How to Barbecue Ribs | The winning technique
Barbecued Ribs, the mere sound of that makes my mouth water. If you’ve had barbecued ribs in some restaurant somewhere and truly fell in love with them and would like to learn how to make your own, read on.
The trick to making incredible barbecued ribs is to keep in mind three goals
Tenderize, Flavorize, Moisturize
If every part of the process of making barbecued ribs keeps these important goals in mind you will, and I guarantee it, make some incredible barbecued ribs.
This is what you’ll need to barbecue ribs using my foolproof method.
- A rack of pork ribs
- Smoker
- Aluminum foil
- Mustard (that generic yellow stuff is fine)
- Apple juice in a spray bottle
- Bbq rib rub
- Wood chunks
- Barbecue sauce
- Various utensils
Now, let’s get started making some great barbecue ribs!
Great Barbecue ribs start with a great rack of ribs
Making a great rack of barbecued ribs begins with choosing the right rack of ribs. SInce our goal is to make our barbecue ribs flavorful, moist and tender you should look for a rack of ribs with some fat covering, that’s where the moist part comes from. Choose a rack of ribs with some fat covering across the whole rack. Also, hold the rack by one end and choose one that bends or droops the most, this is a good indicator that it isn’t tough, The less connective tissue, the more tender the barbecue ribs will be.
Remove the membrane for tasty Barbecue ribs
Turn the rack of ribs meat side down and remove the membrane. I find that this is easiest by using a butter knife to ‘get it started’ then grabbing the membrane with a paper towel and pulling it off. With practice you should be able to to this in one shot. It is vitally important to remove this membrane. If you leave it on the rub can’t get into the meat, and meat without rub isn’t very tasty, also, eating the membrane is like eating leather, not good eats at all. If you want tasty barbecue ribs you need to do this step.
Add rub to make some tasty Barbecue ribs
Apply a coat of generic yellow mustard before you apply the barbecue rub. It’ll make the rub stick better and the vinegar content will help tenderize the meat. Apply a good coating of rub and make sure you rub it in (that’s why they call it rub after all) Try to choose a bbq rub with a low sugar content, too much sugar and it will burn during the long cook, and that’s not how you make great barbecue ribs. After you apply the rub put the pork ribs into the fridge for a few hours of overnight to let the flavors get in.
Get your smoker ready to make some Barbecue ribs
Fire up your smoker and get it up to temperature. You’re shooting for 225 degrees. Once it gets there add the wood chunks. There really is no reason to soak them, it does nothing. Wood chips on the other hand should be soaked as they are much smaller and will burn too quickly otherwise.
Put the Barbecue ribs into the smoker and leave them alone..
Put the barbecue ribs into the smoker and walk away, just walk away and don’t open the smoker every ten minutes. Spray the ribs with apple juice every 45 minutes or so to help keep them moist. Flip the barbecue ribs at this time also.
Foil the Barbecue ribs
After 2 1/2 hours take the ribs out and wrap them in aluminum foil. Add a touch of barbecue sauce and apple juice to the pouch. Put the ribs back into the smoker for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
Almost there! Remove the Barbecue ribs from the foil
Remove the ribs from the foil and put them back into the smoker, crank up the heat a bit, 300 degress if you can. Add a coat of bbq sauce to both sides of the ribs. Flip and sauce again every 15 minutes. Remove the ribs in about an hour. Check every time you sauce and make sure the barbecue ribs don’t burn.
Remove the Barbecue ribs from the smoker
Remove the barbecue ribs and let them rest for about 10 minutes and then EAT!