I will show how to do Spareribs on a smoker, from removing the membrane, adding a rub, and how long to cook them.
What you will need:
A BBQ Water Smoker (or charcoal grill set up for indirect grilling)
A Rack of spareribs
Yellow Mustard
1 cup paprika
1 cup chili powder
1/2 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup onion powder
1/4 cup garlic powder
3 TBL granulated sugar
1 tsp Black pepper
1 tsp Cayenne pepper
1 TBL molasses
Charcoal
Lighter Fluid
3 cinder blocks
water
Step 1: Removing the Membrane From Spareribs
Please don’t skip this step. Covering the bone side of the spareribs is a thin translucent membrane. Low and slow cooking can do a lot of things, tenderize tough meat, change cartilage into a lip smackin goodness, but there is nothing that can be done with the membrane covering the ribs except remove it. It also prevents flavors from being absorbed into the meat.
Start in the valley between the last 2 ribs. Take a small pointed tool such as an ice pick, or the tip of an instant read thermometer and insert it between the meat and the membrane. Work the two apart until you can get a finger in there. You should have a good piece loose at this point. Grab this with a dishtowel or paper towel which gives you abetter grip and pull. The membrane will come off. Most times only half comes off, and you’ll have to go back and take the balance off. This takes a few minutes but is well worth the trouble.
Step 2:
Following is the recipe I use for any pork I plan to BBQ, from pork sholders, butts, ribs, etc. Everyone has different likes and dislikes. If I can make a suggestion, if you are changeing the recipe, write down what you are do. That way when you hit on something you really like, you’ll be able to duplicate it every time.
My spice rub for pork
My spice rub:
1 cup paprika
1 cup chili powder
1/2 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup onion powder
1/4 cup garlic powder
3 TBL granulated sugar
1 tsp Black pepper
1 tsp Cayenne pepper
1 TBL molasses
Mix all the dry ingredients together and then add the molasses. Mix together with a fork, or in a mortar and pestal. It will still be a dry mix.
Step 3: Putting Spicerub on the Ribs
Put a thin layer of yellow mustard on one side of the ribs and cover with a layer of spicerub. Flip over and do the same to the other side. These ribs came in the size shown and it made it easier to fit in a large freezer bag for overnight refrigeration so I would recommend cutting the rack in half if it is a whole rack. Place ribs in a freezer bag or wrap in cling wrap. Put into a bowl and refrigerate overnight or up to 24 hours. The salt and sugar will take a certain amount of moisture from the meat, mix with the rub and the bowl will keep your refrigerator clean. The next day when you take the ribs out of the refrigerator, the surface will be wet because the salt and sugar takes moisture from the ribs and this mixes with the spices.. Apply a coating of the spice rub before cooking.
Step 4: Set Up Your Smoker
Fill the water pan in the smoker about 3/4 full. Put the top grate on.
Initially, I load my smoker up with 32 brickettes. To start the coals, I usually put 4 “matchlight” type brickettes in the bottom of each hole in the cynderblock with a paper fuse, fill the balance of the holes with regular charcoal and light them up. This week I didn’t have any “Matchlight”, so put 4 regular charcoals in the bottom and added a little lighter fluid to them and continued as normal. I like the assurance that the coals will light, but not the taste of fluid, so this lets me add a minimum of fluid.
Make sure you have water in the water pan. Because I don’t have adjustment vents on my smoker, it helps keep the smoker at a low temperature.
You will have to add about 16 new brikettes (already white ashed) to the fire box every hour, so you need to start them about 15-20 minutes ahead of time. Every hour when you replenish the charcoal, check the water pan to see if you need to add more water.
Step 5: Temperature and Time for Spareribs
Keep the heat at about 220 degrees( F) to 225 degrees. For you lucky people out there with top and bottom vents on your smokers this control is pretty easy. After you load the charcoals in to the fire box, the bottom vent regulates how hot the coals will burn. A wide open bottom vent will make the smoker hot. Shut down the air to the coals and the smoker cools down.
Step 6: Put the Ribs Bone Side Down on Your Smoker
After you put your ribs bone side down on the smoker, i don’t move them again. Put the cover on the smoker and let them go. They usually are done after 4 hours at 220-225 degrees. The way to tell if there done is the meat will pull back a little from the ends of the bones, and there will be a bit of give if you give one of the bones a twist. I know some people like them to “fall off the bone”, but I think if they do you’ve gone too far.
Step 7: Serving the Ribs.
I don’t like BBQ sauce very much, I think it’s too sweet, but many of my friends do. I serve some warmed up sauce on the side for those that want it. To serve, I just take the rack off the grill and cut between the bone with a heavy knife of a cleaver and put them on a serving platter.
