Do you have that one thing that you just can’t cook? No matter how hard you try, you just can’t get it right. Well, that was ribs for me. I have cooked countless racks of ribs over the years, and usually they end up with a charred bottom, with no flavor, or so dry that they are pretty much inedible. I guess practice makes perfect, because about three months ago something clicked, and I finally got it right and not only made an edible rack of ribs, but they were pretty dang good too. I followed a recipe from Matt Pittman at Meat Church, and I believe that the biggest difference was during the wrap phase, I added an extra element by wrapping the ribs with things to give it that extra flavor and moisture.
This is perfect timing because I have decided to enter my first BBQ competition this year, and of course, one of the categories will be ribs. At competition, I would really like to use my own recipe, with some elements of what other big time bbq enthusiast do as well. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, am I right? I do want something that will help me stand out a little bit though. I will be the first to admit that I know absolutely nothing about these competitions, or what the judges are looking for. It will be trial and error as I go. The plan is to compete in several competitions, so as I continue to compete and talk to more experienced competitors, the more that I will know exactly what to go for during the cook.
The ribs in this recipe are a more savory rib as compared to the traditional, sweet pork rib. There are elements of sweetness just to even out some of the spice that I added in my seasoning and during the wrap phase. Please check out my recipe, try it for yourself or make it your own and let me know how it goes!
If ribs are your thing you can’t get right as well, or you are just looking for something different to try, I would love to share what I have done to help me out. Leave a comment, or post on our forum page if you have any advice or suggestions for how you do your competition ribs.
Ingredients
- One rack of pork ribs (I used St. Louis style for mine)
- Mustard for your binder
- Seasoning of your choice. I made my own that I call “Gotcha” (Mainly salt, pepper, brown sugar, and some spices including paprika and cayenne for a little kick) This seasoning has a small kick to it if you are trying to compare to some of your favorite seasonings.
- Apple Juice for spritzing
- One stick of butter
- Handful of brown sugar (probably about a cup if you’re a measurements person)
- Pepper or jalapeño jelly
- Your favorite BBQ sauce (optional)
Fire up your smoker or pellet grill
For this recipe I have cooked on both an offset smoker and on a pellet grill. Both times they have turned out delicious. For point of reference, I have a Traeger Ironwood 885 as my pellet smoker and an Old Country BBQ Pecos offset smoker. Fire up whatever smoker you are using to 250 degrees. I usually use post oak, but hickory and mesquite wood also work well.
Preparing the Ribs
Unpackage your ribs and flip them meat side down so that you can remove the membrane. I have found that my ribs are usually more successful and taste better when I remove the membrane from the back of the ribs. If you have never done this before, it is very simple, just grab a paper towel and yank that thing off. If you are buying from your local butcher, you can ask them to remove it for you as well.
After the membrane is removed, apply mustard (I just use French’s) to your ribs as your binder. You don’t need a ton, but just enough to cover your ribs in a thin layer. Applying the binder will allow that seasoning to set perfectly and not fall off.
After your binder is set, it is time to apply your seasoning. Like I said, I use my own seasoning, but this step can be substituted for whatever you would like to use. Apply a heavy coat of your favorite seasoning to the bone side of the ribs and let it adhere (sit) until the ribs look soaking wet. Flip the ribs to the meat side and repeat the same step. You should let these sit no more than 30 minutes per side.
Time to Cook
Once your smoker is at 250 degrees and your ribs have adhered, it is time to throw those things on and get going. I place them meat side up as far from the fire as I can. Second rack on the Traeger, as far away from the firebox as I can on the offset. I then close it up and let it ride.
In order to keep great moisture on these ribs, I spritz about every 45 minutes to an hour. This is not a perfect science, sometimes I get antsy and I spritz at 30-35 minutes, sometimes I get busy or forget and spritz at a little over the hour mark, so don’t beat yourself up if it is not exact timing.
The Wrap
BBQ is difficult because there really isn’t an exact temperature you are looking for when it comes time to wrap. Different racks cook differently and some cook faster than others. When I wrap I am really just looking for color. I want to see that change in color, they should be starting to turn a mahogany color. When I see this, I know it is time to wrap them in foil. This typically will be somewhere between the 2- 2.5 hour mark. Again it could be longer and there is not a perfect answer, just use your best judgement.
Once you see this perfect color, lay two pieces of heavy duty foil down and grab your butter, brown sugar, and pepper or jalapeño jelly. Slice the stick of butter and lay each chunk along the foil about the length of the ribs. Next, take about a handful of brown sugar (probably about 1 cup) and sprinkle it on top of your butter. Finally, take a spoon of your pepper or jalapeño jelly and spoon it on top of the brown sugar (I usually use about half a jar.) The pepper jelly is completely up to you on what you use. I personally have been using a local homemade jalapeño jelly that is out of this world and really amplifies the flavor of the ribs. I also have used a blackberry pepper jelly, and just your average pepper jelly. All are delicious and give a unique flavor to the ribs.
Once you have your bed of ingredients it is time to lay down the ribs. Set the ribs meat side up on the foil above the bed of ingredients. When you wrap, you will flip your ribs so that the meat side is down, directly laying on top of all of the ingredients. I do this so that the meat is directly soaking in all of these flavors, and it is basically laying in a pool of goodness. Wrap tight and stick back on the smoker meat side down.
Finishing the Cook
Once your ribs are wrapped it’s all downhill from here. If you are in a hurry, you can bump your temp up to 300 or even 325 degrees tp finish them quick. They’re wrapped and sitting in a pool of liquid, you won’t dry them out. If you are not in a hurry, you can let it ride at 250 degrees and cruise to the finish line. So, how do you know when they’re done? Again, there is not a perfect degree that you are looking for. What you are looking for here is a the rib bones to be protruding about a quarter inch out from the meat. This is a good indicator that they are done. If you want to temp them, place your meat thermometer in between the bones, and it should read anywhere between 201-210 degrees. If you like your ribs with a little bite and pull, pull them more towards that low 200’s. If you like fall off the bone ribs, leave them on a little bit longer and the internal temperature will be a little closer to that 210 degree mark.
Optional Saucing
These specific ribs that I made are not sauced, I am currently working on a bbq sauce for competition that I will use, but I have not perfected it yet and I really just wanted to see how the meat and seasoning tasted stand alone. I do love bbq sauce on my ribs though. If you want to add sauce to your ribs, after you pull them off, unwrap them and let them sit uncovered for about 20 or so minutes. This allows the ribs to stop cooking. Once you have waited the 20ish minutes, grab your own, or your favorite bbq sauce and sauce away. After your ribs are covered in sauce, stick them back on the smoker for about 10-15 minutes. This allows the bbq sauce to stick to the ribs and be a lot less messy when you eat them. The goal is not to continue cooking the ribs, so you don’t want to leave the sauced ribs on there for a long time. This could cause the ribs to get tacky and could ruin all of your hard work.
Enjoy!
You did it! Awesome job! Whether you follow this to a T, or completely ignore me and try something else, I would love to hear about how you cook your ribs, especially if you do competitions. I would love feedback from this recipe, or to learn from what you do and try it out!
Grill On!
Kaydon
