NFT: Pork spareribs on the smoker - post your "recipe"

over hickory wood. 4 hours. pan in the oven for 1 hour with a beer to loosen em up.

sauce em when you're eating them.... that's it.

For the rub, equal parts paprika, dry mustard, kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. For the mop sauce, mix some brown sugar, salt and pepper in apple cider vingar. Slice up some onions and, if you want some heat, chili peppers (serranos, habeneros, whatever you prefer) and allow to sit in the fridge overnight. I like to use pecan wood for smoke.

that I use to slow cook ribs.
1. Apply Dry rub
2. Make a small pile of wood/charcoal in the middle of the grill
3. Place the ribs around the coals/wood (but not over)
4. Cook at 225 for two hours (re-load the charcoal/wood as needed)
5. Apply the sauce
6. Cook another 30 to 45 minutes

at least 20-30 minutes when they finish. It will carmalize the sauce a bit

Once per hour is fine.

and the ribs are always gone within minutes of putting them out on the table. It's comprehensive, but worth it.
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I have is hickory, mesquite and apple and I won't have a chance to get more. does apple go best with ribs?

my dry rub is similar to greg's, pretty basic (instead of mustard and paprika I have other spices - but willing to try and change it up):


brown sugar
salt
chili powder
black pepper
cayenne pepper
garlic powder
onion powder

I like the mop suggestion Greg sounds simple enough and I definitely don't overdo it

who has a good sauce recipe?

3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup paprika
1/4 cup garlic powder
2 tablespoons ground black pepper
2 tablespoons ground ginger powder
2 tablespoons onion powder
2 teaspoons rosemary powder

NO Salt!

Make the rub and apply the night before. 5 hours at 225 on any smoker. I like to use apple wood. This is mainly for St Louis style ribs. I feel baby backs don't have enough meat.

forget moping

In comment 12297851 RobCrossRiver56 said:

Quote:

forget moping

is that just true with ribs or smoking anything? I smoked a couple briskets on mothers day and I used a dry rub and mopped, came out great, not sure if mopping did nothing or helped

Moping definitely won't help your ribs.

Mopping, on the other hand.....

is that you get most of the smoke benefit within the first 2 hours. I use Oklahoma Joe's spice rub 24 hours before smoking and let the ribs sit wrapped in foil in the fridge. To cook, I uncover them and smoke 2 hours, then wrap them and finish them that way. (You could transfer them to an over if you want). They stay very moist (you'll have a bunch of liquid in the foil) so no need to mop. Also, I'm no smoker expert, but I think most dedicated smokers (the grill, not the person) are indirect heat. So if you're talking about glazing at the end, you'll have to move the ribs to another grill to do that.

for the most part that's true. I've smoked both ways where I remove the chips after a few hours (or only have enough there for a few hours) and then other times I've replenished the smoke throughout the process. I purposely oversmoked a turkey breast one time, and I didn't like it that much.

But for the most part, the difference between using smoke for 2 hours vs. say 6 hours is negligible.

At least, when you're smoking it isn't. That's more the case with grilling, but then you're mopping frequently instead of once an hour. In this case, the mop sauce only provides a minor moisture benefit but it does create a richer flavor and a better crust IMO.

then mop away. But if your smoking at 225 for 5-6 hrs the last thing you want to do is lift the lid every hour. The sugar in the rub applied the night before will form a crust or bark that will withhold the moisture.

the briskets I used three or four chunks of hickory and never replaced them.

they were in there the whole 12 hours, but I assumed the smoke stopped eventually being produced from them.

I don't think the smoke was overpowering at all, in fact it tasted like I'd get in a restaurant, just slightly less moist if I can critique myself.

would ribs be different?

only when I replaced the charcoal, so twice in 12 hours.

is that doing nothing? and I shouldn't need to do it with the ribs?

no. But if you kept replacing the wood chunks with fresh ones throughout the process, then you could end up with an oversmoked product. It would be a more bitter taste and could overpower the meat and the rub.

mopping twice is good enough. Like said above, it is more important to keep a constant temp and not open the lid constantly than it is to mop.

2.5 hours at 275. Cover in sauce for 30 more minutes.

In comment 12297913 FatMan in Charlotte said:

Quote:

no. But if you kept replacing the wood chunks with fresh ones throughout the process, then you could end up with an oversmoked product. It would be a more bitter taste and could overpower the meat and the rub.

This. Especially with poultry.

A couple of hours of smoke is enough for almost anything. Brisket will take a little more, but you can over-smoke it, too.

Any of the harder fruit woods, hickory or mesquite will work for ribs but I prefer apple these days.

.
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In comment 12297846 RobCrossRiver56 said:

Quote:

3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar 3/4 cup white sugar 1/2 cup paprika 1/4 cup garlic powder 2 tablespoons ground black pepper 2 tablespoons ground ginger powder 2 tablespoons onion powder 2 teaspoons rosemary powder NO Salt! Make the rub and apply the night before. 5 hours at 225 on any smoker. I like to use apple wood. This is mainly for St Louis style ribs. I feel baby backs don't have enough meat.

