Low and Slow BBQ Ribs

Amazing pork side ribs cooked over low heat to perfection. There’s a simple rub on them to add some zing and some extra kick.  These ribs are so amazing I might have to make them again tomorrow. Or right now!

Come to Mama!

These things were so good I may have shoved more than necessary in my piehole. I swear that’s the problem with being a good cook. I realize lots of people think being a good cook is a blessing. But it’s a curse to your waistline some days. I could not stop eating these things. At one point I was eating off of two plates. It was rib euphoria. A rib trance, completely out of my control. I finally came to when I got yelled at for shoving one of my hooligans out-of-the-way for the piece with the best char. What’s a Mama to do? Some meat is worth a small shove or two. 

This one is tricky to execute on a gas grill. I tend to love gas simply because of how easy it is. I have hooligans (the one I refer to shoving earlier keeps me on my toes and hopping busy) and they can run me ragged some day. There are days I don’t have time to prep charcoal so I opt for gas. I have a propane grill, although I covet a Natural Gas Bad Boy in a big bad way. Anyhow, I digress. The problem with gas grills is it can be hard to hit and keep the right temperature. So many variables can affect your temperature. But the biggest hurdle is the temperature gauges on a lot of gas grills are just plain wrong. If you can find a thermometer you can mount that on the surface you are cooking on. The method I used for these has one side of the grill turned off, so I cook the ribs over indirect heat, over a pan of water. Then I move them later to the side with direct heat. Here’s the issue, the gauge on the grill is way up high in the middle of my grill. Okay, so that won’t help me gauge the temperature on the side I’m cooking on. That’s giving me the temperature where I am not cooking. So I recommend using a good quality digital oven thermometer and place it on the side where your meat is. This will ensure you’re at the right temperature. Also knowing your grill is of the utmost important. Get up close and personal with it. Knowing your grill is key to a good cook-out.

Another issue with my gas grill is putting the pan of water in it. Mine is set up so there are covers over the burners, mine is a 4 burner, not that matters other than I figure some of you may be curious. So I have to lift the grate, remove 2 of the covers, then set the pan of water right on the burners. This isn’t a huge deal since those burners are off, it’s just a bit of a pain in my rump to have to pull my grill apart to get the water under the cooking surface. It’s doable, just a bit of an annoyance. So knowing your grill at a time like this is crucial. If I didn’t know my grill I might think I couldn’t use a pan of water under my cooking surface. I would take a look at my grill and think it wouldn’t fit. But knowing I can remove those covers, or flaps if you will, is the key to my success for this recipe. It needs that water bath under the cooking surface.

So today’s lessons are:

Get to know your grill!

Buy a good quality oven thermometer!

Water baths under ribs are a good thing!

And occasionally I shove my family out-of-the-way for great BBQ ribs!

All in a days work here at the Beaulieu Compound.

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Grill Tip:

Spend some time getting to know your grill. Play with your food, it’s important to learn how your grill cooks. Just like with any oven it’s going to have hot spots. Mine is at the back of my grill. I always put my thicker cuts towards the back. You can conduct an experiment and move a thermometer around the grill surface to see how each section heats up. It’s all about getting up close and personal with your grill. But safely peeps, not burnt eyebrows please. Safety first!

Hope you enjoyed today’s tip!

So on those busy, crazy days where you need to grab for store-bought BBQ Sauce, what’s your poison?

My daughter is a tried and true bullseye fan. She loves the original, which is practically impossible to find here. Me I tend to be fickle and love trying new brands. We literally have at least a dozen to two dozen on hand at any one given time. It’s madness I know. But we’re huge sauce lovers here. So much so that on Tuesday we’re taking a road trip to St Jacobs Ontario to hit the sauce and olive oil bar they have in the old mill. It’s the coolest place in the world. It’s set up like a bar, literally. You shimmy up and they serve you samples of various sauces and olives oils. We spend at least an hour or two trying new stuff. We usually end up dropping a mortgage payment on new sauces and oils to try out. We figure we only go once a year so we tend to go a little wild. My daughter and myself do it as an annual girls trip. Sadly this may be our last year going since next year she’ll be in basic training for the military reserves.

It’s a good drive, about 3 and a half hours but we love going. They have amazing farmers markets, flea markets, restaurants and shops. It’s a small Mennonite community that is just the coolest place to visit. Family tradition for us. Hopefully not our last visit.

You want to get up close and personal with your ribs. Rub them really well!

A good rub makes for great flavour! Take your time!

If you can let the rub sit on them all night long all the better. Overnight always a good thing!

Whether you smoke or don’t smoke, rub or don’t rub, sauce or don’t sauce, ribs will make any one happy. A great plate of ribs is the key to a happy summer.

If you like rubs make sure you tune in for this, coming soon:

Thank you for spending some time with me today!

Hope you get a chance to fire up your grill and try these ribs. There’s so many ways to cook ribs. If you have time smoke them. But if you don’t have time you can still have awesome ribs without the smoke. Trust me and the hooligan I shoved out-of-the-way for the perfect char.

Now be confident and get your grill on!

Kim xx

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5 from 2 votes

BBQ Ribs

Amazing pork side ribs cooked over low heat to perfection. There's a simple rub on them to add some zing and some extra kick. These ribs are so amazing I might have to make them again tomorrow. Or right now!

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 3 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 4 hours hours

Ingredients

• 3 pounds of pork side ribs

For the Rub:

• 2 teaspoons of Sea Salt
• 2 teaspoons of Alaea Salt Hawaiian Salt
• 1 teaspoon Light Brown Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Smoked Paprika
• 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
• Big Dash of Crushed Red Pepper
• Dash of Chili Powder
• Dash of Black Pepper I'm not a huge fan of pepper so sometimes I just leave it out
• 1 cup of BBQ Sauce pick your fave

Instructions

• Set a pan of water on one side of your grill prior to turning on. This will be the side you are using for indirect heat. Make sure you put the grate back on.
• Preheat grill to about 200 minimum or 225 degrees maximum F. You are only turning on one side of your grill. Remember indirect heat for low and slow recipes.
• Take your ribs out of the fridge so they have time to hit room temperature. Usually I'll rub them the night before but this recipe was done on the fly on a busy day so I rubbed about 30-45 minutes before they hit the grill.
• In a small bowl mix your rub ingredients. Now pour then over the ribs, coating all sides as you go. Rub them into the meat gently. Allow to stand till ready to grill.
• Place the ribs over indirect heat on the side the water is on. Put the lid down.
• Full on time is going to be about 3 hour minimum to cook these properly, up to 4 if you cook at 200 and the ribs are thick. After about 1 1/2 hours you can flip them. Put the lid back down and walk away. Cook for another 1 1/2 hours.
• Take a good look at your ribs. If they are super thick you can leave them for another 30 minutes over indirect heat.
• If they are thinner you can get ready to move them over to direct heat.
• Turn the grill up to a medium heat (350 to 400 degrees approximately for these) and brush some oil on the grates.
• Now use your tongs to move your ribs over to the other side. Baste with sauce and allow them to cook until they get nice grill marks, then flip and add more sauce. I flip one more time to sear the sauce right in there. There's nothing better to me then charred sauce on meat. I'm weird like that.
• Once both sides are browned you can remove them.
• Serve with a big old messy smile!

Notes

These ribs are not smoked more because I was sort of rushing about before I made them. I like smoking them so I'll be sure to post some smoked ribs soon with meat that falls off the bone. This was low and slow cooking but fast and loose prep. It's a busy mom "thang".

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