Pork Spare Ribs
A favorite at any BBQ are pork spare ribs. You can either get the full spare rib or they can be trimmed into a St. Louis style. You will see that the ones I went with in this article are the St. Louis style trim. It really doesn't matter and its all a personal preference.
You should try to select a rack of ribs that are even in thickness as possible. This will allow for more even cooking. You also want to avoid large fat deposits on the top of the rib. There will always be fat (which is good for moisture), but large fat deposits won't render down when cooked. I always trim off a little of the larger fat deposits if necessary.
The picture above shows removing the membrane on the back of the rib. If you don't remove this membrane you will notice the rib will taste chewy. To remove the membrane start at the smaller end of the rack. Use a butter knife to separate the membrane from the rack. Then use a paper towel to grip the membrane and pull it off the rack. Once this has been done I recommend doing some light trimming of the ribs. Now you are ready to season the rack of ribs.
I seasoned the ribs with some Code 3 Spices 5-0 and Rescue Rub. Then they went on the smoker at 250 degrees. You can smoke your ribs at 225-275. I have done it so many ways but 250 degrees F is a happy medium. I used cherry wood for the smoke. This is my go to for color and flavor on pork ribs.
At this point you don't want to touch the ribs until the bark begins to form. Once the bark forms (normally about 2 hours) you can begin to spray the ribs to keep them moist. You can go with so many choices here. I normally use a spray bottle with 50% apple juice, 25% apple cider vinegar and 25% water. Experiment and see what you like the best. I spray the ribs every 45 minutes until I get the color that I want.
At this point you can wrap the ribs or let them ride. I wrap the ribs to give them extra flavor and moisture. You will want too use aluminum foil for the wrap. For the wrap ingredients I recommend experimenting but you can start off by using agave or honey, and brown sugar. I recommend not using too much for backyard BBQ. Put the wrap mixture on the face side of the ribs. Then put the ribs in face down on the aluminum foil. Put the wrap mixture on the back side of the ribs and then wrap the aluminum foil tightly. Return to smoker.
How long do you leave the ribs in the wrap? Thats the tricky part. I always go by feel and appearance. Appearance wise you should see the meat retracted from the bones. By feel the ribs should bend easily but not "break in the middle". This is a personal preference.
When your ribs are done, this is what they should look like. Open the foil wrap and flip the ribs so the face of the ribs are up. Coat the ribs with a thin BBQ sauce. Then return to the smoker for another 10-15 minutes.
Take the ribs off the smoker and remove from the foil. I let them rest a few minutes before slicing. Slice those ribs and your guests will love these!
You cant go by time, but I guesstimate around 4-5 hours total cook time. Always give yourself more time so you don't have to rush. You cant rush good BBQ.
