Gas Grill Ribs

Cooking Ribs, in this case Pork Baby Back Ribs, has a bunch of rules attached to it.  If you have ever searched for a Rib recipe you know what I mean.  I'll agree that Ribs are difficult to cook because they are full of connective tissue.  This requires a Low, and Slow technique to make the Ribs tender, but I've gotta say I've seen Low, and Slow taken too far.  Even I have taken Low, and Slow too far.  Well, what I am looking for here is good Ribs that don't take all night to cook.

 

In restaurants Time is Money, and they don't want to mess around with an inefficient cooking method.  It literally  could cost them money when they are trying to make money.  The idea of smoking Ribs for many, maybe even more than 10 hours seems pretty inefficient.  Now if you are going for competition Ribs, maybe.  What I want has to be a whole lot quicker.

That means the Gas Grill.  I'm going to take a store bought rack of Pork Baby Back Ribs, season them with a store bought Rub, then put them on my Baby Q, on low.  I want to mark both sides with some Chargriller Marks, and start bringing them up to temperature not so slowly.  We are really looking for a specific internal temperature, and not merely serenading them with smoke.

I'll grill the Ribs for maybe 20 to 25 minutes per side total, but I flip them over frequently to prevent burning the outside.  There is only Rub on the Ribs at this point.  You don't want to sauce them before the grill.  After the grilling is done I wrap the Ribs in foil, and put them into the oven at 325 F for an hour.

 This first attempt at this process has yielded good results.  The Ribs are fully cooked.  The meat comes away from the bone easily.  There are some of the bones sticking out of the Ribs.  However there are some dry parts of the exterior that are overcooked, dry, and sort of Jerky like.  Not bad though.  Next time I try this I am going to spend less time on the Gas Grill, and a little more time in the oven.  I want the Chargrilled flavor, but not the dry spots on the outside of the Ribs.  More time in the oven, perhaps at a lower temperature will help to breakdown the connective tissue a little more, and expose some more bones.  I'm adding a little sauce, in a cup, when I serve the Ribs.