Smoking Baby Backs on a Gas Grille

If I was still on Facebook, I'd probably post this photo of me, yesterday, smoking a small slab of baby-back ribs on the gas grille.

Yes, I said GAS grille, as in propane.  I know, it's not the same as being slow-cooked over hot coals on the smoker, but they were still pretty awesome.

add more water after 2 hrs

It still takes about 4 hours of cooking at consistent low heat (235 degrees).  Only the leftmost burner is used to keep the temp low.  I rack the meat over an oven-proof cooking pan, 1/2 filled with water,  on the "cool" side of the grille.  

The water in the pan tends to keep the temperature stable, and probably needs to be re-filled after a few hours.

A hand full of wood chips are wrapped in a heavy duty aluminum foil packet (air-tight except for two small holes to let the smoke out). The packet of wood chips is placed directly on the burner heat covers (on my Weber they're called flavorizing bars) under the grate.

The smoke from the packet should not be overwhelming, just a constant small trail, that you can smell, but you don't need visible clouds of smoke to infuse the meat with that hickory flavor.

If I was cooking for a larger group I would definitely use the smoker, which has a lot more cooking space.  But for a small slab (just enough for 2) I save a lot of work using the gas grille.  

I use a meat thermometer to check, looking for a reading of about 190 degrees to indicate doneness.  The meat should not be "falling off the bone" unless you like them overcooked and tasteless.  If overcooked you will need to add barbecue sauce to give them flavor. 

 The results are much better than downtown.  Try it yourself.  Serve with sauteed greens, rice and beans.  

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