Rendezvous (my absolute favorite) does smoke their ribs, but they use charcoal instead of wood. I guess they are technically doing a low-and-slow over charcoal, but it certainly isn’t grilled.
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Yes, it is Rendezvous I’m thinking of. Personally, I would called those grilled ribs or, as Steven Raichlen calls them in his book BBQ USA, “modified grilling.”
I would say if you’re cooking straight over the fire and not using wood that hasn’t been converted into charcoal in your fuel, then you’re using some sort of grilling technique. YMMV.
Almost every hardcore Eastern North Carolina BBQ pit is done this way. It’s pretty much the same as indirect heat.
I also believe that their charcoal is hardwood charcoal.
I understand. Chicago BBQ is also cooked over direct heat, in an “aquarium smoker”, but most places just use straight hardwood:oak and hickory. No charcoals whatsoever. I suppose grilling isn’t an accurate term either for what Rendezvous does, because the net effect is that of classic barbecue. However, I’m not sure I would call it “smoked,” as you do, if it only involves charcoal. You don’t get quite the same sort of flavor as when you use hardwood that hasn’t been converted.
At any rate, it’s time for me to stoke up the WSM and try my first shot at barbecuing without the water pan (directly). I’ve been meaning to do this for quite some time, and this thread has finally inspired me to do so. Cross your fingers for me.
I agree with all of this.
Good luck!! I raised my grate a bit after I decided to go direct. Best ribs I had made yet. There seems to be a real movement to go direct, and the main trick is to go with a lower fire.
For a really tender rib, you should really just turn that par-boil up a notch and do a braise. It’s the same method as your par-boil but for an extended period at low heat. There is really no point in just boiling the meat for a short time and then cooking them dry in the oven. A short boil only serves to toughen them. In order to break down the connective tissue and get the meat falling off the bone you need a low, slow, and moist method.
About two hours in some water, vinegar, and onion in an oven at 225F should make for a better rib.
For a really tender rib, you should really just turn that par-boil up a notch and do a braise. It’s the same method as your par-boil but for an extended period at low heat. There is really no point in just boiling the meat for a short time and then cooking them dry in the oven. A short boil only serves to toughen them. In order to break down the connective tissue and get the meat falling off the bone you need a low, slow, and moist method.
About two hours in some water, vinegar, and onion in an oven at 225F and then finishing in foil in a high oven should make for a better rib.
I’m using this method. I’ve always liked the ribs straight off the WSM, but I kinda miss the charry goodness the direct method offers you. It’s raining a bit out here, but I managed to start the fire. Got two slabs of baby backs (the safe choice) and one slab of spares. We’ll see how it goes.
So?? How were they?
We use the country style ribs. I bake them in the oven, covered, with a bit of water in the pans for a couple hours then dump sauce on them. My husband gets Open Pit, my son and I use KC Masterpiece or Bullseye.
If I want really good ribs, I’ll go to The Patio - let THEM make 'em. I just want to put food on the table at home. 
In a strange twist of fate, the spare ribs turned out very well, but the baby backs got too charred. The way the fire is set up for this, there’s a cool spot on the middle of the grate. That’s where I set the spares. The baby backs I put on the side of the spares, figuring they could withstand the heat. My initial fire died after an hour (perhaps the weather had some effect on that), so I started up a second chimney starter of coals, and put in a split of white oak after I laid the coals down on the bottom of the Weber and spread them out. Satisfied with the heat, I walked away for an hour, and when I checked back, realized that this fire was burning much hotter and steadier than the first batch. So, when I checked on the baby backs, they were almost past the point of salvagability. The one near the crack where the Weber lid was propped open was okay, but the other one needed some scraping to get the char off.
But it didn’t matter, since I’m a spare ribs guy and the spare ribs turned out almost perfectly. The char, flavor, and smoke was just the way I like it, but they could have used an ever-so-slightly lower fire, maybe 25 degrees cooler would have been perfect. I’ll make a few tweaks for the next smoke, but I’m quite excited by the new technique. I’m thinking of making my very favorite and very Chicago cut of pork, rib tips, along with some hot links.
Oh, one more thing though, I think this was my favorite rib rub yet. I just smashed together equal parts black & white pepper, dehydrated garlic, and mustard seed with a mortar and pestle, added 1/2 part celery seed, 1/2 part thyme, and 1/2 part cayenne, then a bunch of kosher salt to taste (I think it was somewhere between 1 and 2 parts kosher salt). The result was a very grayish rub that contained no brown sugar or paprika. And it was great. I don’t normally use brown sugar in my rubs, anyway, but the lack of paprika was a new direction. And I think it was a good idea in this case, as paprika burns very easily and the higher heat might not have worked with it.
I think paprika is mosly there for color, though some of the quality hungarian stuff has a flavor that is unlike anything I’ve ever found in the grocery store. Suffice it to say, there are some great rubs that require no paprika.
Regarding your smoke, I’ve been a bit spoiled by the egg. When I do a direct smoke, I just load the lump in, light it, and wait for the thermometer and/or fire to reach the desired heat.
I’ve shared a batch or two along the way, though.
Yeah, the green egg looks really awesome, but I’m pretty happy with the WSM, and I can’t exactly justify the money on the egg.
Oh, yeah, and Hungarian paprika is the only stuff I use. I lived in Budapest for five years, so I’m quite picky about my paprika. You’re right there’s a world of difference between quality paprika and the red dust McCormick’s sells.
Damn. You’re my kinda cook.
If you haven’t already, check out Penzey’s spices here