Smoked Ribs on a Recycled Weber

I love ribs and barbecue.
But sometimes i just don't feel like tending the firebox and use propane to make my ribs.
to do this i hunted down an old but still having life in it weber - no plastic on this baby!
i bought some new parts and cleaned it up nice. then spent a while figuring out how to reliably get tasty ribs out of it.
here is the results of a summer of experimentation.

three rack pack from the food club store -- BJ's. SAMS, etc.
the price is much better than at the grocers.
I wish there was a butcher around here.

NOTE::: READE STEP ENTIRELY BEFORE BEGINNING.

its tastier if you blend up fresh but since we are being lazy and using gas the same holds for the seasoning.

paprika, ground cumin, parsley.
onion and garlic powders.
Montreal steak seasoning - It has a nice blend of things including course ground salt and black pepper, dehydrated onion and garlic, plus a handful of other spices that go together well.

if possible, use your sink as seasoning station, it makes the cleanup simple.
scrub out the sink like you would any other pot/pan or plate.

unwrap the ribs, trim away the chunks of fat on the edges.
rinse them to get the liquid from the cryo-pak process off of them
pat them dry with paper towels and put aside on a cookie sheet or other tray/pan/plate.

Wash your hands and the sink.
using clean dry hands open your seasonings.
use inside out sandwich bags as gloves (or single use food prep gloves)

lay out the racks, bone side UP in your sink/seasoning tray.

remove one glove and using that clean hand apply seasoning.
sprinkle evenly and lightly from 12-16 inches up -
each of your selected blend. the bone side wont hold as much seasoning so we go quite lightly here.
using a gloved hand RUB or PRESS in the seasonings.
finish with a light misting of canola, peanut or olive oil.

turn over the ribs and season the meat side as seen below.
again sprinkle evenly from 12-16 inches above.
each of your selected blend.
again, using a gloved hand RUB or PRESS in the seasonings.
finish with a light misting of oil.

return your ribs to the cookie sheet for transport to the grill.....

at this point you can wrap and let rest for up to .5 - 24 hours in the fridge.
you should let them reach room temperature (68F) before cooking.
so lightly cover in plastic to keep any dust or bugs off as you proceed to prepare the grill.

place chunks of your favorite wood off to one side of the grill.
you will set the gas on low enough to ignite and cause the wood to smolder and smoke.
you need to have room to place your ribs away from the direct smoke as too much can cause it to be bitter.
set the gas to a low setting and put a reliable thermometer in for monitoring the temps.
you want to maintain about 250-300 for smoking.

when you have a grill temp of between 250-300F open the top .
add more wood chunks if necessary and quickly lay out the ribs.
bone side down. and CLOSE THE LID
let the magic smoke caress your ribs.

once the top goes down -- NO PEEKING!!!

ok. you can peek once or twice every 20-30 minutes or so.
but keep in mind this will drastically extend your cooking time.

while you are waiting - open a beer or drink some wine.
only 1 per hour remember.

then assemble your glazing sauce.

the idea is to complement the ribs not cover their natural smoked pork goodness.

combine sauces that give your a tasty sweet/sour/spicy blend.
I like to couple a rich sauce with some chipotle tobasco and another sweet sauce.

mix in a seperate basting bowl.
anything added to this bowl goes on the ribs or down the drain.
NEVER RETURN ANY SAUCE TO A JAR.

the basting brush can transfer bacteria from the meat to the bowl.
care should be taken NOT to transfer from the bowl to the jar.

after about two hours your ribs should be near done.
open the grill and if they look like this and easily bend or fold you are there.

start glazing. (see also cooking corn and side dishes)

turn the ribs meat down and brush a thin coating of sauce across the bones.
close the lid and give them 10 minutes to settle in.

open back up, turn ribs over, and glaze the meat side.
close the lid and give them another 10 minutes to settle in.

repeat this process two more times (1 hr) gently adding coats of sauce to your ribs.
the result will be a candy like sticky coating that is finger licking good!

i like to cut each rack into 3-4 rib pieces and stack them on a serving platter.
this makes them spread around better so that everyone gets some and no one feels short changed
hold the ribs edgewise on your cutting board and press a knife down sliding past one bone.
go by eye to make each chunk even. three ribs when the meat is thick, four when its not.
each rack tends to have about 12-14 ribs.

if you are just doing dinner plates and ribs is the main course, cut them in halves and give each person a half rack.

grab an ear of corn or potato (both starches.)
add in a spoon or beans or slaw or perhapse some grilled veggies.