You can cook this rib recipe on the grill or in the
oven. I make my own rub, which I will
share with you.
Rub Recipe
Mix the following ingredients:
½ cup of brown sugar
2 tablespoons of chili powder
2 tablespoons of coarse black pepper
2 teaspoons of onion powder
2 teaspoons of salt
Combine all the ingredients and mix them up well. You can add more chili powder if you want
more heat or substitute cayenne pepper.
Prepare the Ribs
I like baby back or St. Louis cut ribs. You can buy a slab of ribs and cut off the
rib tips to make your own St. Louis cut, which a lot of times can save you
money. If you do this, you can also cook
the rib tips separately on the grill or in the oven.
I always remove the membrane on the back of the ribs. If you’re going to use smoke with your ribs,
the removal of the membrane will allow more smoke flavor to penetrate through
the ribs. It also helps to make your
ribs tenderer.
I always look at how much fat is on the ribs. If there is a lot, I’ll trim some of it off.
Once your ribs are prepared, begin applying the rub
generously and rub it into the meat well.
I always rub some on the underside where the membrane was removed. Once you have completed this, wrap the ribs
in Saran wrap and place in the refrigerator overnight.
Remove the ribs from the refrigerator and place them on the
counter for an hour before cooking.
Cooking
Oven
You can cook your ribs on the grill or in the oven. If you choose the oven, set it at 200
degrees. Place your ribs on a large
cookie sheet and place and cover with a sheet of aluminum foil. After 3 hours remove the aluminum foil. If you want some sauce on your ribs this is
the time to do it. Give your ribs a good
coating of your favorite barbecue sauce.
I always use Sticky Fingers Carolina Sweet. Place back into the oven for 30 minutes. At this time your ribs will be done and ready
to eat.
Gas Grill
If you choose to cook your ribs on a gas grill, you want to
make sure you do so using indirect heat.
In other words, you don’t want your ribs directly over the flame. Some gas grills have available a tin box you
can place wood chips in over the burner.
Be sure to soak your wood chips well first. I like to use smoke with mine for the first
45 minutes. This gives it a nice hint of
smoke flavoring without taking away the natural flavor of the meat and the
flavor of the rub. I personally can’t
stand any pork where all you taste is the flavor of the smoke.
It’s important to maintain the temperature of your gas grill
between 185 to 200 degrees. You also
have to watch them very carefully. I try
to cook them approximately 3 hours on a gas grill, but you will know when
they’re done as you will see the meat begin to separate from the bone. I cover them with sauce for the last half
hour.
Charcoal Grill or Smoker
It’s much easier to cook ribs using indirect heat on a charcoal
grill or smoker. It’s much easier for
me to maintain my heat using these at 185-200 degrees as my charcoal grill has
a smoke stack and air intake. If I need
to lower my temperature, I can do so by opening the cover more of the smoke
stack and/or closing the air intake. I
can raise the temperature by closing off the smoke stack and/or opening the air
intake.
My smoke flavoring depends on my mood, but I do like using
apple, hickory, or mesquite wood chunks.
I start soaking them about an hour before I begin cooking the ribs.
You will have to continue adding charcoal now and then while
your cooking your ribs. If using a
charcoal grill, keep your charcoal on the side closest to your air intake and
your ribs on the opposite side. Make
sure to remove your ribs whenever you are adding charcoal or wood chunks. Note that once your wood chunks completely
dry out, they will burn and raise the temperature and you will have to make
adjustments.
I try to maintain my temperature at 180 degrees and cook my
ribs anywhere from 4 to 5 hours. I pay
very close attention to how the meat begins to separate from the bone. Another good indicator your ribs are about done
is using a set of tongs to pick the ribs up from the middle of the slab and
seeing how much the bend down on both ends.
I place my sauce on them for the last ½ hour they cook. I’ll add some more sauce after 15 minutes.
The entire process may seem like a lot of work to some, but
believe me it’s well worth it; ask my wife as she loves my ribs. A few years ago while I was still on active duty at Ft. Gordon, GA, I cooked 6 slabs of ribs on a smoker at work for the Soldiers. I did 3 with sauce and 3 dry. I received a lot of comments about how good they were.
