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This past weekend was a long one as we celebrated Memorial Day helping us to remember the fallen soldiers who have protected our freedom. We participated, as most of us do, by spending time outdoors with family and friends and by cooking something great on the Big Green Egg. Since we planned to have friends over to our house, our goal was to smoke both Ribs AND Chicken giving everyone plenty of choices for dinner. We tried a different approach with the baby back ribs and a new rub recipe for the chicken. Most importantly, it was all about timing to ensure the smoked chicken and ribs were done at the same time. Please sit back, grab a cold IPA, and enjoy our recipe for Big Green Egg Ribs and Chicken.
Big Green Egg Ribs and Chicken
Baby Back ribs were the choice today. I grabbed one of my favorite rubs Meat Church Honey Hog to rub the ribs with.
After removing the silver skin, cut the ribs in to three sections, put a slight coating of yellow mustard on the ribs, and rub them with Honey Hog.
For the chicken, I wanted to try something different! I used a recipe from one of my favorite cooking blogs Tasting Table. This recipe is for a beer can chicken using Za’atar which is a family of Middle Eastern herbs. What Curry is to India, Za’atar is to the Middle East. I modified this recipe to use the Spatchcock method instead of a beer can for cooking the chicken.
After the rub was made I spread it all over the chicken. The key to getting crispy skin on a chicken is towel drying the bird and then letting it sit in the fridge for at least 24 hours; I did this before rubbing the bird with the Za’atar rub.
Now I set my attention to getting the Big Green Egg setup and prepped for the long cook. I use a device called the DigiQ to help keep the temp very low for the duration of the cook.
I set the Egg up to hit 250°, placed the ribs on the top rack of my two tier swing rack, and cooked them for the first hour direct over the charcoal. The wood I used for this smoke was 2:1 Hickory to Apple.
During the first hour of the cook I turned the ribs once and sprayed them with some apple juice to help keep them moist. After an hour I took the ribs off, wrapped them in foil, and set them to the side.
To prep the chicken I used the Spacthcock cooking method to remove the backbone of the chicken and lay it flat on the grilling surface for even heat distribution. To ensure a low and slow cook, I put in the Plate Setter to set the egg up for indirect cooking and placed the chicken on the bottom rack of the 2-tier adjustable swing rack system. On the top rack, I placed the ribs which were wrapped in foil.
I let the chicken and the ribs cook for another 2 hours at 250°. After that the chicken measured 165° using the Thermapen and the ribs were fall off the bone ready! I sliced up the chicken and the ribs and called everyone in to eat.
Here is a shot of the sliced chicken breast up close and personal.
Here are the Baby Back Ribs glazed with a little Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce!
Big Green Egg Ribs and Chicken
Ingredients
- For the Spice Rub:
- 2 tablespoons smoked paprika
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon za'atar
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- For the Chicken:
- One 3½- to 4-pound chicken, patted dry
- For the ribs:
- 1 pack of baby back ribs
- Your favorite BBQ rub
- Yellow mustard
Instructions
- Cut the ribs in to three sections, put a slight coating of yellow mustard on the ribs, and rub them with Honey Hog.
- Wrap the ribs and place in the refrigerator overnight.
- Now make the Za’atar rub for the chicken by mixing all the rub ingredients (paprika, brown sugar, cumin, salt, Za’atar, pepper, and cayenne) together In a small bowl.
- After the rub was made I spread it all over the chicken.
- The key to getting crispy skin on a chicken is towel drying the bird and then letting it sit in the fridge for at least 24 hours. I did this before rubbing the bird with the Za’atar rub.
- I set the Egg up to hit 250°, placed the ribs on the top rack of my two tier swing rack, and cooked them for the first hour direct over the charcoal. The wood I used for this smoke was 2:1 Hickory to Apple.
- During the first hour of the cook I turned the ribs once and sprayed them with some apple juice to help keep them moist. After an hour I took the ribs off, wrapped them in foil, and set them to the side.
- To prep the chicken I used the Spacthcock cooking method to remove the backbone of the chicken and lay it flat on the grilling surface for even heat distribution. To ensure a low and slow cook, I put in the Plate Setter to set the egg up for indirect cooking and placed the chicken on the bottom rack of the 2-tier adjustable swing rack system. On the top rack, I placed the ribs which were wrapped in foil.
- I let the chicken and the ribs cook for another 2 hours at 250°. After that the chicken measured 165° using the Thermapen and the ribs were fall off the bone ready! I sliced up the chicken and the ribs and called everyone one in to eat.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
