Smoky Spareribs Recipes

Steps:

• Brine: In a 1-gallon container, combine water, salt, and sugar. Seal and shake to dissolve salt and sugar, about 30 seconds. Lay ribs in large container; add the brine, making sure the ribs are fully submerged. Cover and refrigerate 15-24 hours, optimally 20 hours.
• Smoke ribs: Light smoker and heat on 250 degrees F. (For smokier ribs with a pronounced internal "smoke ring," Pitmaster Jones suggest adding wood chips on top of the charcoal during the first hour of cooking.) Remove brined ribs and place on a flat surface. Par dry with paper towels on both sides. Sprinkle BBQ Spice Rub all over ribs on both sides; use your hands to work the rub in, making sure all of the ribs are covered.
• Place ribs bone-side down onto the grill. Cover and cook undisturbed for 3-3 1/2 hours. Check smoker temperature hourly; add charcoal and use vents as needed to maintain a temperature of 250 degrees F through the duration of cooking.
• Stack 2 large sheets of aluminum foil on a flat work surface. After 3-3 1/3 hours, remove ribs from smoker and place on foil, bone-side down. Spread a small amount of Sweet BBQ Pit Sauce evenly over the meat. Wrap and place back in the grill, bone-side down, 30 minutes.
• Remove ribs from smoker and remove foil. Place back on smoker grates and cook another 10-15 minutes. Remove, cut into individual ribs, and serve.
• BBQ Spice Rub: In a bowl, combine all the ingredients. Mix well to break up any lumps. (Optional: Use a food processor.) Makes about 4 cups. It will keep in a covered container at room temperature for several months. Before each use, stir the rub or shake well to re-distribute all the ingredients evenly.
• Sweet BBQ Pit Sauce, part 1: In a saucepan, combine the dry ingredients and mix well to break up any lumps. Add ketchup, melted butter, water, vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce. Bring sauce to a simmer over low heat. Continue to simmer, stirring the entire time until the sauce has reduced and thickened, about 15 minutes. (Keeping the heat low helps prevent the butter from separating and the sugar from burning.)
• Sweet BBQ Pit Sauce, part 2: Sauce is done when it thinly coats a spoon and has reduced by about ⅓. Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally so it doesn't stick to the bottom. Makes about 3 cups of Sweet BBQ Pit Sauce. Store in a covered container in the refrigerator. (It will keep for months, thanks to the vinegar.)

Steps:

• Combine the salt, brown sugar, paprika, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, and celery seed in a bowl; set aside. Remove all heavy fat from the ribs, then remove and discard the membrane covering the rib side. Cut the slabs into 3 to 4 bone portions, cutting evenly between the ribs to leave some meat on each portion.
• Rub the spice mixture into the rib portions front and back until all of the spice mixture has been used. Place the ribs into a resealable plastic bag, and refrigerate 4 hours to overnight. Letting the ribs sit overnight will give them the best flavor.
• When ready to cook, fill the water pan of your smoker with the apple, orange, lemon, lime, onion, red wine, and water. If you do not have a water pan, place the ingredients into a metal bowl, and set the bowl on the drip tray, above the heat source. Smoke with the wood chips of your choice at 250 to 300 degrees F (120 to 150 degrees C) until the ribs are no longer pink, and the meat easily pulls from the bone, 4 to 6 hours or more depending on the smoker and temperature. Change the wood chips according to manufacturer's directions.
• Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-low heat, and lightly oil grate. Stir together the soy sauce, lime juice, and ketchup in a bowl to make the barbeque sauce; set aside.
• After the ribs are fully cooked, remove them from the smoker, and brush them with the barbeque sauce. Cook on the preheated grill, brushing occasionally with the sauce, until the sauce has become sticky and infused into the ribs, 15 to 20 minutes.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200 degrees. In a mixing bowl, combine the brown sugar, ancho chili powder or paprika, salt, garlic powder, cloves and cinnamon.
• Place each slab of ribs on a piece of foil large enough to fold into a packet. Sprinkle spice rub over the ribs, rubbing in thoroughly on all sides. With the ribs meat-side down, tightly fold the foil to form sealed packets.
• Put a rack on a baking sheet, place packets on the rack and put in oven. Bake for 4 hours, then reduce heat to 175 degrees and bake for 2 more hours, or until a fork easily penetrates the meat.
• Open each packet and pour the accumulated juices into a saucepan, then refold the packets. Bring juices to a simmer over medium heat and reduce by about half, until they cling to a spoon. Remove from the heat and stir in the pimentón, vinegar and vanilla extract.
• Remove ribs from foil, coat with the sauce and serve. The ribs can also be finished for 2 to 3 minutes on an open hot grill or smoky closed one, or under the broiler, then coated with sauce.

Steps:

• Stir salt, white sugar, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, black pepper, white pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder, paprika, and cumin together in a small bowl to make the dry rub. Rub the spice mixture into the baby back ribs on all sides. Wrap the ribs well with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes prior to cooking.
• Unwrap baby back ribs and place onto the wire racks of the smoker in a single layer.
• Place the racks into a smoker, fill the smoker pan with apple, grape, pear, or cherry chips, and bring the smoker to 270 degrees F (130 degrees C). Smoke for 1 hour.
• Stir together the apple juice, 1/4 cup brown sugar, and the barbeque sauce. Brush the ribs with the sauce every 30 to 45 minutes after the first hour. Cook the ribs in the smoker until the meat is no longer pink and begins to "shrink" back from the bones, 3 to 4 hours. Brush the sauce onto the ribs one last time 30 minutes before the ribs are ready to be taken out of the smoker.
• Once the ribs are done, wrap them tightly with aluminum foil, and allow to rest 10 to 15 minutes. This will allow the juices to reabsorb into the meat and make the ribs moist.

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, mix together the brown sugar, chili powder, paprika, black pepper, 2 tablespoons garlic powder, 2 teaspoons onion powder, kosher salt, cumin, cinnamon, jalapeno seasoning, and cayenne pepper. Rub generously onto the pork spareribs. Cover, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
• Prepare an outdoor grill for indirect heat, or preheat a smoker to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C). Soak wood chips (apple or cherry are our favorites).
• While the grill heats up, prepare the mop sauce. In a medium bowl, stir together the apple cider, apple cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon onion powder, 1 tablespoon garlic powder, lemon juice, jalapeno, hot pepper sauce, salt and pepper.
• When the coals are gray and ashed over, place 2 handfuls of soaked woodchips directly on them. Place the ribs on the grill grate bone-side down. Cover, and cook for 3 1/2 to 4 hours. Add more coals as needed. Baste with the mop sauce, and throw handfuls of soaked woodchips onto the coals every hour. Keep the temperature of the grill or smoker from going below 225 degrees F (110 degrees C). Ribs are done when the rub has created a wonderful crispy blackened 'bark', and the meat has pulled away from the bone. Discard any leftover mop sauce.