Vertical Pellet Smoker all 3 steps of making Baby Back Ribs? (2-2-1, 1-2-3, etc)

[hs321]

BLUF: Should I use my gas grill for the last step of making ribs or can I use my Vertical smoker all of the way through?

I have a Pit Boss Pro Series II 4-Series Wood Pellet Vertical Smoker and am using a Pit Boss recipe with these 3 steps:
1) Dry-rub ribs then smoke them meat facing up @ 200 for 2 hrs
2) Put them meat down in tinfoil boats filled with apple juice @ 250 for 2 hrs
3) Coat with BBQ sauce then cook meat up @ 350 for 15+ minutes to set the sauce

But I noticed the recipe says it is meant for "any Pit Boss wood pellet or charcoal grills". It got me thinking that I have a Pit Boss wood pellet SMOKER, not a wood pellet GRILL. Or does it not matter as long as I can get the smoker to the correct temperatures for each step? I thought maybe they're saying the more direct heat of a grill flame is needed for the last step. Or am I overthinking it?

 

[BigW.]

Prob a little bit of over think. You can set the sauce with any hot temp. Obviously a gas grill it is a bit easier to get some char from the direct flame if that is something you like. Try the 2-2-1 ribs all the way on the Pit Boss. Then next weekend try them naked (no wrap) the whole time on Pitboss to see what your prefer. Both option will be good, just need to find what you like better.

 

[hs321]

Prob a little bit of over think. You can set the sauce with any hot temp. Obviously a gas grill it is a bit easier to get some char from the direct flame if that is something you like. Try the 2-2-1 ribs all the way on the Pit Boss. Then next weekend try them naked (no wrap) the whole time on Pitboss to see what your prefer. Both option will be good, just need to find what you like better.

I did all 3 on the vertical and as a new smoker and my first attempt at ribs, they were pretty good. 1 lesson learned is to rub and BBQ sauce the top and bottom. I was thinking the bottom was mostly bone and we are used to ribs from a local store deli with the membrane on the bottom. I had removed the membrane on these and they were pretty meaty. I could tell the bottom of the ribs didn't have as much flavor. 1 MORE QUESTION for anyone reading this far: Should I have water in the water pan during step 1 (dry rub, meat up @ 200 for 2 hours)? I kept it full when I did my first pork butt but that was a 24 hour cook. I didn't have water in it this time but wondered what more moisture during that 2 hours would do. Thanks.

 

[Randy1]

I did all 3 on the vertical and as a new smoker and my first attempt at ribs, they were pretty good. 1 lesson learned is to rub and BBQ sauce the top and bottom. I was thinking the bottom was mostly bone and we are used to ribs from a local store deli with the membrane on the bottom. I had removed the membrane on these and they were pretty meaty. I could tell the bottom of the ribs didn't have as much flavor. 1 MORE QUESTION for anyone reading this far: Should I have water in the water pan during step 1 (dry rub, meat up @ 200 for 2 hours)? I kept it full when I did my first pork butt but that was a 24 hour cook. I didn't have water in it this time but wondered what more moisture during that 2 hours would do. Thanks.

A water pan has more than one function. First to block excessive heat or hot spot. Second to catch dripping to help with cleanup. Third to had moisture to the air which is less important in a pellet smoker than a wood burner.

 

[Chris_in_SoCal]

It is still good anyway you do it.

The water pan also helps to regulate the temperature. Water holds temperature better than air so you have less peaks and valleys.

After smoking ribs on my vertical pellet smoker I like to toss them on my pit smoker over wood for a few minutes to give them a nice sear. I have never gotten any complaints about doing it this way.