American Style BBQ will be defined as low and slow smoked meats. So asian flavored ribs cooked low and slow using smoke would count. Ribs cooked in an oven and korean bbq would not.
My current little setup:
My first ever set of ribs:
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I use the same setup . Except I like to have a couple large chunks of softball sized oak wood along with charcoal . I really like the flavor of the oak. And I also have a pan of water in the bottom of the Weber . Your pics look nice . I also have a Traeger pellet smoker , and a barrel smoker .
Why not? We do some crazy “BBQ” where it’s cooked covered in the oven at a high temp and then “browned” on the grill.
Because this is the thread I started and I want to define BBQ in the fairly traditional sense, meaning low + slow + smoke. I find that this combination of cooking is reasonably unique to the US, whereas the concept of ribs in the oven finished on the grill is pretty universal.
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I’ve got three racks of baby backs going down tomorrow. I’ll report back with pics (if I remember/am sober enough).
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What’s the rub on your first photo ( first ever set of ribs ) ? Looks like a little mustard with salt and pepper . One of my favorites for pork . As far as beef goes . I like a lot of coarse ground pepper with salt . That’s it . Good thread , thanks for posting it .
Niman Ranch pork loin back ribs - salt, pepper and smoke 
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If you haven’t already, I recommend getting food grade self adhere high temp gasket. Cheap mod that provides better effiency for your grill.
It is so easy to put on. Took about 2 minutes.
OK. I’ll report back on other methods. Later.
As promised, here are the results from my back yard on Saturday.
The setup: BGE XL, hardwood lump, and peach wood (before the ceramic heat diffuser and grill went on).
Smoking away…
Finished product. Three hours wrapped, one hour wrapped with a little apple juice, one more hour unwrapped with sauce (as requested by the birthday boy, aka: Dad).
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Fuzz this thread. I just drooled all over my keyboard and gotta get a new one now.
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How do you know what the temperature is and how do you keep it at that steady of a temp for eight hours?
(Please don’t make me google and read a bunch of rabid BBQ masters’ websites.)
For your first question, I have one of these. 1 plug to measure meat temp, 1 plug to measure air temp where the meat is.
For your second question, if you don’t want to read a bunch of rabid BBQ masters’ websites, use an oven or a pellet smoker, or some other type of automated temperature control mechanism.
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I have this setup, which works great, but now I have thermometer envy…
I used to use a Smokin’ Tex electric smoker and got pretty decent results from that. I won’t lie; it was nice to be able to go out and flip a switch at 2:00 AM and have a nice brisket or pork shoulder done by dinner the next day.
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the smoke I linked to is going to have a wifi enabled version coming out this year; if that includes logging, that would be f’n amazing.
My Big Green Egg has thick ceramic construction and does a great job of holding consistent temp once you’ve got the vents set right, though it’s a pretty big investment. Basically, temperature control comes down to controlling how much air the fire gets, thus controlling how hot it burns. As a rule, smokers with thicker walls do a better job of maintaining consistent heat. Adjustments during cooking are often necessary to keep a constant temp.
In any case, it takes practice and some trial and error to get dialed in. I would start easy with meats that take less time like ribs or chicken before tackling a pork shoulder or brisket.
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That’s going on my birthday wish list.
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