This is the best recipe that I have ever found for barbecued ribs. Use real pork spareribs, not phoney "baby back ribs".
Authentic Barbecue Pork Spareribs
You will need a few items before proceeding with the recipe: A covered kettle charcoal grill, charcoal briquettes, hickory wood smoking chips, aluminum foil (preferrably heavy duty, extra wide) and a large brown paper bag.
Serves about 4
Ribs
2 slabs pork spareribs , about 6 pounds total, trimmed of extraneous fat
Dry Rub
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper (optional)
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon dried oregano
4 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons table salt
1 tablespoon ground white pepper
3 tablespoons celery salt
3 tablespoons garlic powder
1. Mix all dry rub ingredients together in a medium bowl. Measure out 3/4 cup of the dry rub and place in separate bowl. Reserve remaining rub for future use. Rub 3 tablespoons dry rub on each side of the 2 racks of ribs. Let ribs stand at room temperature for up to an hour.
2. Light a chimney starter 2/3 full with charcoal briquettes and burn until covered with thin coating of light gray ash, about 10 - 15 minutes. Empty coals onto half of the grill, leaving the other half empty and arrange about 2 or 3 briquettes high. Keep bottom vents of the grill completely open.
3. Wrap about 2 cups of hickory wood chips in a foil packet and poke packet with a fork. Lay foil packet on top of the charcoal. Put the cooking grate in place. Position the ribs on the grate opposite the fire (on a 22-inch grill, you should be able to cook two full slabs of ribs side-by-side). Put the lid on the grill, with the top vents two-thirds of the way open, directly over the ribs. This will help draw the heat and hickory smoke past the ribs. Initial heat will be about 350-degrees, and should drop about 250-degrees over the course of cooking.
4. Turn the ribs every thirty minutes for a total cooking time of two to three hours. At 1 1/2 hours, check the cooking temperature and add an additional 15 coals to keep temperature constant at 250 degrees. If the meat is nearing doneness, the meat will start pulling away from the bones and have a distinct rosy glow on the exterior.
5. Immediately after taking the ribs off the grill, completely wrap them in aluminum foil. Put the foil wrapped ribs in a brown paper bag and fold the paper bag over the ribs. Allow to rest at room temperature for one hour or more.
6. Unwrap ribs and cut into individual servings. Serve
IMHO ribs taste better if you peal the silver skin off the bottom of you ribs before rubbing.
Man, that sounds good. My cheap grill doesnt have a temp guage..in fact the bottom rusted out and I have a flat rock there to keep my coals from falling out! lol
Time for an upgrade.
Tom, Texans cook with mesquite.