In my welcome post, I mentioned I was just learning to BBQ on my Weber kettle and was going to make ribs next to try and learn how to do longer roasts. I tried following the Last Meal Ribs recipe. It turned out pretty well, but there were some issues. What better way to figure out how to do it better next time than to post what I did and let all the pros tell me what I did wrong? Here we go!

Here is my initial setup, although boo to the dumb photographer who had the important stuff in the shade with a bright background. I had briquettes snaked all the way around except for where the water pan was and some room for the stuff in the chimney. I had about 12-15 briquettes in the chimney. And I know the recipe says 8 oz of wood, but I just guessed three chunks of apple wood.

The ribs, St. Louis cut, about 3 lbs.

I mixed up some Memphis Dust for the rub. I spread some canola oil on the ribs before the rub instead of vegetable oil like in the recipe because my son is allergic to soy and every vegetable oil I see is 100% soybean oil.

And here is the grill with the started charcoal. This is where the problems started because I don't think I got the briquettes fired up enough, although my main problem was probably not putting enough in the chimney.

Here are the ribs on the grill. When I put the lid on, it never got above 200° even with the vents fully open. Eventually I added some more charcoal, but nothing appeared to be lit enough to start them up. So I added a starter cube and some more charcoal and then lit the cube, and things really picked up. To the point where I needed to close the bottom vents all the way to get it to stay below 300°. By the time the ribs had been on the grill a couple of hours it cooled down below 250°, and it stayed between 230° and 250° with minor adjustments the rest of the way.
Not entirely for sure what to do differently next time. I don't know if I just needed to leave the starter charcoal in the chimney longer to make sure it all gets well lit, or if I need to make sure to add more charcoal to the chimney. Probably the latter.

After a little over 5 hours, the bend test. I had never done this before, but I think this was ok.

Putting on some BBQ sauce and putting the ribs over some direct heat to let it carmelize a bit. I used some Lexington Dip I made.

The finished product, all ready to cut up.

Boo blurry photo, but it does look like there is a bit of a smoke ring there.
Despite amateur hour getting the grill to the right temperature, the ribs came out very tender and tasty. Not quite fall off the bone tender, but it easily pulled off the bone when I took a bite. I thought it was delicious and couldn't eat them fast enough. My son (1 1/2 years old) ate it right up, but my daughter (4) refused to eat any of the "skin". I think it was more the texture than anything else, she's not a particularly adventurous eater. Only downside was that my wife was unimpressed - next time I plan ribs I have to make sure it's not following a week where she is in Kansas City on business and having BBQ every night with coworkers.
That's all for this installment of point and laugh at the n00b, I hope you all enjoyed. Look for the next installment in a couple of weeks when I try to make Perfect Pulled Pork.
Here is my initial setup, although boo to the dumb photographer who had the important stuff in the shade with a bright background. I had briquettes snaked all the way around except for where the water pan was and some room for the stuff in the chimney. I had about 12-15 briquettes in the chimney. And I know the recipe says 8 oz of wood, but I just guessed three chunks of apple wood.
The ribs, St. Louis cut, about 3 lbs.
I mixed up some Memphis Dust for the rub. I spread some canola oil on the ribs before the rub instead of vegetable oil like in the recipe because my son is allergic to soy and every vegetable oil I see is 100% soybean oil.
And here is the grill with the started charcoal. This is where the problems started because I don't think I got the briquettes fired up enough, although my main problem was probably not putting enough in the chimney.
Here are the ribs on the grill. When I put the lid on, it never got above 200° even with the vents fully open. Eventually I added some more charcoal, but nothing appeared to be lit enough to start them up. So I added a starter cube and some more charcoal and then lit the cube, and things really picked up. To the point where I needed to close the bottom vents all the way to get it to stay below 300°. By the time the ribs had been on the grill a couple of hours it cooled down below 250°, and it stayed between 230° and 250° with minor adjustments the rest of the way.
Not entirely for sure what to do differently next time. I don't know if I just needed to leave the starter charcoal in the chimney longer to make sure it all gets well lit, or if I need to make sure to add more charcoal to the chimney. Probably the latter.
After a little over 5 hours, the bend test. I had never done this before, but I think this was ok.
Putting on some BBQ sauce and putting the ribs over some direct heat to let it carmelize a bit. I used some Lexington Dip I made.
The finished product, all ready to cut up.
Boo blurry photo, but it does look like there is a bit of a smoke ring there.
Despite amateur hour getting the grill to the right temperature, the ribs came out very tender and tasty. Not quite fall off the bone tender, but it easily pulled off the bone when I took a bite. I thought it was delicious and couldn't eat them fast enough. My son (1 1/2 years old) ate it right up, but my daughter (4) refused to eat any of the "skin". I think it was more the texture than anything else, she's not a particularly adventurous eater. Only downside was that my wife was unimpressed - next time I plan ribs I have to make sure it's not following a week where she is in Kansas City on business and having BBQ every night with coworkers.
That's all for this installment of point and laugh at the n00b, I hope you all enjoyed. Look for the next installment in a couple of weeks when I try to make Perfect Pulled Pork.
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