Ribs Royale - Pork Ribs like Johnny Trigg

[Henrik]

Hi folks, I’ve done a rib cook I’ve been wanting to try for a long time. And boy, did it taste good!

There’s a true legend in the bbq business: Johnny Trigg (and his Smokin’ Triggers team). I’ve watched him on TV, and I just think he’s a real cool guy. And he knows how to smoke ribs. So the mission was to try and smoke ribs like he does. I don’t know all the intricate details of how he cooks his, so this is a best guess from me, but I think I come pretty close. I like to think of it as a hommage.

This rib cook is similar to the so called 3-2-1 method.

Ingredients
2-2.5 lbs pork ribs
3/4 cups (2 dl) squeeze butter
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/3 cup (1 dl) tiger sauce
1/3 cup (1 dl) barbecue sauce
2-4 tbsp pork rub

Instructions
Start by pulling off the membrane on the back of the ribs. Now apply an even layer of the rub on both sides of the ribs, and leave them to rest in the fridge for an hour, or overnight.

Phase I - smoke
Run your grill/smoker at 225 deg F, or if you have a kamado, run it at 250-260 deg F. Add whatever wood chunks you like with your ribs. I went with oak. Let them smoke for roughly 2 hours.



Phase II - flavorize
Pull off two large sheets of aluminum foil. Place them on top of each other. They should be long enough to wrap the ribs. Now pour an even layer of half the squeeze butter. Spread it out so it covers a rectangular area the size of the ribs. Sprinkle half the sugar over the butter, and finally add half the tiger sauce. Place the ribs, meat side down, on the butter. Now repeat the same procedure on top of the ribs with the rest of the butter, sugar and tiger sauce. Wrap the foil tightly into a sealed package and place it back on the grill. Smoke it for another hour.





Phase III - caramelize
Open up the foil package and fold it back by rolling it, forming a trough of sorts around the edges of the ribs. This is to avoid having the juices leak into the grill (or any other place also), and to help with cleaning the grill later. Now flip the ribs over so the meat side is up again. Brush an even layer of the barbecue sauce on the ribs and place back into the smoker/grill. Let them caramelize for 30-40 minutes. Check if they’re done with the bend test.


Below you can see the 'trough' I made by rolling back the foil and wadding it into 'walls' around the ribs.



What would I change for next time?
Oh man, not a lot. These were so good!!! The one thing I would change is to perhaps hold back on the sugar just a little (completely depending on how sweet your bbq sauce is), but except for that: porkalicious!

Have a smokin' weekend y'all!


This is what I sunk my teeth into yesterday. Pure goodness.

[Mr. Bones]

YUM!!!!
Beautiful ribs, great photos, an a really nice write up, Brother!

[Henrik]

Thanks, my man!

[RonB]

Ya got my mouth waterin' Henrik.

[Henrik]

Thanks Ron, I had some leftover ribs today, still good!

[CaptainMike]

Thanks Hank, this is one of the reasons I love Amazing Ribs!

[Henrik]

And thank _you_, Cap'n, this is a good place to hang out.

[Johnny Big Time]

That looks great! However, now I have an opportunity to ask a question that's been on my mind for the longest time. Now I've smoked only 5 racks of ribs in my "learning to smoke meat" process. I've prepped them the same way and cooked them the same way every time, only changing the brand of rub until I find one that I like. All my prep is removing the membrane, rub on mustard, coat with rub, cook 3-2-1, spritz every 30 minutes. They all tasted pretty good. Now whenever I look at recipes online, just about everyone is dumping sugar, honey, and bbq sauce with sugar on the ribs. I'm not one who wants by bbq to taste like a candy bar. Does the meat taste sugary with all that on there?

[Henrik]

It _is_ sweet, but these are competition style ribs. But just omit the sugar, and you'll be fine.

[Johnny Big Time]

Thx Henrik

[fzxdoc]

Nice writeup, Henrik . Thanks. I've always been curious about the Trigg method as well. I've steered clear of it because I thought it would not have the bit of tug that many like when biting into ribs. I figure if it was "falling off the bone tender" you would have mentioned it.

And also, is the squeeze butter a real butter or is it a squeeze butter/margarine product?

I'm having my own personal rib-off in a couple of weeks and will be trying your modified Trigg method, along with Blasphemy ribs. I plan to pit the two against my gold standard PBC ribs.

Kathryn

[CandySueQ]

Parkay!

[Henrik]

These were almost fall off the bone tender. I assume you have the timings down for your (unwrapped) ribs, so just split that time into a 3-2-1 and shorten a little, and they’ll be fine. If needed (bend test), caramelize for a little longer.

[fzxdoc]

Good to know. Thanks, Henrik .

K.

[BRic]

Wow nice cook , ribs look awesome .. Thanks for sharing .

[Henrik]

Thank you!

[FishTalesNC]

I'm so glad you posted this! Recently I managed to stumbled upon a handful of "this is how I do my competition ribs" videos, and each one was similar in that they smoke first, wrap part way thru and include similar ingredients in the wrap, then firm up the bark at the end. When I watched a Malcomb Reed video with Heath Riles showing his competition process - I just had to see what it was about. I tried it out on a recent Saturday before we left for vacation on a single rack of baby backs and it was BY FAR the best rack of ribs I've ever made. They were so juicy and tender, still with a little tug but did come off the bone easier. The only things I think I'd change next time are around the sweetness profile... I'd add more rub after the wrap, and specifically the spicy rub (I used a 3 layer approach). I'd also target a sauce that was spicier rather than the typical KC style my daughter likes. I think those two things should help balance the flavors out again.

