Blasphemy Ribs
Here is a new way to cook ribs that I am calling Blasphemy Ribs.
Normally we smoke a whole rack of ribs, low and slow, for 5-6 hours. Then we cut them apart to eat them. Inspired by Meathead's Char Siu ribs, which are cut apart then cooked, I came up with this recipe.
The advantages of this recipe and technique are:
You can see from the pictures below that the smoke "ring" goes all the way to bone!
To make this recipe you will need a smoker or grill that you can keep at a steady 225F. I use a pellet smoker (with a pellet blend of maple-hickory-cherry). If you use a grill, set it up for 2-zone cooking as we want to cook these over indirect heat.
I have only made this recipe with baby back ribs, and the timings and temperature are tested for that. It took me many tries to get the timing right and it gives proven results, so please make it my way before you try anything else. Having said, that, others have found this also works for St. Louis cut ribs with the same temp and timings. I suspect full spares would behave the same.
Rinse the rack of ribs and then remove the membrane. Cut the ribs into singles. This is much easier to do from the back as you can see the bones.
Put them in a gallon zip lock bag with the rub. The rub is my version of Meathead’s Memphis Dust. My version adds back the salt used in the original recipe because we want these ribs dry-brined. My recipe is at the end. If you use a different rub, make sure it has salt. Toss them well to coat and then put them in the refrigerator for 6 hours (or longer). I try to do mine the day before. Every few hours, turn the bag over to make sure the ribs get an even coating of the rub.
When you are ready to cook, put them on a grill pan with holes. They really don’t want to stand up, so I gave up trying and now just lay them on their side. (See the picture below.) If you use a stainless steel pan, prep the pan with a light coating of oil to make cleanup easier and to make sure the ribs can be removed as easily and cleanly as possible.
Smoke them at 225F for 2.5 hours. Apply BBQ sauce at 2 hours in, so it bakes on for half an hour. I use bottled sauce and right now my favorite is Sweet Baby Ray’s Hickory and Brown Sugar, but the original is good too. Baste the sauce on as heavy or light as you like, getting it on the edge facing up and on the top (which will be facing sideways). I have experimented with saucing the top and side, then turning the rib over to sauce the side that is down. I didn’t find that it was worth the effort.
At the 2.5 hour mark, remove from the smoker and serve. The total time here is 2.5 hours. The timing and temperatures are critical to success. Let them go longer and you will overcook them. Since they are individual, the margin for error is much smaller than for a whole rack.
Mark’s Blasphemy Rub:
6 tbs turbinado sugar (aka sugar in the raw)
2 tbs paprika
1 tbs sea salt (table salt grind)
1 tbs granulated garlic powder
1.5 tsp black pepper
1.5 tsp granulated onion powder
.5 tsp ground ginger
This amount of rub will last for 2-3 batches of Blasphemy Ribs.
Ribs on the pan (cooked):
Some close-ups of the ribs with the side cut:
And off the top:
The finished ribs:
And finally some "serving suggestions":
Here is a new way to cook ribs that I am calling Blasphemy Ribs.
Normally we smoke a whole rack of ribs, low and slow, for 5-6 hours. Then we cut them apart to eat them. Inspired by Meathead's Char Siu ribs, which are cut apart then cooked, I came up with this recipe.
The advantages of this recipe and technique are:
- The ribs cook much faster (half the time)
- There's more surface area to absorb smoke and for the rub and sauce
- More bark
- Much easier to serve because they already cut apart
- The ribs are juicy, tender, have a good bite and have much more smoke flavor.
You can see from the pictures below that the smoke "ring" goes all the way to bone!
To make this recipe you will need a smoker or grill that you can keep at a steady 225F. I use a pellet smoker (with a pellet blend of maple-hickory-cherry). If you use a grill, set it up for 2-zone cooking as we want to cook these over indirect heat.
I have only made this recipe with baby back ribs, and the timings and temperature are tested for that. It took me many tries to get the timing right and it gives proven results, so please make it my way before you try anything else. Having said, that, others have found this also works for St. Louis cut ribs with the same temp and timings. I suspect full spares would behave the same.
Rinse the rack of ribs and then remove the membrane. Cut the ribs into singles. This is much easier to do from the back as you can see the bones.
Put them in a gallon zip lock bag with the rub. The rub is my version of Meathead’s Memphis Dust. My version adds back the salt used in the original recipe because we want these ribs dry-brined. My recipe is at the end. If you use a different rub, make sure it has salt. Toss them well to coat and then put them in the refrigerator for 6 hours (or longer). I try to do mine the day before. Every few hours, turn the bag over to make sure the ribs get an even coating of the rub.
When you are ready to cook, put them on a grill pan with holes. They really don’t want to stand up, so I gave up trying and now just lay them on their side. (See the picture below.) If you use a stainless steel pan, prep the pan with a light coating of oil to make cleanup easier and to make sure the ribs can be removed as easily and cleanly as possible.
Smoke them at 225F for 2.5 hours. Apply BBQ sauce at 2 hours in, so it bakes on for half an hour. I use bottled sauce and right now my favorite is Sweet Baby Ray’s Hickory and Brown Sugar, but the original is good too. Baste the sauce on as heavy or light as you like, getting it on the edge facing up and on the top (which will be facing sideways). I have experimented with saucing the top and side, then turning the rib over to sauce the side that is down. I didn’t find that it was worth the effort.
At the 2.5 hour mark, remove from the smoker and serve. The total time here is 2.5 hours. The timing and temperatures are critical to success. Let them go longer and you will overcook them. Since they are individual, the margin for error is much smaller than for a whole rack.
Mark’s Blasphemy Rub:
6 tbs turbinado sugar (aka sugar in the raw)
2 tbs paprika
1 tbs sea salt (table salt grind)
1 tbs granulated garlic powder
1.5 tsp black pepper
1.5 tsp granulated onion powder
.5 tsp ground ginger
This amount of rub will last for 2-3 batches of Blasphemy Ribs.
Ribs on the pan (cooked):
Some close-ups of the ribs with the side cut:
And off the top:
The finished ribs:
And finally some "serving suggestions":
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