Smoked Pork Ribs On the Big Green Egg
It is not easy to cook meat on a Big Green Egg as you need to make sure that it stays tender, however, there is no need to worry as we have smoked pork ribs on the Big Green Egg recipe here.
Big Green Egg grills are known for the powerful heat that they produce. Even the indirect heat coming from it is effective for indirect cooking.
They can make the best-seared steaks with the high temperature and evenly distributed heat inside the chamber.
The grills can also be very versatile in that they can cook any of your favorite recipes.
The versatility comes from the accurate temperature control that you get with the bottom and top vents in it.
That means that you can also smoke meat with a large BGE as a gift for father’s day as well as other occasions.
This is a cooking method where you get to use the low and slow cooking process to avoid drying out your meat.
This is very important, especially with ribs as they can easily dry up.
A bone inside them helps, but that is not enough to make the ribs juicy throughout the cooking process.
So with this guide, I will try to help you make sure that the ribs you have will have the most amazing crust while also staying juicy despite the long cooking time in the Big Green Egg.
Smoked Pork Ribs Recipe on BIG GREEN EGG
Ingredients
- 1 rack of spare or baby back ribs for every 2 persons you are going to feed. (it is best to get the best ribs from your local butcher)
- 1/4 cup of apple cider
- Half cup of butter
For The Dry Rub
- 3 tablespoons of brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons of garlic powder (onion powder is optional)
- 1 tablespoon of kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon of cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon of cumin
- 1 tablespoon of chili powder for a little kick
- 1 tablespoon of freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon of dry mustard
Step 1: Prepare The Rack Of Ribs
The first step is to leave the ribs in the refrigerator overnight to make sure that they defrost properly.
This will help you get the seasonings and flavors into the meat easier to get the best taste. You can also use olive oil or yellow mustard to let the dry rub stick better to the meat.
Once ready, bring the ribs out of the refrigerator and then rinse ribs with cold water.
Pat them dry with paper towels to remove the excess moisture and make sure the spices stick to them.
Get a knife and a paper towel and start trimming the excess fat off the rib rack. Most of the fats will be on the backside of the ribs or the underside of the ribs.
Make sure to leave at least 1/4 of an inch thick of fat on the meat to help it achieve a juicier and much more tender finish. The thickness of the ribs will also determine the cooking time.
Remove the silver skin on the bone side of the ribs using the knife and the paper towel. This is a kind of connective tissue or membrane that separates the meat from the organs of the animal.
Grab the outer membrane with the paper towel so it does not slip and start carefully cutting it away with the knife.
Step 2: Season The Ribs
Mix all the ingredients for the rub in a bowl and then make sure that the spices combine evenly.
Use a generous amount of rub to season the ribs and make sure that you get it on all sides of the ribs.
Use your hands to massage the rub into the meat. You can also use your own rub or your favorite bbq rubs.
This will help the rub get deeper into the ribs and make sure that the flavors do not just stay on the surface of the crust of the ribs.
Step 3: Prepare The Big Green Egg
Set up the Big Green Egg in a place where you can freely move around.
Fill the firebox with lump charcoals, get as many as you can as the cooking process will take a long time.
Soak some wood chips in water for 30 minutes before putting them in the firebox.
Light up the firebox and let it preheat at225 degrees Fahrenheit for at least 15 minutes with the Egg lid closed.
Once the charcoals light up, remove the wood chips from the water and pat them dry.
Place some on top of the hot coals and close the lid once again to allow the smoke to develop inside and create great results in terms of smoke flavor.
Install the convEGGtor insert plate in the grill and then place a drip pan right on top of the plate.
Put the grill grates on and then let it preheat until it reaches the required temperature.
Step 4: Cook The PORK Ribs on BIG GREEN EGG
This is the initial cooking where you will need to develop the flavors in the seasoning and let them sink deeper.
Later on, you will cook the ribs once more to develop the crust outside.
Place the ribs straight onto the grill grates meat side up.
You can allow the temperature to go up, but do not let the temperature go over 250 degrees Fahrenheit or it will burn the ribs.
The Cook time for the ribs is 3 hours without opening the lid frequently.
This will help the heat become more evenly distributed and cook the ribs inside from all sides of the grill to let the heat enter the meat.
Step 5: Cooking For A Second Time
After 3 hours, get each rib and then wrap them in aluminum foil. Start grill once again with the same designated temperature.
Before sealing or closing the aluminum foil, put one tablespoon of butter in each foil and brush the apple cider on the ribs. You can also use your favorite BBQ sauce here.
Seal the heavy-duty aluminum or tin foil and then place the ribs back on the grill.
This will take another hour, so make sure that you have enough fuel for the duration of the cooking process.
After an hour, remove the ribs from the aluminum foil and then place them right back on the grill.
Make sure that the meat faces up and let the ribs grill with the lid closed for another hour.
Step 6: Rest And Serve
Get a meat probe or an instant-read thermometer and insert it into the thickest part of the ribs.
Once the internal temperature reads between 190 degrees and 200 degrees Fahrenheit, remove the ribs from the grill.
Once they do, remove the ribs from the grill and then let them rest on a cutting board at room temperature for at least 20 minutes.
This will allow the juices to return slowly into the meat and make more tender ribs. Do the bend test to see if the ribs are cooked, hold the other end of the ribs and see if the meat starts to fall off the bone and bend.
How Long Do You Smoke PORK Ribs On A Big Green Egg?
You need to take certain steps to cook the ribs properly in a Big Green Egg.
First off, you are using the slow and low cooking method, so it will take long.
You need to make sure that the heat does not fluctuate as well.
Make sure that the lower vent and daisy wheel top vents are not constantly moved while cooking so that you can keep a consistent temperature in the grill.
Use wood chips on top of the charcoal once heated to produce smoke as charcoal does not produce smoke.
It is your choice whether you soak the wood chips or not.
Use the accessories that Big Green Egg provides to enhance both the heat that cooks the meat and the smoke.
An example of that is the convEGGtor insert plate.
Smoking ribs in the Big Green Egg means that you will only use the lower temperatures that the grill can produce.
This process takes longer than most, so be patient with the process.
Do not frequently open the lid when smoking the ribs as it will mess up the temperature inside.
It will only make the cooking process longer, so ensure that you do not disturb it unless necessary.
How Long Do I Smoke PORK Ribs At 225?
The average time for smoking ribs at 225 degrees Fahrenheit is around 5 hours.
This is because there are three different cooking processes involved when smoking it.
The first three hours are where you develop the heat inside the ribs and the crust or the outer part.
This is the longest of the three as it needs the heat to get into the middle of the ribs.
The next one is where you put the ribs in aluminum foil along with the liquid ingredients to create a juicy and tender finish. This will take about an hour to finish.
The last step is where you remove the ribs from the aluminum foil and discharge the liquid ingredients to make the crust crispy.
This will wake another hour to develop a nice charred crust.
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