Bronco. BB briquettes, oak chunks. Will use rack and diffuser.

Welcome any advice my wise pit members may have. Particularly interested in rubs (planning Dalmatian), water pan or not, mop/spritz or not, hold or not and if so how long.

On a related note, last night Costco still had a few cryovac plate ribs for $6.99/lb. TheSt Louis ribs that were $1.99/lb last week are now $2.99. Still a good price for our area.

To quote Jacques Pepin, Happy cooking to everyone this weekend!

[Huskee]

I vote yes hold just like you would brisket, at least in my personal opinion. Dalmatian is always a good choice, but don't fall victim to thinking a good Big Bad Beef Rub or something with wider range than S&P is a bad thing. It's all good (again, IMO).

I'm unfamiliar with the ins & outs of the OKJB, does it cook hotter than standard temps, like the PBC does? I find those ribs take me minimum 7-8 hrs, often 10 if they're on the thicker side, including the hold. I wrap after the stall too. I have learned from a few 8:30 pm dinners to plan 10 hrs every cook.

[holehogg]

Second the BBBR.

[Reds Fan 5]

Huskee, thanks. In my limited OK Joe experience it will run easily at 250. I’m planning 8-10 hours. I love Big Bad Beef Rub. I know, though, how Dalmatian reacts on brisket so was trying to reduce variables for the first time. I cannot wait to do these.

[Redwng]

I have been using Meat Church Holy Cow and cook them like a brisket, we really like them off the smoker. These are from Wassi's butcher shop in Melbourne FL.

[PNWsmoke]

beautiful

[Panhead John]

I’m not an authority on the Bronco, but having used it for a year or so now, I’m not really seeing a need for a water pan with it. The juices dripping on the hot deflector plate will steam and create a moist environment without it. I’ve never used a water pan in mine. Also, any dried juices/crust on the deflector plate will easily scrape off with a putty knife the next day.

I think the whole spritzing/mopping thing is just mainly personal preference. I’ve spritzed a few times with just plain water, if my ribs or whatever, looks a little dry. I’ve only done Dino ribs once, so I’m not sure how long to hold ‘em..

[DaveD]

I know nothing about the OK Joe but agree on cooking them similarly to brisket (or chuck roast for that matter). Since it is your first, you might consider keeping it as simple as possible to establish your baseline, ie. stick with the Dalmatian plan, maybe skip any mopping/spritzing and so on. If the plates are nice and flat, there can be some pretty impressive pooling of juices on the surface, leading to a pronounced stall. Definitely agree with Huskee, I also always plan ten hours.

I've not wrapped very often (I'm still only about 15 months into this racket), but have been using a foil boat on several recent cooks, and have had excellent results. Nice compromise between wrapping and no.

Good luck, please post plenty of pics so we can follow along!

[rlozinak]

I used meat church holy cow. Cooked for 9.5 hours. No water pan, no wrap. I did wrap when done and held them for an hour or 2.

[RonB]

I like to cut each plate in half, (if ya got 4 bones each). That way you have more bark on each rib.

[texastweeter]

I use my own brisket rub with a hotsauce binder. Then 5 hours at 225° over red oak. Then I wrap in butcher paper and take until both membranes (there is one midway through the meat) are probe tender. Then a 3 hour rest in a cooler. My rub is heavy on black pepper and ancho with coffee coco celery, garlic, mustard, onion and a touch of demure sugar. I make the rub very coarse like steak rub.