Categories: smoker
Ingredients
- Spare ribs
- Yellow mustard
- Rub and Sauce
- Heavy Duty Aluminum foil
- Apple juice
Directions
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First, be sure to remove the flap or skirt on the bone side of the ribs. Lay the ribs bone side up with the bones in front and closest to you. You will notice a strip of meat that runs along the length of the ribs in the meaty area above the bones. Pull up on this flap of meat and use a very sharp knive held at a 45 degree angle to remove/cut it off.
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Don’t throw the strip of meat away as it can be placed in the smoker and cooked along with the ribs. It will be tasty and ready to eat in about 1-1/2 to 2 hours.
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Next, will be removing the membrane which is a thick plastic-like covering over the bones. Most restaurants do not remove this but in my opinion, it keeps the smoke from being able to penetrate into the meat as well and produces a higher quality product by not forcing your guests to deal with it while they eat.
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Use a sharp knive or other sharp object to peel up a corner of the membrane from the bone. Then when you have enough to grab.. use a paper towel or perhaps some clean catfish skinning pliers to grasp the membrane and pull it clean off. PUll it carefully but firmly to completely remove it from the ribs. If it tears, no worries, just try again.
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With the flap removed and the membrane gone, we are now going to apply some flavor to the ribs via the use of a dry rub.
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Apply a thin coat of regular yellow hotdog mustard to both sides of the ribs. Use your hands or better yet, a shaker bottle to apply a nice liberal but even layer of rub to the bone side of the ribs. Let the ribs sit for about 10 minutes if possible to help the rub to mix with the mustard so it will have it’s full sticking capability.
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Turn the ribs over to meaty side up and once again, apply an even coat of the rub to the ribs, not caked on but thick enough so that you can no longer see the meat.
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Leave the ribs right there on the counter while you get the smoker ready.
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Preparing the Smoker
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Regardless of what kind of smoker you have, get it going so that it can hold a steady temperature of 225 degrees F. I recommend using cherry, mesquite or pecan wood for smoking the ribs.
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Once the smoker is holding steady, place the ribs bone side down directly on the grate and close the lid/door.
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Note: Ribs are NOT cooked to any hard temperature or time .. they are done when they get tender enough and not a second before. Be willing to deviate from the estimated cooking time if they are not tender enough.
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The “3” in this method is the first 3 hours where the ribs will be directly on the grate and taking on the smoke flavoring from the wood that is smoking. Leave the door closed during this step and just make sure the heat stays as steady and close to 225 degrees F as possible.
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The “2” is where the ribs get tender. Once the initial 3 hours are over, Wrap each rack of ribs in a large piece of heavy duty aluminum foil and just before closing it up, pour about 1/4 cup of apple juice or other liquid such as beer, water, Dr. Pepper, etc. into the bottom of the foil. Close up the foil around each rack of ribs and lay the wrapped ribs back on the grate for 2 hours.
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The “1” in this method stands for the final hour in cooking the ribs. When the “2” is complete, remove the foil wrapped ribs from the smoker, remove the foil and place the ribs on the grate with NO foil for their final hour.