Here in Texas, beef brisket is the king of the barbecue
pit, but you can’t go wrong with some tender, mouth-watering pork baby back
ribs. This is a great dish to add to
your barbecue repertoire, and unlike brisket, which can take days to be ready
(at least with my method), baby backs can be prepped and smoked in only about a
half day.
Baby back ribs come from the back section of the hog, as
opposed to spare ribs, which come from the belly. Baby backs are smaller, but
are generally meatier. They don’t have
as much fat as spare ribs do, but they are still contain a good bit of tough
connective tissue, so they have to be smoke cooked at a low enough temperature
so that the connective tissue breaks down.
But, you have to be very careful, because since baby backs don’t have a
great deal of fat, they can dry out on you if you let them go too long in the
smoker.
I buy my rib racks in three packs at wholesale stores
like Costco and, if I’m only smoking for the wife and I, the excess can be
vacuum sealed and frozen. If I’m smoking
more than three racks, I’ll use the big smoker, but for just three, the Weber
kettle grill makes a fine mini-smoker.
Slow-Smoked Baby Back Ribs
3 Racks Baby Back Pork Ribs, about 1 Pound Each
¾ Cup Firmly Packed Brown Sugar
½ Cup Paprika
¼ Cup Turbinado Sugar
3 Tablespoons Black Pepper
3 Tablespoons Course Salt
2 Teaspoons Granulated Garlic
2 Teaspoons Onion Powder
½ Cup Kansas City Style Barbecue Sauce
Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl.
Rinse your rib racks and pat dry and place
them in a foil pan or large tray.
If the
membrane on the back of the ribs hasn’t been removed, peel this away and
discard. This will allow more smoke
flavor to penetrate the ribs. Sprinkle
the dry rub mixture into the rubs and then rub it in with your fingers until
the ribs are completely covered.
Refrigerate for an hour or two to let the rub work its magic.
Prepare your grill.
Yes, I said grill, but we won’t be ‘grilling’ the ribs. Grilling means cooking directly over high
heat, which would of course turn your ribs into shoe leather. We’ll be setting up the grill for indirect
cooking, so that the heat source is to the side of the ribs, and not under
them. We’ll also be adjusting the
dampers so that we are cooking at around 220 degrees Fahrenheit, and no
hotter. Any hotter and you risk getting
your ribs done before the connective tissue has broken down, resulting in ribs
that are tough and potentially dry as well.
Start about 12-14 briquettes of charcoal and then place
four small hickory (or other smoking wood) directly on top of the coals. Place ribs on rack to the side of your coals...
...then close cover. Leave the damper on top of
the grill fully open, and adjust the bottom damper so that you achieve a
temperature of around 200-220F. Let the
ribs smoke for one hour.
At this time, add more charcoal or wood if necessary, and
rotate the ribs so that a different rack is next to the fire. (if you don’t rotate, the rack that stays
closest to the fire can dry out). Let
them go for another hour. Add fuel and
rotate again. After another hour (three
hours total) the ribs should be close to done.
You can tell this by the fact that the meat has contracted a bit,
leaving the ends of the bones poking out.
You can also press the rib meat with your finger. It should yield quite easily.
At this point, if you’re satisfied that your ribs are
done, brush on a light coat of barbecue sauce and then let them go another
fifteen minutes.
At this point, they are
ready to go. Slice them with the bone
into individual rib servings, taking care to leave an equal bit of meat on
either side.
Serve them with some more sauce and your favorite
sides. Here we’ve served them with some
cowboy beans and homemade slaw.
Until next time,
Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em,
Chris.
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