Smoked Spare Ribs (August 15th, 2009)

Smoke Date: August 15th, 2009
Smoke Time: 4 1/2 Hours
Smoker: Weber Smoky Mountain 22 1/2"
Fuel: Royal Oak Lumb & B & B Oak Lumb
Smoke Wood: Pecan Chunks & Cherry Chips
Target Smoker Temperature: 250 degrees
Brand: IBP
Weight: 3 @ 14 lbs (a little over 4 1/2 lbs each)
Weather: 90 degrees & slightly breezy


Introduction

Mmmmm.......Ribs! If Brisket is my passion, then ribs is my mistress. I can't help but "get all giddy" on the inside when I am about to smoke ribs. I almost feel guilty. I feel like I am cheating on brisket. To be honest, I don't think that I could choose between the two.......even if I had a gun held to my head.......they would just have to shoot me. I am not sure if I ever had a bad rib. The best ribs that I have done so far was this year at my in-laws house for the 4th of July. Unfortunately I did not have my camera or notebook, so I did not document the cook, but I can tell you that it was a modified version of the B.R.I.T.U. recipe. BRITU stands for Best Ribs in the Universe and is the title given to the 1st place ribs at the American Royal. This winning recipe was created by a world class barbecue competitor by the name of Mike Scrutchfield. I figured that any recipe worthy of that title is worth giving a try.

This particular Practice cook, I tried a similar approach with a few minor tweaks. Over all it turned out great. The texture and moisture of the ribs were on spot, cooked perfectly in my opinion. In fact, these ribs were actually more tender than the ribs that I cooked back on July 4th, they just did not taste and look as good. So enough with the jibber jabber, let's get on with the cook.

How I Smoked the Ribs


Step 1: Meat Selection

Unlike beef, pork does not lend itself very well to aging, so when looking for any kind of pork you want to find the freshest available. If you are buying your ribs from a grocery store, try to avoid any ribs that has an ingredients list. As stated in the signature line of "Bob in Fla" from the National Barbecue News Forum....Raw meat should not have an ingredients list!!!! This can be very difficult since most meats are injected with some sort of solution to keep it fresh longer. Also try to find ribs that are not frozen or have not ever been frozen. Check the packaging, avoid meats that say "previously frozen" if possible. I also try to find a nice light pink color. I am still researching what the best pork looks like, but I have always been told to look for the lightest pink color. I am not sure how true this is, but until I find out differently, I will keep this in mind. Another thing to consider when buying pork ribs is "Backs or Spares?" Most people are more familiar with backs (loin backs, a.k.a. baby backs) Although most people refer to loin backs as baby backs, that term is actually meant for backs under 1 3/4 lbs or something like that, but the term is used loosely. The back ribs are the part of the ribcage nearest the back (hence the name) They also have a more curved shape then the spare rib. The loin is cut from the back ribs and the meat on the back ribs are are said to be naturally more tender than the spare ribs. This is one reason why the loin back ribs are more popular. In fact, I used to think that loin backs were superior ribs, but by accident I found out differently. I was smoking a brisket and a few racks of ribs for an office party and when I went to Sam's Club to pick up my three pack of backs that I usually get, they were out! I reluctantly went with the large clumsy spare ribs. I was trying to think to myself how the little petite administrative assistant would look gnawing on a huge meaty rib that was larger than she was. BUT, as I was pushing the cart to the checkout lane, I remembered the last time that I ate ribs at a local chain smoke house. They served "St. Louis style" spare ribs. I remembered that those ribs were not this large, in fact, they almost resembled baby backs. Hmmm, so I went home and googled "St. Louis Style Ribs" and I discovered a whole new world. I dug through my knife drawer for the sharpest knife that I could find and started hacking away at these spare ribs until they resembled a meatier cousin of the more well known and over rated rib, the Baby Back. Well, to make a long story short, the ribs and brisket was a hit and I have never looked back.....pun intended!!! Of course the transition payed off, because in the world of IBCA, spare ribs are required and loin backs are not allowed. The spare ribs come from the chest area of the rib cage and have the sternum attached. As you will see later, the sternum, along with some cartilage and a flap of meat know as the skirt will be removed when trimming down to St. Louis style ribs.



