Smoked Spareribs

I have the coolest family. For my graduation, my parents and brother and sis-in-law teamed up and bought me a smoker. Now, this is no ordinary smoker. This baby is an electric, pellet fed smoker. You get the traditional smokey taste, without having to mess with gas or charcoal. It is so easy to use, and turns out fantastic food every single time.

As we are officially in summer now, this is my new favorite toy. I’ve put a lot of different types of food on the smoker. It basically functions like a convection oven, so anything you’d bake, you can smoke. How friggin cool is that? Oh BBQ. How I love thee.

Isn’t there just something about smokey, meaty, saucey goodness coming off a grill? MMM!

I wish I had unlimited time and funds. I would be on my deck smoking some kind of meat with a margarita in one of my hands every damn day. Sigh...the realities of life prohibit this. But in a way...I think that makes the times I do get to put a slab of meat on the smoker even sweeter. It’s something to look forward to, and something to savor.

This is the second preparation of spareribs I have done. The first time was in the crock pot, and they turned out tender and delicious. This time, on the smoker, they were even BETTER. I used the 3-2-1 method from Traeger and it worked out really well with several small adaptations.

When I first put them on the grill

After 6 hours...ready to eat!

That smoke ring. Yum!

Now I realize not everyone has a smoker. But here is the recipe I used for the ribs, and if anyone wants the crock pot version I’ll be happy to post that as well.

Spareribs

Serves about 6 people

2 racks of spareribs, trimmed and rinsed*
About a cup of your favorite BBQ rub (I used a mix of brown sugar, paprika, s&p and garlic)
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup apple juice
1/4 cup yellow mustard
Your favorite BBQ sauce (My mom made a batch using Guinness and it's killer)

*Quick note on the rib prep. You might need to remove a thin membrane from the bone side of the ribs. The easiest way to do this is to get a butter knife or kitchen scissors, get underneath the membrane, then grip it and pull. Get as much of it off as you can. It's not that great to eat. Some ribs will come with it already removed.

After the ribs are trimmed and rinsed, dry them with a paper towel (or 3) and then lightly coat them in the mustard. Basically, the mustard serves as glue here to hold your rub on. Sprinkle the rub onto the ribs and then rub it in. I like a nice coat of rub, because this is where you get your chewy bark from.
Start your smoker to get the fire going, and then smoke the ribs for 3 hours with the lid closed. After 3 hours, take the ribs off, and increase the heat to 225 degrees. Take the ribs inside.
Place one rack onto a large sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil. Drizzle half the honey and brown sugar onto the ribs and spread it around. Fold the foil around the ribs to create a pouch. Pour half of the apple juice into the pouch and then seal it up. Repeat this with the second rack. Place the 2 pouches back onto the grill and steam them for 2 hours.
When the 2 hours is up, remove the pouches, open them, and mop the ribs with the BBQ sauce. Place the ribs directly on the grill, and leave them for an additional 30 minutes to an hour. When they are nice and tender, take them off the grill, cover them and let them rest for at least 5 minutes. Then dig it!

We served these to my parents on the 4th of July last week and they were fantastic!!! I hope you and your families will enjoy them as much as we did!

XOXO,
Marga