Here's how to set up a gas grill to get great competition-quality flavor, the best you've ever made, and the best on the block. And, trust me on this, the flavor is as good as anything you can get on any fancy schmancy smoker. Really!
The path to perfection is to cook them low and slow to keep them tender and juicy, and get a little smoke flavor into the meat. Yes, sauce is important, but the cooking method is more important. To read what this barbecue judge considers Amazing Ribs, click here.
It is important to keep the temp down to about 225F and cook with indirect heat, meaning the meat is not directly over the flame. This makes the meat tender and juicy. Also, it is important to mix moisture with the smoke and combustion gasses to create those wonderful bacony flavors. For more info about rib science, click here.
You're going to need to test the temp of your outdoor oven, so start your setup about an hour or two before you need to start cooking the first time you use this method. Once you have your grill figgered out, it will take only a few minutes to set up the next time. It really helps to have a good digital thermometer since most grill thermometers are next to worthless.
Water is the secret
The secret is to put water under the meat. The water absorbs heat, and helps minimize fluctuations in temp. The moisture also mixes with the smoke and propane combustion gases and creates flavors you cannot get with smoke alone. But this is important to note: You are not steaming the meat! Steam can make the meat mushy and destroy the pork flavors. If you keep the oven temp at 225F, the water should not boil. If the water is boiling and making steam, you are running hot. Turn it down.
Two methods
There are two ways to use water pans, depending on the type of grill you have. Here is how I do it on my old Weber Genesis with three burners, front center, and rear. Some gas grills have more or fewer burners, so you may need to adapt this method to fit your rig. But the concepts are the same.
Method 1: Water pans under the grates
Get a disposable aluminum roasting pan or two that are, ideally, just about the same size as the interior walls of your gas grill. They should have 2-3" high sides. The pans will get smoke stains on them, so do not use your wife's best roasting pans! If you can, remove your grill's grates and put the pan on top of the flavor bars, lava rock, or ceramic. Do not put the pan right on top of the burners. Fill the pans to within 1/2" of their rims with hot water.
The grates are placed over the pans and a thermometer is placed on top of the grates over the water near the meat. I use my grill's center burner only and start on medium heat. You might chose to fire up only a back burner or the left burner. The number of burners may depend on the temperarture of the day.
Let the oven come up to temp and stabilize. This could take 30 minutes or more with all that water to heat. The target is 225F. Adjust the flame up or down, and if you need more heat, fire up a second burner. When you've got everything adjusted, remember the settings or write them on a cooking log, and start cooking.
Method 2: Water pans on top of the grates
If you cannot put pans under your grates, you can put them on top and use wire baking racks or the grates from your indoor oven on top of the pans. Another option is to use a broiler pan. It is shallow so you will need to watch the water level during your cook.
The smoke
For smoke flavor, use hardwood chunks, chips, or pellets. Make an aluminum foil pouch for about 1/2 cup of chips or pellets or place them in a small aluminum pan. Chunks can go on naked. Click here for a discussion of which wood to use, how to prep it, and how to make a pouch. Place the wood under the cooking grate as close to the flame as possible. Just make sure the wood is over the hottest jets as you fiddle with the burner config to get it to 225F. If the wood won't smoke because the burners are not hot enough, try turning one burner on high and turn the other two off. Or try lighting them with a lighter.
The meat
Skin 'n' trim the meat, rinse and pat dry, and coat with liquid margarine or vegetable oil. Then sprinkle with a spice rub like Meathead's Magic Dust or my version of Memphis' famous Rendezvous Rub. If you have time, wrap it in plastic and let it marinate overnight.
Put the meat on the rack above the water. Do not add sauce at this stage. It will just block the smoke from penetrating the meat. If you're doing a number of slabs, use rib racks. Close the lid and walk away. Do not open the lid until an hour has passed and then open it only for as long as it takes to see if you need to add more water. If you do, add boiling water so it will not cool off the oven. As long as the meat is hovering above the water, it will not burn. If you peek too often, you just mess up the delicate balance of smoke, moisture, and heat. If you're lookin', you ain't cookin'. Click here for a discussion of when ribs are ready.
When the ribs are ready, remove them and water pans, turn all burners up to high, paint the sauce on the meat, and heat the saucy slab until it bubbles. Click here for more on saucing strategies.
You will be amazed at the rich, complex flavors you can get with this simple technique.
This page was revised on 2/11/08