Step 2: Trimming St. Louis Style Ribs

If you chose to go the spare rib route (good for you!) and you would like to cut the ribs down to give then a cleaner look and make them a bit easier to eat then follow these directions. Keep in mind that you do not have to trim down spare ribs.

The first thing that I do when trimming spare ribs is remove the small flap of meat on the bone side of the rack, the flap is also referred to as the skirt. DO NOT throw the trimmings away. They can be smoked right along with the ribs and chopped or sliced up. You could also smoke and freeze the trimmings and use them to season a pot of beans. After removing the skirt, I leave the ribs bone side up and find the longest bone. The knuckle of that bone will be the reference point for removing the sternum and cartilage a.k.a. rib tip. I cut a straight line at that knuckle along the length of the rack. This will give the rack a nice even width. This will leave a little bit of cartilage on the smaller bones, but this will be ok. Some people will follow the knuckles all the way down, this does not leave any cartilage attached to the ribs but it is not as even. It really depends on your preference on which route to take. After the rib tip as been removed, it is time to remove the membrane. This is optional, but I think that the membrane is a bit too chewy and so I prefer to remove it. To do this, just get under the membrane with a butter knife and start peeling it back with a paper towel to grip with (the membrane will be slippery) it should come off in one piece. If not, then just use the knife to get back under the membrane. If you cannot do this, then just score the remaining membrane with a sharp knife. Sometimes when the butcher is trimming the pig, he may accidentally cut across the membrane, making it difficult to remove it in one piece. Now you are close to being finished or maybe you are, this depends on if you want to clean up some of the fat. I usually take my trimming a step further than others. At the meatier part of the rib there is a section of meat that has a large amount of fat under it. I usually remove the piece of meat along with most of the fat that it was covering up. Then, finally, just clean up any small loose pieces of fat and meat.

Here are some great reference sites for ribs:

The Virtual Weber Bullet
AmazingRibs.com
Playing With Fire and Smoke
BBQ-Book Trimming Spare-Ribs to St. Louis Style Ribs


Step 3: Apply the Rub

Some people will marinade or brine their ribs over night in either a wet concoction or in a dry rub. I will do this every once in a while, but more times than not, I will just apply my rub just before I start getting the smoker ready. Another thing that people will do is apply a mustard slather before applying the rub. This creates a good thick coating and the end result is a good thick crust. I started doing this but changed to either no slather or just a sprinkle of Worcestershire Sauce. I also started using a high salt rub. These two techniques have led to a better finished product. Both taste and appearance. Of course, this is just my opinion, so you keep doing what you like.

As stated in the introduction, I used the BRITU rub recipe. This is a good recipe and I recommend that if you have never tried then give it a go. There are a few other recipes that I have been wanting to try. A few in some books that I own and a few that I had read on websites and forums.

Here are a few Rub recipes that I would like to try:

Rendezvous-Style Memphis Dry Rub
K Kruger's Rib Rub
David Tinney's Rub recipes: All of these sound good
Jack' Old South BBQ Rub
Cbbqa Rub Recipes: The Willingham's Beef or Pork Dry Rub sounds good

Just follow the directions for the rub recipe that you have chosen.

Of course, there are no rules that says that you have to make your own rub. I have been trying new seasonings for a few different reasons: 1) Sometimes I just don't have time to make my own rubs, 2) It's nice to see what competitors are using and winning with, 3) Some of these are just too good not to try. My favorite thus far is the Hoochie Mama and Steak Seasoning by SuckleBusters.

Here's a few Store Bought Rubs that either I have tried or that I want to try:

SuckleBusters
Obie-Cue
Billy Bones
Bad Byron's But Rub

If you know of any great rubs or you want to comment on any of the above rubs then please leave a comment.

