Recipe: Smoked Pork Spareribs - Houston Chronicle

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The goal of this recipe is to produce a meaty rack of pork spareribs, smoked until they pull cleanly off the bone, with a tender, well-seasoned bark. A typical rack of spareribs includes 11-13 bones and feeds 2-3 people.

1 full rack of pork spareribs, 4-5 pounds

¼ cup of pork rib dry rub, in shaker bottler (see recipe here)

¼ cup yellow deli mustard

½ cup barbecue sauce, tomato-and-vinegar style, not too sweet

Spray bottle containing apple cider vinegar, for spritzing

Heavy duty aluminum foil, 18 in. wide

Instructions: Start the fire in your smoker firebox. Oak is the recommended type of wood. While the fire burns down to coals, prepare the rack or spareribs. My favorite place to get spareribs is the meat aisle at H-E-B, which almost always has a great selection of Smithfield pork spareribs in the 4-5 pound range. The cost is usually under $10 for the rack.

Remove the rack of ribs from the wrapping, pat dry with paper towels, and place on a cutting board for trimming. The meat side should be facing up.

Trim the edges of the rack to remove any loose meat and bone. A sturdy chef’s knife will cut through both the meat, cartilage and small bones. In general you want to make the rack as aerodynamic as possible. You also want to remove any sharp pieces of bone around the outside that might puncture the aluminum foil wrap that will be added later.

Now flip the rack over to reveal the “bottom” of the ribs. There’s a prominent flap of meat known as the skirt that should be trimmed off. There is some debate as to whether the silver skin that covers the bottom of the ribs should be removed. I leave it on.

Still working on the bottom of the rack, add about half the mustard (French’s Classic Yellow Mustard from any grocery store) with your hands or a brush. You just want to add a thin layer for the pork rib rub to adhere to.

Shake the bottle of dry rub to make sure all the ingredients are evenly dispersed. Use the big opening of the shaker bottle and drizzle on a thin, even layer of rub. Give it a pat to make sure the rub adheres to the mustard. Flip the rack over and do the same for the meat side.

Make sure the smoker is running between 260 and 280 degrees, and add the ribs, meat side up. It should be placed away from the firebox, with the meatier end facing the firebox. Cook for two hours with lid closed, keeping the temperature at about 270.

At the two hour mark, open the lid and check for progress. The rack should be bright pink with flecks of pepper still showing prominently. Give the rack a few spritzes of apple cider vinegar from the spray bottle (Bragg organic brand at any supermarket) to keep the bark moist. Close smoker lid and cook for another hour at 270.

Prepare for wrapping. Cut a length of aluminum foil about twice the length of the rack of ribs, shiny side down. Add a few spritzes of vinegar and drizzle on about half the barbecue sauce (I use Mark’s Good Stuff Chicken N Ribs BBQ Sauce from H-E-B) in the middle area of the foil where the ribs will be placed.

Remove the rack from the smoker with grill gloves or rags and place it meat-side down on the foil. Brush on a thin layer of barbecue sauce and spritz on a small amount of vinegar to the bottom of the ribs. Now fold over the foil to create a tight packet, free of any tears.

Put the package back on the smoker with the crease side up so the bottom of the foil is intact and will collect any rendered fat. Cook for an additional two hours at 270.

Remove the wrapped ribs from the smoker and unwrap from the foil. Put the unwrapped ribs back on the smoker, meat side up, and lightly brush or mop the top (avoid disturbing the specks of pepper still clinging to the bark) with the rendered fat/sauce/rub solution at the bottom of the foil. For this last hour, we just want to tighten up the texture of the bark so it has some “chew.” Cook for another hour at 270, checking the ribs every 15 minutes or so to make sure the bark isn’t getting too dry. Brush or mop on additional rendered fat/sauce as necessary.

After the final hour, remove the ribs to a cutting board and let sit for 15-20 minutes as your guests ooh-and-ahh over the fragrant pork and pepper smell and the mahogany color of the bark, with plenty of juice oozing around it.

Use a chef’s knife to cut between the bones to separate into individual bones for guests to enjoy.

From J.C. Reid

The Link Lonk


November 13, 2020 at 01:00AM
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Recipe: Smoked Pork Spareribs - Houston Chronicle

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