Serving Size: 4-6 people
Ingredients:
- 1 rack of pork ribs (we recommend spare ribs)
- Richmond Table - The Good Parts Barbecue Blend
- Mustard
- Optional:
- 1-2 tbsp butter
- Honey
- Apple Juice
Directions:
- Preheat smoker or grill to 225 degrees.
- Remove the silver skin (membrane) from the rack of spare ribs.
- Lather a thin layer of mustard onto the ribs to be used as a binder for the seasoning.
- Season liberally with The Good Parts Barbecue Blend.
- Place ribs into smoker or grill over indirect heat at around 225 degrees. Cook for three hours with the meat side up.
- Completely wrap the ribs in foil while adding a few small chunks of butter and drizzling with honey. You can add a small splash of apple juice in this step as well.
- Cook for two hours wrapped in foil with the meat side down.
- Unwrap and cook meat side up for an additional 30 - 60 minutes. You can drizzle some of the remaining liquid over the ribs for the first 15 minutes of the cook.
- Pull those ribs off, slice, and enjoy!
**Note: The recipe is for a large spare ribs rack that would weigh around four pounds. If you have a smaller rack, lower total cook time by 45 - 60 minutes per pound (under four). The first hour should be removed from the first step, and the second hour from the second step. Don’t remove more than two hours from the total process.
Details:
We love spare ribs. Spare ribs have a little more fat on them than baby backs, so they taste better. You can change out spare ribs for baby backs on this recipe, but you may want to reduce cooking time by 60 minutes (from the three hour section) if doing do.
The sliver skin is a thin membrane on the bottom of the rack of ribs. Peeling the silver skin off allows the seasoning to better absorb into the meat and also will improve the texture of your bite. You may want to take a knife and make a small incision to find an edge to pull. Once started, the thin layer should peel off fairly easily. If you struggle to remove it or don’t want to mess with it, don’t stress too much because some bbq joints don’t even remove them. So it’s not the end of the world, it’s just typically viewed as a better way to prepare them.
Mustard is our favorite binder for bbq to help the seasoning stick to your cut of meat. You’ll never taste the mustard in the finished product, but it will really improve how the seasoning sticks.
Any smoker or grill can make a great rack of ribs. We’ll leave the online message boards to debate which cooker is the best. The most important piece here is you really want smoke for the first three hours. So an offset smoker or pellet smoker will naturally have your smoke. If you’re using propane or a standard grill, you may want to add some wood chunks or chips over heat to create your smoke. Never have your ribs over direct flame or heat. You don’t have to worry about this with a traditional smoker, but you will if cooking on the grill. The best method is to simply use one side of the burner (let’s say the left) for your heat. The left side has your flame, and your right side will hold your ribs. You’ll place your wood chunks or chips over the heat source also.
Side note: if you’re daring enough to trying this in your oven, all temperature and cook methods stay the same. Obviously, no smoke should be used unless you need an excuse to meet your local firemen. A dash of liquid smoke is an option here, but we’re not a fan of the fake smoke thing. It tastes fake and frequently will overrun your meal with bitterness. Honestly, you’ll still have good tasting ribs without a smokey taste. So it would be better to have a good tasting, non-smokey rib than a bad tasting smokey rib.
Wrapping the ribs is really a fool-proof way to ensure moisture ends up in your final product. The additives are just that, additives. You can use any and all of our recommendations during the wrapping stage. The recipe is written for flavor, but this is a great place to customize the recipe for you. If you’re trying to be a little healthier, skip the butter. If you’re watching your sugar intake, skip the honey. You’ll notice a difference with or without the additives, but you’ll be happy with your ribs regardless.
Unwrapping your ribs is where the moisture will start to turn into that glorious, sticky goodness that we all love. I think 30 minutes of time in this step is plenty here. If you’re a big sauce eater, you’ll want to go the full hour as the sauce is applied. You can brush a layer of bbq sauce on every 10-15 minutes. It will become thick and sticky while setting up on the ribs. It will also not run off on the plate when serving. However, I think these are still excellent without any sauce.
We hope you enjoy these! These are relatively an easy cook but will be impressive on your table. If you follow these steps, your guests will be thrilled to share these with you.