A couple of comments/questions... I really like the idea of slathering the foil with the ingredients and putting the rack meat side down on it, that is way easier than what I was doing. Also, I noticed in the 3-4 videos I watched they all used "fake butter" as well. Any idea why? I used real butter because it was what I had, but I'm wondering if I actually need to purchase some "I can't believe its not butter" or something. There must be something to it... just can't imagine what.

Anyway, thanks again for posting this, been thinking about my last cook and this helps!

[Mr. Bones]

FishTalesNC I also vastly prefer real butter...

Might try like I do, when usin butter; melt butter, brush on protein.

I generally use one of these here, an a small silicone brush; perfect fer butter, sauces, glazes, etc., indoors, or out on th cookers.

Hope this helps ya, Brother!

[FishTalesNC]

Thanks for the idea Mr. Bones ! I think you’re right, brushing it on should work fine, and I’d guess the honey and brown sugar will still "stick" when applied on top. Can’t get honey off of anything when you actually want to, right?

[wrgilb]

I've been using Ghee, honey, brown sugar and some cayenne pepper in wrap. The sweet heat is great. I cook at a little higher temp. and they are done in the 3-1/2 to 4 hour range.

[Elton's BBQ]

Great looking ribs and an interesting recipe!
Thanks for sharing Henrik

[Henrik]

Thank you Elton!

[Willard]

Henrik I’m looking for ideas for ribs to cook at the end of May for our family reunion, along with burgers, dogs and sausage. Expecting over 30 people. Your write-up comes at a perfect time for me. I may have to do a dry run next week while I’m on vacation. Looks wonderful. Thanks a bunch, as always!

[Henrik]

Thank you all! Let me see if I can address some of your questions here.

1. Tenderness - if you prefer tug off the bone instead of fall off the bone - adjust cooking time. Just like all other ribs, they will tell you when they're done (the bend test). My timings are only a guide. All ribs are different, and these are so called "shiners". Cook times will vary. Make the necessary adjustments for your ribs from your supplier.

2. Sweetness - yes, these are sweet, but this is competition style ribs. Just omit the sugar they will be awesome! The butter + tiger sauce is killer.

3. Butter - yes, squeeze butter is a lot easier to apply. I mean a lot easier. The type I used is some kind of oil/margarine mix. Use whatever you prefer.

I'm gonna make ribs like this from now on (but with less sugar), they were amazing. That Johnny Trigg fella knows his stuff, that's for sure.

[Troutman]

Great write up and pix Henrik, you're on kind of a role now that you've achieved Emeritus status

I gotta say though, I really don't like sweet ribs. I really don't even prefer to do too much saucing either, only a touch at the end for glaze. I prefer to let the meat shine through, in fact been working on my Memphis style dry rub ribs lately. Did a taste test with some friends recently and they liked the dry to the Parkay/Honey/Sweet ribs 2 to 1.

Again good alternative, it's great that there are several ways to skin the cat. I just like my cat skin nekkid !!!

[Troutman]

As you know I'm from Illinois and knew nothing other than the Kansas City style sweet ribs, with lots of Sweet Baby Rays to boot. Cooked tons of them. But yea my wife started me on the nekkid ribs, she actually prefers the Texas style (as you put it) which let's the meat shine. Either way, I'm a swinger !!!

[Dadof3Illinois]

We lived South of Waco in Belton Texas for a couple years and fell in love with that style of BBQ!! But I’ll admit I like the way we cook pork here the best...I have a pretty big sweet tooth!!!

[Henrik]

I like that there are many ways to skin a cat, that’s a good thing. Would absolutely love to try your nekkid ribs. Just let me know how!

[SmokingSteve]

This sounds really intriguing. I do have one question. What in the world is Tiger Sauce? Never heard of it, but then again I am a newbie when it comes to smoking. So far I just have my Spirit II 3 burner gasser to work with, but I have been eyeing that MPS 340 propane vertical smoker that Max tested lately! Darned MCS!

[holehogg]

+1 on Tiger Sauce.

[MBMorgan]

Just google "tiger sauce" and you'll find plenty of references to it.

[Ahumadora]

Yep I had to google it also. Going to translate this recipe to Spanish for my customers.

[Troutman]

[Henrik]

That’s the one :-)

[Spinaker]

Love me some Tiger Sauce!

[fzxdoc]

From the Wegman's Website: Tiger Sauce Original Blend

Product Details
For meats, seafood and poultry. A spicy sauce for meats, seafood & poultry. The original Tiger Sauce is an exotic, moderately spicy blend of ingredients in a cayenne pepper base. With a touch of sweet and sour, it's perfect on meats, seafood and poultry. Delicious on sandwiches, in dips and soups. Partially produced with genetic engineering.

Ingredients
Red Cayenne Peppers, Sugar, Distilled Vinegar, Water, Salt, Crushed Red Peppers, Xanthan Gum, Chili Peppers, Caramel Color, Sodium Benzoate (to Preserve Freshness), Hydrolyzed Corn Protein, Tamarind Extract, Natural Anchovy Flavor (Fish), Oregano, Cumin, Garlic Powder.