# Today's Ribs in the Weber 22"



## wade (Jun 21, 2014)

Following on from the recent discussions about the basics of cooking ribs I have included a quick Q-view of today's cook. Today I cooked 3 racks as it was only myself and my wife home. We ate one rack tonight between us and will freeze the other two for later in the week.

Firstly the most important thing is the ribs themselves. Ask your butcher to cut them fresh for you and make sure that they leave at least 5-10mm of meat covering the rib bones. You will always see the rib bones from the inside however if you can also see them from the outside (with most supermarket ribs you can see bone both sides) reject them. What you should be looking for is something like this.













Ribs 1.jpg



__ wade
__ Jun 21, 2014






After you have removed the membrane (see previous posts), by bending the ribs find the point where the bones meet the cartilage and cut along the join using a sharp knife.













Ribs 2.jpg



__ wade
__ Jun 21, 2014


















Ribs 3.jpg



__ wade
__ Jun 21, 2014






Retain the meat that you have cut off and continue to cook these off-cuts in the same way as you cook the main ribs.

Rub both sides of the ribs liberally with your favourite rub. and either cover in clingfilm or vacuum pack. Place in the fridge overnight.













Ribs 4.jpg



__ wade
__ Jun 21, 2014






As I was only doing 3 racks this weekend I use the 22" Weber and to take the strain out of managing the temperature I connected up my IQ-110. Ideally you should be cooking the ribs at 225F (~110 C) however when you are first beginning, trying to maintain such a low temperature consistently can be a bit daunting. For beginners I usually suggest cooking at ~300F (150C) until they feel comfortable with their smokers as this is often easier to maintain. Today I cooked at 225F/110C













IQ110.jpg



__ wade
__ Jun 21, 2014






A quick aside... After seeing online reviews of the IQ-110 a couple of years ago I picked up a couple of units whilst I was passing through St Louis and brought them home. They are like little BBQ pixies. Once you set them going  you can just forget about the smoker temperature as they do all the hard work for you. Today the Weber kept within a range of 220F-227F and I had to do nothing to manage the temperature for the whole of the 6 hours cooking time.













Ribs 5.jpg



__ wade
__ Jun 21, 2014






Notice the 3 racks of ribs and the trimmings are all in the rib rack.

After 3 hours initial cooking, wrap the ribs in foil and continue to cook for a further 2 hours













Ribs6.jpg



__ wade
__ Jun 21, 2014






The IQ-110 is also a real fuel miser. Notice that of the 1/2 chimney of Heat Beads I started with, barely 1/3 of them have actually lit after 3 hours.

After 2 hours in foil, uncover and cook for a further 1 hour.













Ribs 7.jpg



__ wade
__ Jun 21, 2014






When they are cut the there should be sufficient meat on a pair of the larger ribs to make a reasonable serving. I must confess that I can usually eat a lot more 
	

	
	
		
		



		
			


















Ribs 8.jpg



__ wade
__ Jun 21, 2014






Don't forget the off-cuts. While the meat is still hot pull the meat away from the cartilage for use later. If you wait until the meat goes cold it will be more difficult to remove. This can be cut into cubes and then used in other dishes - like BBQ beans.













Ribs 9.jpg



__ wade
__ Jun 21, 2014


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## kc5tpy (Jun 22, 2014)

Hello Wade.  Great post and good lookin ribs.  Had not seen that controller.  Did some research, nice idea.  Would be great on a day like yesterday.  I spent most of the day outside tinkering with the new caravan.  Would have been nice to have the set it and forget option so I'd have had some nice smoked meat for tea.  Hard to find here though.  The guy from that bbq society sells them but of course is out of stock.  I also saw he sells those heat beads for £42!!!!  Thanks for posting.  Keep Smokin!

Danny


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## baz senior (Jun 22, 2014)

Great post Wade. The rib's look awesome.
Those BBQ controllers really take the stress out of the cook, and you can actually relax and enjoy the day.

That said, mines broke, Iam going to see if I can couple a Maverick grate temp probe to it, as the last one rated to 150c, didn't do what it said on the tin.


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## wade (Jun 22, 2014)

It looks as if you can buy them direct. The IQ-110 will cost $191 (£120) including shipping to the UK. They have brought out a newer digital version now - IQ-120 - and this will cost $251 (£157). I picked up 3 x 110s directly from the workshop while I was there and I spent a couple of hours chatting with John Kennington. He is a fascinating guy and is absolutely passionate about BBQ. If you are interested in how it works there are some great videos on Youtube





There are a number of products on the market that will do a similar job. I have not tested any others however I can vouch that the IQ-110 does do a good job.


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## baz senior (Jun 22, 2014)

Thanks Wade. I have managed to get mine going again, but not with the Maverick probe, it must be a different type. It looks like my controller like ptc ones.
Back in business....Happy.


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## darwin101 (Jun 22, 2014)

Nicely done sir, makes me hungry.


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