Now that I have shown you several different rubs, let's talk about applying the rub. First you need to consider the salt content of the rub. If salt is one of the main ingredients in the recipe then you want to go lighter than if paprika is the main ingredient. You also need to decide if you want to use a slather before applying your rub. The K Kruger rub above has no salt in the rub. Kevin (K Kruger) likes to apply the salt first (to taste), wait for the meat to get moist, and then apply the rub. This way also helps you to not over or under salt the ribs. You can also go as heavy as you want without over salting. personally, I like to use a high salt rub and I like to apply the rub a little at a time in layers, meaning that I apply it, start the smoker, apply a little more just before putting the ribs on the smoker, apply a little more about halfway through the smoke (just after spraying or mopping with apple or pineapple juice), then again just before applying the final glaze. In my opinion, this creates a better layer of flavor than if you just applied it once in the beginning.


Step 4: Getting the Smoker Ready

After rubbing the ribs, I stuck them back in the fridge and went out and started the smoker. I used my WSM 22 1/2 for this smoke. I used a combo of Royal Oak and B & B Lump Charcoal as my fuel and a combo of pecan wood chunks and cherry wood chips as my smoke flavor source. My goal was to keep a temperature of 250 degrees and so I used a full water pan. I also used the minion method. The WSM ran like a beauty, she did very well. The water pan keeps the temperature steady and the minion method kept me from having to reload any more charcoal. After dumping about half a chimney full of lit lump onto the unlit, I put the lid on and let the smoker get up to a little above 250 degrees. Then I put about 4 chunks of pecan and a couple of handfuls of cherry chips over the coals and put the ribs on.


Step 5: Smoking the Ribs

Like I stated above, I smoked the ribs at around 250 degrees. This took just over 4 hour to accomplish. Of course the time that it takes to smoke the ribs will vary depending on the size of the ribs and what temperature that you are smoking the ribs. I have taken over 6 hours smoking at around 220 degrees and then only took about 3 hours smoking at around 275 - 300 degrees. Once the ribs were on the smoker I tried not to peek too often, this only increases the smoke time. After about an hour on the smoker, quickly lifted the lid and sprayed the ribs with a 50/50 blend of apple juice and vinegar (use what ever kind of vinegar that you like such as apple cider, white, or rice). I also sprinkled a light coat of the rub after spraying. I continued to spray about every hour and sprinkled again with rub just before glazing. I waited to glaze (3 to 5 parts of your favorite BBQ sauce to 1 part honey) the ribs after the they passed the bend test - meaning that they were done to my liking. I let the glaze set (about 10 to 15 minutes before removing the ribs. You could also apply a second coat of glaze if you like a thick coat of sauce.

How to tell when the ribs are done?

I usually go by the bend test. This is where you grab the ribs about 1/3 from the thickest end of the rack (or about the center of the thickest meat - just before it starts to taper off drastically) and if it bends over the tongs easily and the meat cracks a bit, the rack is done. I also use the amount that the meat pulls back from the bone as a guide, this can vary, so I do not use this to dictate the doneness. I will also do the tear test, this is when you take two bones that are next to each other and pull them in opposite directions. The meat should tear easily away from the bone - do this until the meat tears away the way that you like it...if you like the ribs to fall off the bone, then wait until the bone pulls out of the meat by barely tugging on it. As a general rule for competing, you want the meat to be able to tear away clean from the bone with little resistance but not quite fall of the bone.


Here is another reference for determining the doneness of ribs:


Step 6: Cutting the Ribs

To cut the ribs, it is easier to turn the bone side up. This exposes the bones so that you do not cut into the side of the bone - unfortunately the bones are not perfectly strait! A technique used in competitions is using the skip cut or Cadillac cut. This is done by skipping a bone and cutting along side of the two bones on either side of it leaving all of the extra meat on one bone. This is not a cut that you would want to do at home...but just so ya know! I also cut the rib tips into 1" pieces and serve them with the other ribs.





Well, I hope that this post has left your mouth watering and wanting to smoke a rack or two...or ten of the most delicious spare ribs that you will ever sink your teeth into.

See ya later!