Personally, my favorite BBQ treat are pork ribs. Whether these succulent meat sticks are baby back or spare, as long as they have a great bite and a solid depth of flavor, I’m a happy camper.
So, why am I talking about St. Louis spare ribs and not baby backs? The St. Louis cut is mainly seen in BBQ competitions. They are trimmed to perfect rectangle slabs, with a similar thickness and nice marbling throughout.
Honestly, I’ll take a baby back rib all day, but we will get to those later.
Most people searching rib recipes have heard about the 3-2-1 method of cooking ribs.
- 3 hours on at 225 degrees
- Wrap in foil with, butter, sugar and a liquid of your choice, for 2 hours
- Unwrap and place on the smoker or grill for 1 hour, to tack up and sauce them to your liking.
This method works, people love it and you can make some great ribs from it.
My recipe, changes the temp, time, ingredients and process. Plus we add another level of flavor, by adding some rendered bacon fat to the wrap. We all know, bacon makes everything better!
We are going to be using commercial dry rubs and seasonings for this recipe, from Meat Church. I think they offer some great flavors, they are easy, and provide a level of consistency.
Feel free to experiment with your own blends, or use your favorite brand. The flavor profile for this recipe is going to be a peppery, sweet heat.
Ingredients:
- 2 Pork Spare Ribs
- 2 Tablespoons Yellow Mustard or Grey Poupon
- 4 Tablespoons Honey
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 6 Tablespoons Bacon fat, solid/ not liquid
- 4 cups of Apple Juice
- 1 shaker Honey Hog Rub – Meat Church
- 1 shaker Honey Hog Hot Rub – Meat Church
- 1 shaker Holy Gospel – Meat Church
- 1 cup BBQ Sauce
- 1 roll Aluminum Foil
- 1 stick of butter (Salted or unsalted)
Instructions:
- Prep:
- Remove skin/ membrane from the bottom of the ribs. (Slide a butter knife between the membrane and bone to give yourself an easy spot to grip. Grab it with a paper towel and peel off.)
- Trim excess fat and square up the meat.
- Pat the ribs dry.
- Rubs:
- Add a coating of mustard, top and bottom.
- Apply a good coating of Meat Church Honey Hog, followed by a lesser coating of Holy Gospel.
- Let the ribs sit for at least 15 minutes to come up in temp and begin to sweat.
- Smoker/ Grill set up:
- Set up smoker or grill to 275 degrees.
- Use Applewood chunks on a grill or Big Green Egg. If working on a stick burner I recommend a blend of Oak and Applewood. If you use wood charcoal, my personal favorite is Rockwood Charcoal.
- If using a Big Green Egg or other grill, use a deflector plate so the ribs don’t burn from offset cooking.
- Smoking Instructions:
- Place ribs in the smoker, meat side up – 2 hours ( They should have a good red-ish color by the end).
- Spritz the ribs with Apple Juice during this process for additional moisture.
- Remove the ribs from the smoker or grill.
- With the aluminum foil layer spread out on a flat surface (I recommend two (2) offset overlapping pieces), lay down a coating of brown sugar to the length of the ribs, a squeeze of honey on top, four (4) slabs of butter and three (3) scoops of bacon fat.
- Place the meat side down on the aluminum foil on top of your brown sugar and other ingredient items.
- On the bone side facing up, add a generous coating of Meat Church’s Honey Hog Hot, add two (2) scoops of bacon fat and a little bit of apple juice.
- Wrap the ribs tightly.
- Place the ribs back on the smoker, meat side down for 1 hour.
- Remove ribs from the grill or smoker and remove from the foil.
- Flip the ribs meat side up in the smoker. (The bones should be coming out of the sides and if you let the ribs bend, they will begin to break.)
- The ribs should have a wet texture at this point. If you would like to add BBQ sauce, feel free. (I believe sauce is a flavor enhancer and does not need to be part of the cooking process. It should be on the side during service.)
- Smoke/ cook for about 30mins to tack up.
- Remove ribs and allow to rest before slicing or serving.
Brews, Q, & Bad Decisions! 