Big baby backs

[jleinaweaver]

Looking for some advice for my rib cook tomorrow. I'm set up with a 22" Weber, a SnS and what I thought was a single, beautiful rack of baby back ribs (3.2 lbs).

After skimming the forum for old posts re cooking a larger rack I'm now a little apprehensive about how to approach this. Sounds like the extra loin meat on my ribs will likely dry out, dramatically extend the cooking time and make it harder to tell when the ribs are done using the bend test.

I'd be curious to hear from others who have successfully tackled extra meaty ribs.
- Stick with the last meal ribs recipe and just give it extra time?
- crutch for 30 or so minutes?
- Trim the loin meat before cooking?

Thanks all!

[Spinaker]

I would stick with the recipe and give it more time. Always give yourself ample time. Nothing can ruin a cook like feeling like your under the gun.

If you are really tight on time wrap them up and then when they are about done, firm them up on the grill, with direct heat, before serving. The foil will cause the bark to soften up. It can also make the meat mushy if left in the foil too long. Hitting them with some direct heat should solve this problem.

[Steve R.]

I have found this to be the best approach. People still like to eat them when I cook them, so I can deal with the extra cook time.

[Pirate Scott]

The Baby Backs I have been doing have been pretty big, I use last Ribs recipe and MMD and have not had any issues with drying out. The last couple 4 Rack cooks I have done I wrapped and put in a cooler to keep warm while doing sides etc....

[Mosca]

I'd say don't bother crutching, and add an hour to how long you thought it was going to take. That's how I've been doing big racks of baby backs with the same setup. Also, my target temp is 250, but anything from 225 to 275 is fine. Don't stress it, because the ribs aren't stressing it either.

[Mosca]

The Baby Backs I have been doing have been pretty big, I use last Ribs recipe and MMD and have not had any issues with drying out. The last couple 4 Rack cooks I have done I wrapped and put in a cooler to keep warm while doing sides etc....

Yeah, that doesn't hurt! I cambro'd the racks I did earlier this week and they came out great.

[jleinaweaver]

Thanks everybody!

​​​Gave myself extra time, skipped the crutch and averaged right around 250 for just under 6 hours. Turned out delicious!

[Jerod Broussard]

First thing would be to call them what they are, "Back Ribs." Leave the "baby" at the nursery.

Rare to find anything under 3 pounds here.

For me some 2.5 pound SLC's are a treat.