Finishing Ribs

buck,
if we were doing a very heavily sauced rib like memphis wet ribs or a kansas city style then we would most definately finish them on a grill.
from your post your style of rib is similar to ours and your 150 is the same also.
we have had very good luck (read that as our customers like them) just manually setting the hold temp to around 155-165. with a light glaze of sauce it will set fine for our use and is the technique we use when the fec has to be run at high temps which precludes its use.
in the end try it and let your customers dictate what technique you must use.
by the way from one of your previous posts you mentioned an alto sham unit. just out of curiousity what is your equipment that you have available for use if it is not too nosy??
jack

Hi Jack:

You're not nozy at all. I have a kitchen with most everything I need (e.g., walk-in fridge/freezer, char-broil grill, flat grill, deep-fryers, small alto-sham slow-cooker, steamer etc.) and a number of appiances like food processor. Mostly all stainless steel stuff. Of course, I am adding the smoker as I want to focus on real Q as best I can. I'm looking to hire new cooks as I am little more than a home hack. At the same time, I want to educate myself so I am not at a total loss. My job will be to work LONG hours managing/working the floor and ensuring quality, cost control, excellent service etc. The offer was too good to pass up since I will be able to test my rejuvenation plans for one full year with no lease payments whatsoever. I just need to look after payroll, food/beverage purchases and all the financial stuff (which is my biggest strength). If it seems to be a doable business (including the very generous lease arrangements that starts in year 2), then I'll continue. It's not too often one gets to try something like this and get a furnished restaurant and kitchen to boot. It lowers the risk tremendously. Nonetheless, it's a tough business but I am excited about the challenge of it all. Sorry for the long-winded answer.

By the way Jack, have you had any experience with beef ribs? Pork ribs by far are the dominant player here, but only because (I assume) people have not tried properly prepared beef ribs. They're delicious! Does a long, slow smoking process render all of the fat so that beef ribs are not so greasy? I have had really fatty beef ribs before and most would find that a turn-off. I assume that some may actually (ugh!) boil them first to get rid of unwanted fat.

buck.
i have only done them twice in the last 3 months. i got them at sams and they we marked as beef back ribs which i assume means they are fron the loin section and had a cost of 1.88usd/pound (or 3.76/kilo, check my math lol) not a lot of fat on them. since i really had never done them i used the following technique as a start point and to be honest i liked them a lot but beef is a hard sell here. only reason our brisket is going over killer is because we stuck with it for 3 months and the word spread plus we are the only ones here doing beef brisket. oops got off subject.
smoke 2 hours at smoke setting on fec. for sm150 i would use 160f. after that kicked heat to 275 setting. on 150 i would go 250f and a cook time setting of 3 hours and then check them. the ones i got had a per slab weight of 2 pounds each. as far as the rub went i used my brisket rub. sorry i can't help much more than that but since they didnt go over really well as far as sales went i haven't done them since although my staff of trained taste testers (read that as my limey neighbor and a few others) said they we real good and can we have some more please
hope this helps some jack
ps. you can use the sham just like we do the sm150 for holding. as a matter of fact i am sure you have already figured out that if you up the humidity there is no reason to wrap to prevent dryness. your equipment list is like a dream world but my little dodge 1500 already has all the work it can do hauling our 8 x 18 ft trailer.
i wish you all the success in the world and if you could please take a look at the post i made "new menu item" and give me your thoughts i would sure be most appreciative
thanks again
jack

buck,
2 books that i find of great help are paul kirk's championship bbq and mike mill's peace,love and barbecue. florida is a state of immigrants and with these two books i have been able to satisfy custom orders for regional type bbq, plus they are just darned good reads
jack