How To Slow Cook Ribs

You're missing out if you have not experienced the satisfaction of slow cooking ribs.  Any man can stand behind a grill and flip burgers.  If your ready to take things to the next level you might consider grilling up a couple racks of pork ribs.  "But where do I begin?", you say.  I'm glad you asked.  This video covers the basics of slow cooking with charcoal.  I have listed out some important grilling tips below for first timers.  There are also many benefits of cooking Bacon on a grill, but that's another story.

With slow cooking indirect heat is the key factor.  This can be accomplished by placing a tray of water under the grill and next to the charcoal.  The ribs need to be placed on the grill so that they are directly over the water and not over the pile of charcoal.  This allows the ribs to be cooked with indirect heat.  The vent on top of the grill should be directly over the ribs to get a good heat and smoke flow.  Make sure the air intake vent is clear and not clogged with ash.

Below you will find some of the key points I learned while observing the art of slow cooking for the first time.  Choosing a rub and a BBQ sauce is another important part of the process.  Many people make there own homemade rubs since store bought rubs tend to be very salty.  Choice of BBQ sauce is also a very personal decision.  Most people would agree you can't go wrong starting out with Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce.

Charcoal Grilling Tips:

• Avoid the use of lighter fluid because it adds unwanted flavor to the meat.
• Start the fire with paper crumpled in the bottom of a charcoal chimney.
• Soak some hickory wood chips in water and add them periodically for good smokey flavor.
• If you're looking, you ain't cooking!  Don't open the lid too much and make the rookie mistake of letting all the heat out every 10 minutes.
• Clean the grilling surface with a brush or cleaning stone.  I've even heard of people using potatoes.  (We forgot to clean the grill in this video, oops)
• Clean out the air intake vent underneath the grill.  It tends to get clogged with ash over time.