directions

Food Prep:

1. Mix water, stock, ½ cup salt, granulated and brown sugar (add rub if using) together in large container. Mix well with whisk until fully combined.
2. Remove ribs from packaging and place into water brine.
3. Place ribs in refrigerator for 1 ½ hours.
4. Remove from fridge and rinse ribs. Pat dry with towels and place on a cooling rack or aluminum pan meat side up.
5. After about 30 minutes, your ribs will start to sweat. Sprinkle pepper over the ribs. (I prefer to use a pepper mill set to a coarse ground setting). A salt grinder also works well here for a light dusting on the meat.
6. Leave ribs on counter for at least 1 hour.
7. While the ribs are resting, set-up the fire.

BBQ Items:

• 3-4 Oak, red oak or any of your favorite wood chunks
• Xl Ziplock bags or Cambro 6 quart container (Must be a BPA free container)
• Aluminum drip pan with about 1/2 inch of water in the pan
• Spray bottle with water/vinegar mixture (50/50)

1. Rinse wood chunks and set aside.

BGE Set-up:

1. Fill Egg with charcoal making a pyramid shape. You should still be able to see the outside holes.
2. With vents wide open on bottom and top, light fire and after about 10 minutes, use your ash tool to stir the charcoal up. This will help the fire spread quicker.
3. Place wood chunks on charcoal, with additional layer of charcoal. (Don’t fill past first ring.)
4. Let fire burn for another 5 minutes. (Fire will begin smoking at this point.)
5. Place plate setter (legs up) for indirect cooking.
6. Place aluminum pan on top of plate setter. (This will be used to add moisture to the meat, plus take care of the fat drippings.)
7. Place grill on plate setter.
8. Place v-rack on grill if using one.
9. Close lid and leave vents open until temperature reaches 275 degrees.
10. Place the ribs directly on grill, meat side up, unless using v-rack*.
11. Smoke the ribs at 275 degrees for at least 2 hours. As a rule of thumb, smoke the ribs for as long as the weight of the rib racks Example. A 3-pound rib is generally good to smoke for three hours.
12. After smoking for 2 hours, open the egg and take a look at how your ribs are cooking.
13. If you have a remote monitoring thermometer or instant read thermometer, insert between the bones and check the temperature.
14. Pull ribs when temperature reaches 180-185 degrees.
15. Let cool for 20 minutes.

TIP:  Brining your ribs will add moisture and increase flavor.

*If using a v-rack, place in center of grill. Do not place ribs next to each other, instead stagger. Example: for a 4 slot rack, put each rack of ribs on opposite end. For a 6 sleeve rack, no more than 3 ribs.

Brine variation: add ¼ cup bourbon.