pork spare ribs. educate me

[quartermeter]

For falling off the bone tender you have to do this after smoking for 3-4 hrs with indirect heat. Place several in a deep aluminum throwaway pan. Put a cup of apple juce in pan and Cover with aluminum foil so it is airtight.
Put the pan back on the fire with indirect heat at 200F for 1-2 hrs. They should simmer for at least an hour. This is how the pros make them tender. Butts also.

[dieselbeef]

I always do the tinfoil first and then heavy smoke at the end..250 for 2 hrs then 250 for 2 more unwrapped

[Jogeephus]

Six hours in pecan smoke at 225F.

[1982vett]

Six hours in pecan smoke at 225F.

Looks like you got it right......

[Jogeephus]

I thought it was good. Pull off the bone tender but I'm told that's not what the "experts" want anymore. They are now looking for a gentle tug to get it off the bone. I think they are wrong.

[greybeard]

Where's ours?
(Is pecan wood gluten free?)

[Jogeephus]

Where's ours?
(Is pecan wood gluten free?)

Yes it is and not only that its organic and sustainable and humanely harvested with much of it being harvested totally by wind power.

I'm actually craving ribs now.

[slick4591]

I thought it was good. Pull off the bone tender but I'm told that's not what the "experts" want anymore. They are now looking for a gentle tug to get it off the bone. I think they are wrong.

I believe these are what you're talking about, Jo. This pic is from may catering days and most people asked for a slight pull.

[dieselbeef]

they haven't shrunk on the bone enough yet

[slick4591]

they haven't shrunk on the bone enough yet

Not for my taste either, but they are tender with that little pull that the competitions require.

[SPH]

Do you have the ability to smoke them?
If so I smoke them at about 250 for 3 hours give or take or until the meat starts to pull away from the bone.
Score the backside of ribs prior or they will curl up while cooking.
I do not marinate or put bbq sauce on while smoking. Rub them up with whatever you like and if you want to use yellow mustard to hold the rub on you can as it has zero taste after cooking. Some will even add brown sugar which is not bad tasting.
Hickory or Apple wood is what I use the most but to each their own.
Good luck with however you cook them and hope your wife likes them.

Exactly what I was thinking, spare ribs are better than baby backs IMO. Much more tender because of the extra fat that has to render. One suggestion I would make though is don't score the backside but just remove the membrane all together as your rub will get into the meat much better that way. A video on how to do this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_fqJcc4n_I I do basically the same method, cut the membrane away from one corner till I have enough to grab it with a paper towel and it rips right off pretty cleanly after that. I also have gotten into the habit of wrapping my ribs in tin foil after they have been on the smoker 2 or 3 hours. Depending on if I want more sweet flavor or not I might add some brown sugar or honey to them, usually some butter and spray a little apple juice on them before wrapping them to help add some moisture. Occasionally will unwrap and spritz them with a little more apple juice before they are finished, the more times you try different things you'll eventually come across a combination that results in some of the best tasting ribs you've made. Same thing when I smoke a pork butt, I may change up my injection or rub flavors a bit and experiment with different ways to cook it in the smoker like in a pan or wrap it 1/2 way through. Meats typically take in most of their smoke flavor in the first couple hours of smoking.

Ditto on the apple wood although if you can find some peach wood it tastes even better I think. Myron Mixon has some great recipes and methods for smoking, some of the best BBQ I have ever made is following his book. The one issue he has with hickory wood is that apparently when you burn it hickory wood has a lot more impurities in it than fruit wood does so you get a better smoke flavor from a fruit wood than you would a hardwood. I sometimes use mostly fruit wood then maybe throw in a little hickory and/or pecan wood to add a little extra bite but not overpower the smoke flavor.

[Jogeephus]

I thought it was good. Pull off the bone tender but I'm told that's not what the "experts" want anymore. They are now looking for a gentle tug to get it off the bone. I think they are wrong.

I believe these are what you're talking about, Jo. This pic is from may catering days and most people asked for a slight pull.

Those look good Slick. Pretty color. To me, pull off the bone is the best but like you say it seems many want the pull but if they are eating my ribs they will just have to overlook my shortcomings.

[slick4591]

Thanks. These were done on an electric so no smoke ring. If I'm cooking for the family they are always a no pull rib. I think too many people hear how the pros do it to win trophies and use that as a standard.

[SPH]

Depends on the person but I think sometimes the "fall off the rib" type of ribs can mean they were overdone. I like mine to come off fairly easily when you bite into one but not just fall right off the bone when you take a bite so I guess that would be considered to have a "little tug" to them. Last batch of ribs I made I thought I didn't wrap them soon enough and probably left them on the smoker too long as they were fall off the bone ribs but everyone that had them thought that they were awesome so maybe I was a little too harsh on myself. I still wasn't happy with how they turned out, I felt I had done better ribs in the past but I guess if the people eating them find them delicious that's all that matters in the end right?

That's the 1 great thing about BBQ is that there are so many ways and flavor combos you can do that what 1 guy doesn't think is that great another may think is some of the best they have had. I get into those debates just comparing different BBQ places here or in KC, we have Smokey D's right in Des Moines who if you do a Google search on them you'll find that they are winning all kinds of awards and grand championships on the competition BBQ circuits right now - may even be one of the hottest competitors in the country at the moment. I think it's one of the best places if not best in town while another guy I work with is from the KC area and he doesn't think they are anything special and rambles off some smaller joints I haven't tried yet as being as close to "true KC BBQ." Guess I need to find some excuses to go eat out some nights to find out myself!

[govols]

3,2,1 technique for me. 3 hours on the smoker uncovered, 2 hours wrapped in foil with a little apple juice, 1 hour out the foil with your favorite sauce. I try to keep the smoker around 250 degrees. As everyone else said, removing the membrane is best imo. I usually season with store bought pork rub, butt rub or something similar.