Spare ribs

Spare ribs a BBQ-classic. Unfortunately, proper spare ribs are not so common in stores around my country. Often they are soaked in marinades, Boiled, or cut into tiny pieces. And if you are lucky enough to find a slightly larger well-stocked grocery store where they have raw spare ribs that have not been tampered with, then there is a high probability that these are just “half” ribs also called baby back ribs. Not that there is anything wrong with making baby backs, but a really big nice rack of ribs with lots of meat like a St.louis style rib is so much better! And by the way, please. Do not BOIL them!

What you need:

Don`t BOIL ribs!
I will write this once more. Because, Boiling ribs to get them tender is sad, and basically just nonsense! Give them some time on thesmoker, let them be infused with delicious smoky flavours, get time to develop some bark and become super tender and tasty. There are countless recipes and procedures for making this heavenly BBQ dish. Everyone has their own preferences, but I like my ribs so that the meat come clean of from the bone, but still has some bite to it. Besides, I like a little spicy sting for the spare ribs. So below you will find the procedure I like to use

Time
The day before, I feel like I write it often these days. But good BBQ takes time, good tastes take time, yes good results take time. Don`t have time you say? Agent Bilkins put it nicely. “If you want time, buy the magazine.” kudos to you if youcatch this non-food reference. But the spices must have time to add flavor, so the night before, when the kids have gone to bed and the wife has settled down on the sofa with the evening’s TV-shows, you sneak into the kitchen to prep some ribs. Trim of unnecessary fat, tendons and whatnot. Trim the edges and cut away the breat bone. On the back of the rib covering the bones, there is a thin membrane also called silver skin. Try to loosen the end with a butter knife or similar, so that you can get a grip on the skin, use some paper to grab and pull off the membrane. Unfortunately, I do not have a picture of this at the moment. Google / youtube is your friend in this case, there are thousands of movies on “how to remove membrane from spare ribs” on the internet. Cut a Lime in 2 halves and rub the spare ribs in while squeezing out some juice. Then cover the whole rib with plenty of rub. Feel free to raise the spice container a little so that you get an even layer over the entire ribs when you sprinkle. Wrap the meat in plastic or aluminum foil and place it in the fridge overnight.

3-2-1
As mentioned, there are countless recipes and methods for making good ribs. I Use the 3-2-1 method as a starting point. This usually gives a good result, and it is easy to time the serving. Some “feel” is needed to adjust along the way of course, but mostly you can follow this method somewhat to the letter, to get a good result anyway. What is 3-2-1? This refers to the number of hours per step in the process. In short, 3 hours without covering for, cover with foil for 2 hours, brush with glaze and let the meat finish grilling for the last hour.

Low and slow
A little more detailed procedure follows. Set your grill at about 230-250F degrees and make sure to have indirect heat. Then place the spare ribs on the grill and let it sit for about 3 hours. Have apple cider vinegar mixed 50/50 with water or apple juice in a spray bottle and spray the ribs about every 45-60 minutes. When 3 hours have passed, it is time to wrap the meat in foil. Mix the rest of the contents of the spray bottle with a little brown sugar in a saucepan and heat it up a little so that the sugar dissolves. Add 2 layers of foil before placing the meat on top and pour over the liquid. Add some spoons of butter as well. Wrap the meat well before putting it back on the grill.

Final stretch
After about two hours, take the meat out of the foil, and brush plenty of BBQ sauce on. Then put the meat back on the grill and leave it there until the bbq sauce has settled. I brush the meat with BBQ sauce 2-3 times in the last hour. If youdont have time, and do not want to follow Agent Bilkins’ suggestion, then you can increase the temperature a few degrees. Just be careful not to burn the sauce. No one likes burnt sauce. Serve spare ribs with traditional accessories such as corn on the cob, stuffed pineapple, coleslaw, some good bread and of course some extra BBQ sauce. Tip: have some butter on the bread and dip it in BBQ sauce, you can thank me later.