Smoked St. Louis Pork Ribs
Author:
Brian Leigh
Servings
8
Prep Time
30 minutes
Cook Time
6 hours
Every April, I field questions about how I do my ribs, what I use, what processes, dry or wet, what wood, etc. This April, I decided to hammer out and document a process to provide a roadmap for one of the ways that I do St. Louis style pork ribs. Its a take on the 3-2-1 method - a surefire way to make tender and smoky ribs. In this recipe, I layer flavors using a pretty wide variety of my products as well as some other ingredients.
These tender and juicy St. Louis style pork ribs are smoked over cherry and loaded with the complete flavor bomb combination of The Clevelander, Somethin' For Rubbin', Somethin' To Beef About and Somethin' Somethin' Sauce. This is the complete #btleighs unit - you wont find a better bite.
Ingredients
- 2 racks of St. Louis Style Pork Ribs
- 1 cup of pickled jalapeno brine
- 1 stick of butter
Directions
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Prepare the ribs by removing the silver skin membrane. The s Direction Prepare the ribs by removing the silver skin membrane. The silver skin can be easily removed by working a butterknife under the membrane and creating a gap where you fingers can get into it. Using a paper towel, pull the membrane up.
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Lets start layering flavors. Flipping the ribs so they are bone side up, apply about a tablespoon of The Clevelander as a binder. I then dust the rib with Something To Beef About and rub it in. This is essentially the glue that will bind the rub to the rib. Generously apply your barbecue rub in a thick layer, be sure to hit the sides and ends of the rack. Flip the ribs over and repeat this process on the top side of the ribs.
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Preheat your smoker to 225-250. Once the temperature is stable and the smoke is clean, place the ribs bone side down on the smoker and cook for approximately 3 hours. I do not touch the ribs during this time - no peeking, no spritzing. Maintain the heat and let it do its thing. This is going to create a layer of bark and allow the smoke to be absorbed into the ribs.
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At the 3 hour mark, the ribs should ready to wrap. Take a sheet of tinfoil that can wrap the entire rack of ribs, spread some pickled jalapeno brine on the center of it, along with 4 pads of butter and a splash of Somethin' Somethin' Sauce. Place the ribs meat side down on the brine, butter, sauce line and drizzle a bit more brine and sauce on the back of the ribs.
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Wrap into a tent like shape, folding the tin foil along the center seem. Curl the ends like a package and return the ribs to the smoker, meat side down (seem side up) for another 2 hours.
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After 2 hours, its time to unwrap the ribs. Be careful when unwrapping the ribs, there will be a significant amount of steam and the ribs will be very tender.
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Place the ribs back on the smoker, bone side down and begin to glaze the ribs with The Clevelander, applying every 10 minutes until a sticky glaze is formed. Do this for the last hour of the cook.
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Pull the ribs from the smoker and let rest for 10 minutes. Cut and serve with sauces! Enjoy!
Recipe Note
For this recipe I used a Pitboss Pro Series 1000 pellet smoker. I let the ribs get a little crispier than I should have, but they still turned out fantastic. There's some wiggle room here, the braising step will fix a lot of mistakes, including having a little more char than you'd like on your ribs. You won't ruin it, so don't be afraid to try it.
If you don't have a smoker, you can do this recipe in the oven by following the same guidelines - low and slow for 3 hours, 2 hours wrapped, and 1 hour to set a glaze.