I'm doing ribs today and I have some questions about the best way to cook them given my setup. The other threads didn't give me all my answers, so I'm starting a new one. The ribs are already rubbed down and have been in the refrigerator since last night. I have a gas grill, no smoker, and a smoke box. The recipe we usually make calls for 4 hours in the oven and then 20-30 minutes on the grill. Some of the other threads suggested putting them on the grill briefly first as the flavor will come from the first bit of cooking. Since I have the setup mentioned above, should I follow the recipe or cook them on the grill the entire time using the smoke box? I appreciate any help you can provide.
I cooked ribs on my gas grill last weekend. I add wood chips in foil just under the grill, so it's probably similar to your smoke box. Cooked them on indirect medium heat (~350) for 1.5 hours. They had a spicy rub and I mopped them for most of the time. That's a lot hotter and less time than a real smoker, but it was still super delicious. I may try a little less heat or less time next weekend. I agree that the grilling and smoke towards the beginnign will add to the flavor. Good luck.
Can you turn off the front burners, leave the back burners on and get a temp of about 250 up front? If you can, I'd do them on the grill the whole time. Lot's of folks do ribs this way. The main thing to remember is that you want indirect heat, as low as possible.
One thing a lot of people don't tell you (forget to, mostly) is to get your meat to room temperature before you apply heat of any kind. Usually, 1/2 hour on the counter after being removed from the fridge (not freezer, obviously) is all that's needed. The problem with cold meat is if you 'flash' or zap it with heat, it will make the meat shrink a bit; puckers up if you will. Not good.
