Dave Alvarado
TVWBB Super Fan
I've got my technique pretty much nailed down, so I figured I'd go ahead and share. This technique works for spares as well, just add about an hour to the cook time before foiling.
My first few racks of ribs I ever cooked weren't really up to what I was looking for. They were certainly edible, but they were just kind of "meh". Other people loved them, but I wanted something more complex. So, I started looking into how the competition guys do it and shigged like crazy. This is the result.
1. Open up your package of ribs, peel off the membrane if you want, and remove any shiners if you want. If you have a full rack of spares, cut them to St. Louis style.
2. Rub them down with a medium coating of whatever rub floats your boat. I experiment all the time, I've used everything from salt & pepper to Indian spices.
3. Fire up the WSM, get it set for 275F. Use whatever smoke woods you want, I prefer hickory.
4. Ribs go in the smoke. 2 hours for loin backs (babybacks), 3 hours for spares.
5. When time is up, get some heavy-duty foil and lay it out on a table somewhere. Put a layer of brown sugar with some hot sauce on top on the foil. Use whatever hot sauce you want. If you want to use other sweet stuff, go for it. Butter? Sure. Lay the ribs bones-up on the layer of stuff. Put more of whatever you used on top of the bones. Wrap tightly and put back in the smoker for about 40 minutes. If you prefer falling-off-the-bone, go longer.
6. When time is up, unwrap and put back on the smoker. Slather both sides with whatever sauce you like. Smoke for about 30-40 minutes, until the meat starts to tear when you pick up the rack with tongs. If you're going for falling off the bone, you may need to go longer. I prefer mine to have a bit more firmness so they leave teeth marks when you bite them.
7. Cut and enjoy!
I've done this quite a few times now and it's always a winner. You can experiment and change up your flavors with the rub, the stuff in the foil, and the sauce. Go nuts, it's hard to go too wrong. The biggest gotcha I've found is going overboard with the hot sauce.
My first few racks of ribs I ever cooked weren't really up to what I was looking for. They were certainly edible, but they were just kind of "meh". Other people loved them, but I wanted something more complex. So, I started looking into how the competition guys do it and shigged like crazy. This is the result.
1. Open up your package of ribs, peel off the membrane if you want, and remove any shiners if you want. If you have a full rack of spares, cut them to St. Louis style.
2. Rub them down with a medium coating of whatever rub floats your boat. I experiment all the time, I've used everything from salt & pepper to Indian spices.
3. Fire up the WSM, get it set for 275F. Use whatever smoke woods you want, I prefer hickory.
4. Ribs go in the smoke. 2 hours for loin backs (babybacks), 3 hours for spares.
5. When time is up, get some heavy-duty foil and lay it out on a table somewhere. Put a layer of brown sugar with some hot sauce on top on the foil. Use whatever hot sauce you want. If you want to use other sweet stuff, go for it. Butter? Sure. Lay the ribs bones-up on the layer of stuff. Put more of whatever you used on top of the bones. Wrap tightly and put back in the smoker for about 40 minutes. If you prefer falling-off-the-bone, go longer.
6. When time is up, unwrap and put back on the smoker. Slather both sides with whatever sauce you like. Smoke for about 30-40 minutes, until the meat starts to tear when you pick up the rack with tongs. If you're going for falling off the bone, you may need to go longer. I prefer mine to have a bit more firmness so they leave teeth marks when you bite them.
7. Cut and enjoy!
I've done this quite a few times now and it's always a winner. You can experiment and change up your flavors with the rub, the stuff in the foil, and the sauce. Go nuts, it's hard to go too wrong. The biggest gotcha I've found is going overboard with the hot sauce.
