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The texture of the ribs after cooking is not "falling apart". The meat doesn't fall off the bone when you prod it with a fork. (For that, you'll want to take a look at Recipe File: Oven Baked Spare Ribs which will produce meat and cartilage that is just completely falling apart.) However, the ribs will be tender enough that it'll come off the bone easily when you're eating it, and the texture will provide just enough chew to be satisfying. I think that's the best texture for ribs (even though sometimes I do like the completely falling apart texture as well - that's why I have more than one recipe for making ribs!).
This recipe is more of a method than a firm step-by-step because there's a lot of flexibility when it comes to barbecuing ribs. I usually smoke at least two racks of ribs (a rack is one side of the hog - one continuous cut of meat that includes 8 to 15 ribs depending on your butcher and the style of cut) at a time but cooking one rack is pretty much the same exact recipe - cooking times don't change only the amount of spice rub you use up.
Before we start, you'll need pork ribs. Baby back ribs come from the loin of the hog and the bones are generally smaller and the flesh is leaner and meatier than spare ribs which come from the side and belly. Because of the leanness of baby back ribs, the cooking time is less (about 1-1/2 hour compared to 2-1/2 hour) than that of spare ribs. In the photographs for this recipe, I prepared baby back ribs, but I'll mention the differences between preparation for baby back and spare ribs in the text.
You'll also need a dry rub. I like using the rub from my Grilled Pork Chops recipe. In fact, I usually prepare a large quantity of the rub and put them into jars so I can use them whenever I need it. Alternatively, you can use a store bought spice rub like those found at Rod's Rub.
For glazing, a barbecue sauce is needed. My Slow Simmered Spicy Barbecue Sauce is a crowd pleaser, but I like trying out other people's sauces and playing with a variety of store bought sauces as well.
Wood chips (hickory or mesquite both work really well) are also needed. Part of what makes barbecue ribs authentic is the taste of smoke permeating the meat. Since the ribs cook in just a couple hours, the smokiness will be fairly mild.
Let's begin.
The night before you plan on barbecuing, prepare your pork ribs. Working with one rack at a time, lay the rack on a large cutting board. You'll want to trim off any excess meat because they won't cook at the same rate as the rib meat. Usually baby back ribs don't come with any extra flaps of meat, but spare ribs, St. Louis style and country style ribs often do. Cut them off and save them for a stir fry or other pork dish.
Flip the rack over so the meaty side is face down. There is a thin membrane on this side that goes over all the bones. Removing this membrane is optional, but generally a good idea. It can become a very tough sheet that tastes and feels like you're chewing on plastic if you cook it with the ribs. To remove it, just thrust a blunt object (like the blunt tip of a thermometer) in between the membrane and the bones as shown in the photo. Wiggling your tool around a little should give you enough room to get a finger beneath the membrane.
Once you've got a grip on the membrane, pull it away from the back of the ribs. You'll need to use some force, but if you're smooth about it, the membrane should come away as one piece. Using a paper towel can help you grip the membrane better if your fingers keep slipping.
Cover both sides of the rack with a generous portion of spice rub. I generally use about 1/2 cup of rub per rack of ribs. Make sure you use your hands to rub the mixture into the ribs. The moisture from the pork should be enough to make the rub stick and coat easily.
After both sides have been rubbed with the spice rub, place the rack onto a large sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil. The foil should be large enough to wrap the entire rack in it (just image you're going to gift wrap the ribs).
Fold the foil over the ribs and fold the aluminum foil onto itself to seal just like you would if you were preparing to freeze it. (For photographs explaining the folding and crimping technique please refer to Kitchen Notes: Freezing Meats.)Do the same steps (removing excess meat, removing the membrane, spice rub, and wrapping in foil) for each of the other racks of ribs that you might be preparing. Put them onto a sheet pan and slip it into the refrigerator so the rub can do its thing. We'll want to leave the ribs in the fridge for at least 10-12 hours. The salt and sugar in the rub should draw out some moisture from the ribs which serves two purposes. First, it firms up the flesh a little bit, and, second, helps provide moisture to the rub which turns it into a paste and then a liquid. The liquidly rub penetrates into the meat during the next several hours, so it's important to wait before cooking the ribs.
About an hour before you plan on cooking, soak 2 cups of wood chips in water for that hour.
