Ribs, ribs, ribs – everyone has their own method, preference and style when it comes to ribs. And most times, everyone thinks theirs are the best. And to me, that’s ludicrous because there are so many different ways to prepare ribs and I don’t think only one recipe could be the best. And why would you want to declare one the best and only eat one style of ribs? Ribs are such delicious meaty morsels on a stick that I want to try and eat as many different styles as I can. So, it may seem counterintuitive for me to say but these ribs aren’t the best on the planet. They are, however, fairly outstanding. They feature a nice balance of smoke, juicy meat and a flavorful rub. Give these ribs a try for your Memorial Day barbecue. Simple, straightforward and delicious! And if you have a great rib recipe – drop it in the comments – I’d love to try them all!
A dry rub is key to any rib recipe.
A thing of beauty…
Sauced or dry? I did half and half.
Gratuitous Money Shot of Ribs
Smoked Baby Back Ribs
Smoked Baby Back RIbs
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 tbsp. paprika
- 1 tbsp. chili powder
- 1 tbsp. kosher salt
- 3 tsp. ground cumin
- 1 tsp. Mexican oregano
- 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tsp. dry mustard
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp. ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp. white pepper
- 1/4 tsp. allspice
- 2 racks baby back ribs, silver skin removed (about 3 pounds each)
- 1 cup hard apple cider (I used Angry Orchard)
- 2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
- Barbeque sauce, optional (I used Sweet Baby Ray’s)
Directions:
- In a medium size bowl, whisk together the first 10 ingredients to make your dry rub.
- Evenly massage dry rub onto both sides of each rack of ribs.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least four hours, up to overnight.
- About 30 minutes before you are ready to cook, soak the apple chips in water.
- If using a charcoal smoker, light your coals.
- If you are using a gas grill, set it up for indirect grilling by turn one side of the grill to medium-high and leaving the other side off.
- With either method, you want to maintain a temperature around 250 degrees.
- When your grill is ready, drain the wood chips. Add chips directly to coals or smoker box on gas grill.
- Place your ribs meat side down in the smoker or on the cool side of the gas grill; cover.
- Meanwhile, mix hard apple cider, Worcestershire sauce and vinegar together. Brush this mixture on both sides of the ribs every 30 minutes.
- Smoke the ribs for 4 hours, flipping them over to meat side up about halfway through.
- Remove from heat. Ribs can be served immediately as is or brushed with sauce and broiled or grilled for a couple minutes.
- Ribs can also be made a day ahead of time. When ready to serve, simply brush with sauce and grill over medium-high heat for 5 – 7 minutes until hot throughout.
Tagged: Angry Orchard, apple cider vinegar, baby back ribs, black pepper, brown sugar, chili powder, coriander, cumin, dry mustard, Fourth of July, garlic powder, grilling, kosher salt, Labor Day, Memorial Day, onion powder, oregano, paprika, pork, ribs, smoker, summer, worcestershire sauce
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