Baby Back and Spare Ribs

Next to smoked wings, ribs are my favorite meat to smoke.  Not only because they are delicious, but because they are easy to cook.  With ribs, you cook to a certain time, rather than temperature.  This means no guesswork as to when your meal will be done. 

While purists will scoff at cooking with foil over a smoker, some people find that for the best balance of smoke, tenderness, and bark, foiling is necessary.  Ribs will not absorb any further smoke after 2 hours of smoking.  Therefore, I order to make the ribs nice and tender I wrap the ribs in foil for 2 hours about half way through, and then remove the foil and smoke for a further hour to firm up the bark. 

I find that while the foil method produces the most tender ribs, I still prefer the non-foil method.  Cooking without foil gives you a better bark and more tasty carmelization.  Besides, I like a little firmness and snap to my ribs.

To prepare the ribs, first remove the membrane at the bottom of the rack along the bone side.  This is the most difficult part of smoking ribs.  Simply slide a butter knife under the membrane. Then grab on to the portion of the membrane with a paper towel and pull until the membrane is removed from the whole bottom of the rack.  Of the many methods I have tried, this is the easiest and you should be able to remove the membrane in a couple of minutes.  Removing the membrane is not necessary, but if you don't you will find the membrane will be chewy.

Once the membrane is removed, lightly coat the whole surface with yellow mustard.  This will act as a binding agent to hold the rub and will not impart any flavor to the smoked dish.  You can also use olive oil or Worcestershire sauce if you like.  But yellow mustard is cheaper and will give the same results.

Add the rub, making sure to evenly coat all surfaces until the yellow mustard is no longer or is barely visible.  Wrap the ribs in Saran Wrap and refrigerate for 1-2 days to impart the rub flavor into the meat.  If you do not have 1–2 days, refrigerate the rub covered meat for as long as possible.

BBQ Sauce for Ribs

Below are a couple of barbecue sauces you can try.  I don’t usually add sauce to my ribs, but if you like sauce try slathering one of these sauces on your ribs about 15 minutes before they are finished cooking.

Dinosaur Sauce

I really like this recipe and it is easier than starting from scratch.  I start with Dinosaur® BBQ sauce, bring to simmer, add 2 tablespoons butter, 3 teaspoons black truffle powder, 2 tablespoons granulated garlic powder, 2 tablespoons onion powder, 3 tablespoons brown sugar, and 2 tablespoons molasses.

From Scratch Rib Sauce

Ingredients

              1/2 cup butter

              1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

              1/2 cup ketchup

              1/3 cup lemon juice

              1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce

              2 tablespoons hot sauce

              1 teaspoon paprika

Combine ingredients and bring to a boil over medium heat, once the mixture is at a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the sauce reaches the desired thickness.

Cooking your Ribs

Cooking Temperatures

Baby Back Ribs - Preheat smoker to 225 degrees Fahrenheit.

Spare Ribs – Preheat smoker to 245 degrees Fahrenheit.

Once an hour, while the ribs are smoking, spray the rights with a 50-50 mixture of apple juice and apple cider vinegar.  Use a spray bottle.  The mixture will keep in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks.

No matter which method you use below, you can add barbeque sauce, if you want, with 10-15 minutes left in the cook time.  The only thing that kills the moisture is over cooking.  So, test the ribs during the last hour to make sure you aren't over cooking.  When the meat pulls away from the end of the bones about 1/4-1/2 inch they are close.  If you can pick up the ribs by one end and they have a little bend to them, maybe 4 inches, you are done.

Baby Back Ribs – Foil Method

When cooking baby back ribs use the 2-2-1 cooking method.  Baby back ribs should be smoked uncovered, indirect for 2 hours at 225 degrees Fahrenheit, then smoke 2 hours double wrapped in foil with 1/2 cup apple juice, then remove from foil smoke for an additional hour. 

Baby Back Ribs – No Foil

Simply cook for 5 1/2 hours with no foil at 225 degrees Fahrenheit.

Spare Ribs – Foil Method

When cooking spare ribs use the 3-2-1 cooking method.  Spare ribs should be smoked uncovered, indirect for 3 hours at 245 degrees Fahrenheit, then smoked 2 hours double wrapped in foil with 1/2 cup apple juice, then remove from foil and smoke uncovered for an additional hour. 

Spare Ribs – No Foil

Simply cook for 6 1/2 hours with no foil at 245 degrees Fahrenheit.