Great dry rub! I have a pork shoulder rubbed down with the same (minus the Rosemary) sitting in the fridge now. I usually pass on the sauce and they come out great. I'd stick to the apple wood too.

and chris r (for whatever that was, LOL)

How many times should I apply wood? Is 4-5 hours overkill? I see some guys saying way less time

After that when I apply the sauce do I put them back in at 225 or put them directly on coals or in the oven?

before you do ANYTHING, you need to remove the membrane underneath the ribs. It is like sausage casing. Find a loose end, pinch it with your fingernails or needle nose pliers and rip it right off. It often comes off in one piece.

THEN apply your rub.

As far as the temp is concerned, I would not go any higher than 200. I see people posting 225 or 250 and it just cooks them way too fast.

Do not put any liquid on those ribs for at least 3 hours. The liquid will create a barrier that the smoke cannot penetrate. You are smoking the rub only. After 3 hours, you are not going to get anymore smoke into that meat so continue to cook at 200 or less but you can stop with the wood chips. Then, if you want to wet the ribs fine.

I switched to an electric smoker. This thing kicks ass and a lot of my friends in BBQ country (Kansas City, Memphis, etc) use this one. Sams Club is selling it now for about $300. It maintains the temp perfectly. You add your wood chips to it. If you are cooking for 12+ hours you can set this thing to go all night without having to wake up to stoke a fire.

The other reason why I like this smoker is because the racks are layered. I will smoke ribs/pork on top and then a chicken underneath with the pork drippings going onto the chicken, etc You can make jerky in this too.

In comment 12298189 EricJ said:

Quote:

before you do ANYTHING, you need to remove the membrane underneath the ribs. It is like sausage casing. Find a loose end, pinch it with your fingernails or needle nose pliers and rip it right off. It often comes off in one piece. THEN apply your rub. As far as the temp is concerned, I would not go any higher than 200. I see people posting 225 or 250 and it just cooks them way too fast. Do not put any liquid on those ribs for at least 3 hours. The liquid will create a barrier that the smoke cannot penetrate. You are smoking the rub only. After 3 hours, you are not going to get anymore smoke into that meat so continue to cook at 200 or less but you can stop with the wood chips. Then, if you want to wet the ribs fine. I switched to an electric smoker. This thing kicks ass and a lot of my friends in BBQ country (Kansas City, Memphis, etc) use this one. Sams Club is selling it now for about $300. It maintains the temp perfectly. You add your wood chips to it. If you are cooking for 12+ hours you can set this thing to go all night without having to wake up to stoke a fire. The other reason why I like this smoker is because the racks are layered. I will smoke ribs/pork on top and then a chicken underneath with the pork drippings going onto the chicken, etc You can make jerky in this too.

That's a cool looking smoker for $300. I'm using a Traeger and my wife would kill me if I got another grill. lol. I've got the smoker, an Egg and a gas grill out on the deck and that's the limit. Not Bobby Flay's backyard, but enough.

I know about the membranes, I cooked ribs in the oven and still need to remove the membranes, like the smoker.

I did a lot of research into which smoker to get, looked at electric or propane because they both seemed like they were easier to control temp, but in the end i settled on the Weber Smoke Mountain and the IQ120 to control temp.

it worked great with attempt 1 (brisket) on mother's day, and we'll see how the ribs come out.

my ribs were good in the oven, so I'm hopeful the smoker improves that.

You'll have to find the way that's best for you.

In comment 12298189 EricJ said:

Quote:

before you do ANYTHING, you need to remove the membrane underneath the ribs. It is like sausage casing. Find a loose end, pinch it with your fingernails or needle nose pliers and rip it right off. It often comes off in one piece. THEN apply your rub. As far as the temp is concerned, I would not go any higher than 200. I see people posting 225 or 250 and it just cooks them way too fast. Do not put any liquid on those ribs for at least 3 hours. The liquid will create a barrier that the smoke cannot penetrate. You are smoking the rub only. After 3 hours, you are not going to get anymore smoke into that meat so continue to cook at 200 or less but you can stop with the wood chips. Then, if you want to wet the ribs fine. I switched to an electric smoker. This thing kicks ass and a lot of my friends in BBQ country (Kansas City, Memphis, etc) use this one. Sams Club is selling it now for about $300. It maintains the temp perfectly. You add your wood chips to it. If you are cooking for 12+ hours you can set this thing to go all night without having to wake up to stoke a fire. The other reason why I like this smoker is because the racks are layered. I will smoke ribs/pork on top and then a chicken underneath with the pork drippings going onto the chicken, etc You can make jerky in this too.

I use a Bradley electric. I really like it because it's for dummies so it works well for me. People who use it recommended a 3-2-1 method for ribs with 3 hours just smoke, then 2 hrs in a foil wrap with a splash or two of apple juice, then an hour out of the foil with sauce. I usually throw it on a grill for a minute or two after to caramelize the sauce.

Although I normally leave off the sauce. I also like to soak my wood for at least a day. I find it helps it from burning up, keeps it smoldering more. Definitely a lot of methods. Low and slow in the smoker is a very forgiving way of cooking, I'm sure they will turn out great. Enjoy a full day cooking!