My Best Spare Ribs… So Far

A couple weeks ago we had a few friends over for a grill out. We had some great food. Corn on the cob, hot dogs, and ribs. In fact, I’d say they were my best ribs yet. Oh, they were so good. Beautiful smoke ring. Sweet flavor. I aImost wish I hadn’t had friends to share them with. Now, I love watching Steve Raichlen and have learned gobs of BBQ tricks. Experimenting on my own, I think I’ve mastered the spare rib and would like to share my recipe.  For those who need step-by-step instruction, I’m probably not the guy to learn from. I’m a bit more free-spirited when it comes to anything food related.

First, the ingredients. You will need: a rack of spare ribs, garlic salt, chili powder, brown sugar, cumin, chinese five power, charcoal (you can try it on a gas grill, but I think charcoal is far superior), and applewood chunks (other woods may work fine, depending your taste, I simply have a lot of apple wood).

Next, the preparation. The night before, start soaking your wood chunks. In addition, you can add your dry rub ingredients to your ribs the night before up a close as 1 hour before cooking. With that great batch, I rubbed them the night before. To make the rub, you want to throw a handful (not a great measuring unit, I know) of garlic salt, and chili powder into a bowl. Then, throw in two handfuls of brown sugar. These are your base ingredients. There are all kinds of other spices you can add to make a great rub. For that last batch, I added an open palm crease of cumin and chinese five powder. I’d usually add dry mustard, but didn’t have any. After it is in a bowl, mix it with your fingers, breaking up any globs.

Now, the rubbin’. On the bottom side of the ribs, you will notice a shimmery membrane. You will want to remove the membrane for maximum rub absorption. You can do this by sliding a dull pointed object (an instant read thermometer works great) underneath the membrane and once it is loosened, you can grab it with a paper towel and rip it of. There are videos online demonstrating this. Then, take the dry rub and cover the ribs, rubbing in the seasonings. Let it sit for at least an hour and up to 24 hours.

Let’s heat things up. When you are ready to grill your ribs, spread burning coals to one side of your grill (if you have a fixed lid to the side opposite the vents), place your soaked wood chunks on top, and replace the grate. Next, lay your rack of ribs curved-side up over the side without the burning coals. Put your lid on the grill with the vent over the ribs. Let the smoke add some flavor.

Bon appetit. I left my ribs on the grill for about an hour and a half. Grills vary in temperature. One way to tell if they’re done is by looking at the bones. When the meat begins to pull away from the ends, they’re ready. Or, you can alway use an instant read thermometer, but with ribs, I’ve notice a lot of fluctuation concerning the ideal temp. They are safe at 145, but may need to be hotter to soften. Yet, as long and you are indirect grilling them, ribs are much more forgiving if you’re not in the perfect temp zone. So sites I’ve seen said up to 180 will be ok. Once done, cut them up between bones and share them with your friends… Or eat them yourself.