I finally did something I've been wanting to do for a long time with babyback ribs.

[realdocBBQ]

I did no rub, no nothing.

Just salt & 16 mesh black pepper.

I didn't even dry brine, just seasoned and threw them on the smoker.



They were.... EXCELLENT!!!!



It was great, seriously. It reminded me of ribs we used to get from a roadside grill over in Cole Bay in Sint Maarten back in 2003-2004. Now I know what they did - KISS principle and people ate. it. up. Literally. They had pretty skinny back ribs that came from Venezuela most likely, we used to get a 10kg box for US$20 that would have between 15-20 racks of back ribs. No loin meat on these. But man, did they come out good.

Now I know how.


This is such a simple method and it came out great, I will be doing more of this!

[Allon]

I smoked a couple racks that way... I think it's better than those expensive rubs everyone sells...

I have to be careful with pepper though. Linda can't have spices of any kind. Salt seems okay in moderation...

I bribed mine though... This is getting expensive.

[efincoop]

It so funny to see this. When I decided I wanted a stick burner again and bought my Shirley Fabrication patio model, the first think I cooked as ribs exactly the same way and that was the exact reaction I had

There is a lot to be said for K.I.S.S. approach.

[bbqLuv]

On my Traeger K.I.S.S. = Keep it super smoke, or was that super simple, or stupid simple?
SPG is great stuff.

[Greygoose]

Yup,,,,I agree

[barelfly]

Yep, easy and good!

[Sid P]

On what did you smoke them? I tried the same test on my KBQ a year ago with SLC’s. They were good, but nowhere as good as they are with a good rub.

[realdocBBQ]

This was just on a pellet smoker - Yoder YS480.

I'm sure when I get the stickburner from my friend's this week, they'll be even better.

[Dadof3Illinois]

When doing multiple racks at least one will be done what we call plain or pepper only. A lot of my family like this style!!

[Michael_in_TX]

Texas-style.....sometimes the only way to go.

[Jessterr]

Thanks for posting this, sounds really interesting, I'd like to give it a shot! Like Sid P, would be interested in knowing what kind of smoker you cooked them on, and also whether they were wrapped at some point.

[realdocBBQ]

No wrap, on a Yoder YS480. Did about 2h at 275, then an hour or so, at 325, then a little while at 345 - ish. Maybe 3.5hrs total. No wrap, no spritz. I will try some soon just like this, but lower and slower on the stickburner for more smoke and with an ACV/H2O spritz. I'll bet it'll be even better!

[Jessterr]

Thanks, realdocBBQ, definitely gonna try this. If I remember correctly Harry Soo had a YT video a while back where he concluded the same, that plain ol' S&P gave the best results, will have to go back and look for that. I seem to recall that he was cooking various BB rib recipes for his poker buddies, and of the several techniques he tried he felt that S&P was the best. Next time I do baby backs for a family get-together, I'll include one rack of these and do a blind taste test.

[tamidw]

Awesome!

[Starsky]

I did no rub, no nothing.

Just salt & 16 mesh black pepper.

I didn't even dry brine, just seasoned and threw them on the smoker.



They were.... EXCELLENT!!!!



It was great, seriously. It reminded me of ribs we used to get from a roadside grill over in Cole Bay in Sint Maarten back in 2003-2004. Now I know what they did - KISS principle and people ate. it. up. Literally. They had pretty skinny back ribs that came from Venezuela most likely, we used to get a 10kg box for US$20 that would have between 15-20 racks of back ribs. No loin meat on these. But man, did they come out good.

Now I know how.


This is such a simple method and it came out great, I will be doing more of this!

I was thinking about doing the same thing. Keeping it simple

[DTro]

I cooked 7 racks one time for a party. All got a rub, except one rack that only got salt and pepper. It was for my sister, who at the time was eating plain and trying to figure out a health issue. She ate two ribs. It was so good I ate the rest of that rack.

[captainlee]

I've kind of been on that path lately with all my cooks, getting rubs and spices down to the bare minimum. Friday i did a rotisserie chicken with just a pinch of sea salt and that was it. We both enjoyed the smoke and chicken flavors. My last rack of ribs was with just a touch of Malcom s BBQ rub for some color. You could sauce or not. Maybe just trying to mix things up a bit and get out of a cooking rut, looking for a change for a while.

[Skip]

Great post! I agree, S&P are often enough seasoning to let a dish shine on it's own.

[bbqLuv]

S&P is great and adding a little Lowry's Seasoned Salt to salt and pepper is good also.