Tedd's BBQ Ribs on the Smoker

Moist and perfect every time. You can't miss with this recipe because you cook by temperature.

Ingredients

3 slabs of spare ribs

rib rub (make your own or try Kinder's The BBQ Blend Seasoning if you run out of time)

brown sugar

butter

salt

apple juice

For the rub:

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons kosher salt

2 teaspoons black pepper

2 teaspoons smoked paprika

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon ground mustard

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon celery salt

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Instructions

Either ask your butcher to do it or dress the meat yourself. Frankly, I'm lucky. The boys in the meat department at Sautters are happy to dress spare ribs St. Louis style if you are patient. I usually call ahead the day before I pick them up. When I do dress them myself, here's my program:

Dress the Ribs:

1. Prep the rack: Place your full spare ribs meat-side down on a clean cutting board and pat them dry with paper towels.

2. Remove the skirt: Cut off the loose flap of meat on the underside (the skirt), and set it aside for sausage or extra snacks.

3. Square the ends: Trim off any thin, protruding bone ends or ragged edges on the small side of the rack to prevent them from burning.

4. Remove the rib tips: Feel along the rack to find where the actual rib bones end and the chewy cartilage and sternum (breastbone) begin. Cut straight along this line to remove the entire lower section containing the rib tips, creating a rectangle. (You can save these tips to smoke alongside the ribs!)

5. Peel the membrane: Flip the rack over to the bone side. Slip the dull edge of a spoon under the shiny membrane (silverskin) near a corner to lift it, grip it with a paper towel, and peel it completely off. Don’t skip this!

6. Final clean-up: Trim away any excess clumps of fat on the meat side that will not render down during the cook. 

Smoke the Ribs:

1. Once the ribs are dressed and ready to smoke, lay them flat, meat side down, salt the backside, and then cover both sides with the rub. Don't skimp on the rub on the meat side; I like to do it twice. After salting the backside and spreading rub on both sides, let the meat sit and absorb (30 minutes or more)

2. Crank up the smoker; set the temp to 250.

3. Place the ribs on the smoker, meat side up. Insert the probe into one slab, in the meatiest part, avoiding any bones, and smoke until they reach 165 (90 minutes)

4. Pull ribs off the smoker and rub butter, brown sugar, and honey on the meat side. Wrap the ribs in foil, adding 2 tablespoons of apple juice before tightly sealing the foil.

5. Place the ribs back on the smoker, keeping the temp at 250 or higher, and wait for the meat temp to reach 202. (60 minutes)

6. Pull the ribs off the smoker, unwrap, spray with apple juice, and lather with BBQ sauce. Lower the smoker temp to 165 (you want the lower temp for more smoke), put the ribs back on the rack, meat side up, and wait for the BBQ sauce to glaze up and the ribs to soak up more smoke. (30 to 60 minutes)

7. Pull the ribs off and enjoy!