2For66

Cook Date: April 15, 2023

Yes, yes, I know; here it is December and I’m posting something from back in April – over 8 months ago. Well, I’m trying to catch up on things I missed earlier in the year and I thought a barbecue call back to Spring would be a great post for winter.

I generally make my rub; but it isn’t my recipe. For this cook I used Melissa Cookston’s Sweet Memphis BBQ Rub. The recipe in the link also includes white sugar; but the recipe I have – and which I can’t find online anymore – also calls for white sugar; but I used all turbinado. The recipe also calls for kosher salt, but I didn’t include that because I dry brined the ribs for a few hours before rubbing and cooking.

The turbinado sugar was interesting: a mass of tiny cubes of light brown sweetness.

No way could it go on the ribs like this; it needed a bit of a grind. My first try was with our small food processor.

The food processor did a great job of taking the individual cubes for a joy ride, but the cubes did not break down at all. I tried again with the coffee grinder I’ve repurposed into a spice grinder. If that didn’t work I’d have to resort to brown sugar.

Much better; the spice grinder turned into a fine powder.

With that accomplished the rest of the rub ingredients took only a minute or two to combine.

You can’t rub it on the ribs like that; it needs to be combined. I put it in a shaker I use for rubs. Alternatively you can use a spoon to sprinkle it on.

Next up; let’s make the BBQ sauce. People who have actually eaten my cooking (as opposed to looking at pictures of it) love the KC sauce since it has that mix of sweet, savory, and just a hint of sharpness. I used this Kansas City Classic Barbecue Sauce recipe from Amazing Ribs. My favorite sauce is a “brick sauce” (my name) which you can read about here. It isn’t nearly as sweet as the KC sauce but you’ve got to give people what they like.

Mix the ingredients

Simmer it for 10-15 minutes then let it cool.

Let’s get on with the cook! A few hours before cooking I dry brined the ribs by sprinkling kosher salt over them and stashing them in the refrigerator uncovered. I took them out of the fridge about half an hour before starting to cook and started up the grill. While waiting for the grill to get to temp – which on my grill is about 210° on the “Smoke” setting – I liberally applied rub to my three racks. Finally they went on the pit.

Note there is no sauce on the ribs yet; all that sugar would burn. Memphis ribs are “dry”; we will add sauce at the end. After 30 minutes on the smoke setting I bumped the grill temperature to 265°. Now, some folks may be losing their minds at this point: “HERETIC! THAT’s NOT LOW AND SLOW!”. I’ve found that it’s a good temperature.

Time to sit back and enjoy the smell of barbecue.

The classic method for smoking ribs is 3:2:1. Three hours on the grill followed by two hours wrapped in foil (or paper), finishing with 1 hour back on the grill to set the sauce. But two hours wrapped in foil can result in mushy ribs. Yes they will be “fall off the bone”; but I want to have to give a rib a slight tug using my teeth and have the ribs come off the bone cleanly. Wrapping ribs for a full two hours – especially smaller racks – can result in the meat literally falling off the bones before they make it to the table. The ribs from Costco are usually pretty big so you have to adjust timing based on what you are seeing. This cook ended up as 4:1¾:¼. Four hours on the pit spritzing occasionally with a combination of water and apple juice. Here we are getting close to wrapping.

I’ve cooked my ribs wrapped sometimes and unwrapped others . I knew I wanted a bit more tenderness than I would get with just 5 hours on the grill so I used a new-to-me wrapping method. I put some brown sugar down on a layer of aluminum foil then laid the ribs bone side up over the sugar. On the concave bone-side I sprinkled a little more brown sugar and a bit of the rub and topped it off with some honey. Some people add butter or margarine at this point; but I just can’t get my head around that. Just before sealing I poured in a bit of apple juice to produce steam and enhance the tenderness.

Wrapped and in they go.

I was expecting just 1 hour with the wrap; but checking occasionally, it took 1¾ for the racks to get to the tenderness I wanted. You can test tenderness by inserting a toothpick or a paring knife tip between the bones. Ribs and cookers are all different, so you can’t use a straight up formula (at least I can’t; instead I have to monitor.

To finish, I pulled the two smaller racks out of the foil, slathered on a bit of sauce, and put directly on the grill for a few minutes so the sauce can set. There is a lot of sugar in the sauce so you have to keep an eye on it so you don’t end up with a burnt crust. Finally, after 6 hours I was rewarded with this mahogany beautifulness. The larger rack needed another 30 minutes. But larger and smaller are relative terms; the two “smaller” racks are plenty meaty.

It isn’t rare pork, it’s perfectly smoked.

These were really, really good. In my notes I wrote that the result was “rib perfection for the 2 smaller racks.” And my notes for my next attempt was “Do it just like this next time.” It’s taken me over 10 years to get to this point, but wrapping my ribs with brown sugar, a bit of rub, and honey has won me over.

Verdict: ★★★★ 4 stars. More than good enough for company.

If you’d like the nitty gritty details of the cook, check out my cooking log. You can even download it if you wish. As I mentioned before; keep an eye on the ribs rather than going for a straight formula. Smaller ribs and/or a hotter pit will affect the outcome.

By the way; with the help of my friend, John I fixed the igniter problem (documented in the cooking log notes) a few days after this cook. The MAK company is great; they sent a new igniter rod and instructions in two days. The company is one of the many reasons I love this smoker/grill.