Grilled Dry Rub Pork Baby Back Ribs

So I was looking for a method to keep the temperature under 300⁰ (150⁰C) in a barbeque kettle grill for a long period of time (4-6 hours) and not have to constantly refill kettle with charcoal. You can of course use a gas grill, where it is easier to control temperature, but I wanted to use a kettle grill using charcoal to cook the ribs. I saw a TV episode from America’s Test Kitchen making Smoked Chicken in which they used one-third lighted- to two-thirds unlit charcoal with a pan of water under the chicken with a relatively shorter cooking time. The pan of water helps supply humidity and helps to stabilize the temperature.

So this got me thinking on how to extend the cooking time to 4-6 hours and to adapt their method for pork baby back ribs. So I realized that a smaller number of lit coals could control the temperature of the grill and keep the temperature in my desired range of 250⁰F (120⁰C) to 300⁰F (150⁰C). Also using mostly unlit charcoal, which would slowly light over the extended cooking time, makes it possible to not have to constantly reload the charcoal during cooking. It took me two tries, but I found that for my grill, 8-12 lit coals placed into a crater in a semi-circular wall consisting of one charcoal chimney’s worth of unlit charcoal provides the temperature control and cooking time duration that I wanted. I also used two pans of water to help control the temperature; one pan opposite the unlit charcoal wall, and one pan over the lit coals on the grill grate opposite the pork baby back ribs. One chunk of smoking wood was placed in the crater over the lit coals and given the limited oxygen due to the dampers being mostly closed, the chunk lasts about 2 hours. When a new wood chunk needs to be placed over the lit charcoal, the water pan on the grill grate should also be refilled. The water pan opposite the charcoal will likely never need to be refilled.

A barbeque thermometer is a necessary tool to control the temperature of the barbeque kettle. I put the thermometer into the mostly closed upper damper on the lid. The bottom damper is used to control the temperature and may have to be closed completely after some of the coals in the charcoal wall become lit. If this happens, there should be enough oxygen coming in from where the lid meets the kettle, and the upper damper to keep the charcoal lit. If there are too many lit coals, the temperature can increase beyond the desired range, so it is important to control the temperature with the lower damper. You will have to experiment with your grill to maintain a stable and desired temperature.

So after a mostly technical explanation of the cooking method, how did the pork baby back ribs turn out after 4 hours of cooking? Well, I was very pleased with the results. The ribs had a nice smoky bark on the outside and the ribs themselves were slightly chewy, which is the way I like my ribs. After cutting the rack into individual ribs, I ate the ribs with a tangy sauce.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 rack	1 rack	Pork baby back ribs, about 4 lb. (2 kg.), uncut
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Ground cumin
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Ground coriander
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Ground fennel
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Ground black pepper
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Crushed red chili flakes
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Salt
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Ginger powder
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Coleman’s mustard powder or equivalent
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Granulated garlic
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Granulated onion
		Serve the cooked ribs with your favorite barbeque sauce

 

Equipment

		Smoking wood (oak, apple, or other wood)
		Charcoal chimney
2	2	Disposable aluminum trays
		Barbeque thermometer
22.5 in.	57 cm.	Covered charcoal grill (or larger)

 

Preparation Instructions

1. Remove the membrane from the back of the spareribs. Use your fingers or a small knife to poke under the membrane starting at the end with the largest rib bone and then pull the membrane the length of the spareribs towards the smaller bones. You usually have to do this in stages especially if the membrane doesn’t come off all at once and in one piece.
2. Prepare the dry rub by grinding any whole spices in a spice or coffee grinder: cumin, coriander, fennel, black pepper, chili flakes, and salt. Mix the ground ingredients with the other spices: ginger powder, Coleman’s mustard powder or equivalent, and granulated garlic and onion.
3. Spread and rub a generous amount of the dry rub on the rack of spareribs and place it into a covered container overnight in the refrigerator. Any excess dry rub can be stored in a sealed container. Take the dry rubbed spareribs from the refrigerator at least one hour before grilling. Soak any smoking wood for one hour before cooking, if desired. I do not soak the wood and use it dry.

Cooking Instructions

Charcoal Grill Setup

1. Prepare the grill for indirect cooking. Place one of the disposable aluminum trays into the bottom of the grill where the charcoal will be placed. The tray should take up no more than half the space and will later be filled with water. Fill the charcoal chimney with charcoal and then pour the unlit charcoal into the other half of the grill opposite the aluminum tray. Build a semi-circular wall of unlit charcoal with a crater in the middle (see the picture on the right). Lit charcoal and the smoking wood will be placed into the crater, so make sure the crater is deep enough so that the cooking grate can easily be placed on top. Fill the aluminum tray with water.
2. Light 10-12 pieces of charcoal in the charcoal chimney. When the charcoal is ready (about 10 minutes), pour the lit charcoal into the charcoal wall’s crater. Place one chunk of the smoking wood into the crater on top of the lit coals. Place the cooking grate onto the grill. Place the second aluminum tray, filled with water, on the coking grate over the lit coals.
3. Place the spareribs, bone side towards the charcoal, over the aluminum tray with water. Cover the grill and close the dampers half-way (both top and bottom). Use a barbeque thermometer to monitor the temperature and adjust the dampers to keep the temperature between 250⁰F (120⁰C) to 300⁰F (150⁰C) during the 4 hour cooking time. You may have to totally close the bottom damper to keep the temperature within the cooking range. Add another chunk of smoking wood and fill the second aluminum tray (the one over the lit coals) with water as needed (the first aluminum tray – next to the coals – will likely never need refilling). Since there will be limited oxygen due to the dampers being mostly closed, a single wood chunk should last about 2 hours.
4. At the end of the cooking time, take the rack of spareribs from the grill and allow to rest for at least 10 minutes before cutting into individual pieces. Serve with your favorite barbeque sauce.