Prepare a grill for indirect heat. For a charcoal grill, start a fire and move the coals to one side, leaving the other side without coals. For a gas grill, turn on the burners only on one side. (If your grill doesn't have burners on just one side, then I suggest you rig up something so your ribs will be much higher up and away from the flames than they normally would be.) You'll also need a rib rack (a metal device that looks like a desk top filing rack - not to be confused with a rack of ribs which is the cut of meat that a rib rack is designed to help you cook). If you don't have a rib rack or don't want to buy one, then just use a V-rack for roasting chickens and turkeys. Flip it over so the point of the V is facing up and stick it on the grill. That's how I do it. Place the rack on the side of the grill without direct heat.
Remove the wood chips from the water. If you've got a charcoal fire going, put the wood chips directly onto the coals where they should begin to smolder. If you're using a gas grill, place the wood chips into a smoker box (or an aluminum foil sheet shaped into a box with holes punched in the top like the one in the picture) and put it on the side where the flames are on. Turn the fire up until the chips begin to smoke and then turn the heat down to low.
Remove the ribs from the refrigerator and unwrap them. If the racks are too long to fit on the rib rack on your grill, then you might have to cut them in half. Insert the racks or half racks into the rib rack so they are standing up. Position them so they are as far away from the heat source as possible. Close the lid.Every twenty minutes, open the lid and rotate the ribs. Move each rack closer to the heat source, then move the rack closest to the heat source to the position farthest from the heat.
After about 1-1/2 hours for baby back ribs or 2-1/2 hours for spare ribs, the meat should have shrunk away from the bone substantially. The temperature of the rib meat should be over 180°F which means much of the collagen in the meat has probably converted to juicy and unctuous gelatin (the reason we love ribs). 
At this point, pull the racks off the grill and clear off the smoker box and rib rack. Redistribute the heat so it is even throughout the grill (for gas grills, use medium heat). Place the racks of ribs back onto the grill and brush on your favorite barbecue sauce. Every three minutes, flip the racks and brush more sauce on. Repeat until you're tired, have run out of sauce, or can't wait any longer.
Cut the ribs apart to serve.
That's it. Follow these steps correctly and you should have some great barbecue ribs.Barbecue Pork Ribs
| Prepare grill for indirect low heat | Prepare grill for direct medium heat | ||||||||
| 2 racks of baby back or spare ribs | remove membrane | rub | refrigerate 12 hours | smoke for 1-1/2 hours (baby back) to 2-1/2 hours (spare) rotating every 20 minutes | glaze over medium heat for 3 min. each side repeating until sauce is consumed or chef is tired | ||||
| 1 cup spice rub | |||||||||
| 2 cups wood chips | soak in water 1 hour | heat on grill until smoking | |||||||
| 1 cup barbecue sauce | |||||||||
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225? 230?
225? 230?
I have no idea. I don't have a smoker right now and the thermometer on my grill is a joke.
I linked to it within the article. Here is the link again:
Recipe File: Grilled Pork Chops
The spice rub is the first three photos of that recipe and the first recipe summary table at the bottom.
I've considered it, but in the ended decided not to due to technical reasons (i.e. laziness). Maybe sometime in the future when I'm not working full time and can spend the time I'd like to spend on this website.
Pork Spare Ribs, Ok the BBQ tag in this instance relates to the use
of BBQ sauce when initially marinated for an hour. Chinese Recipe
from a book that has been in the Family bookcase since i can remember.
Of course these must have my Fried Rice to go with them, lol
Long Retired PE
Just kidding (I earned my right to kid fellow engineers over 45 years ago).
Seriously, your method for cooking ribs is impeccable, and your photography ain't none too shabby.
Thanks for the great post.
Erik
Thanks Erik. There was actually a 1-2 mm light pink smoke ring on the ribs and plenty of smokiness (for my taste buds). The trouble with smoking on a grill is that a minimum amount of heat must be applied to the side with the wood for it to smoke and this heat carries over to the cooking side, so unfortunately, I can't get the temperature much lower in this particular setup and still have smoke.
Thanks a lot.
Debi
You don't want to smoke anything indoors. I recommend trying this recipe for oven baked spare ribs. Reduce the time a bit (maybe an hour) for baby back ribs.
You should have a pair of needle nose pliers in the kitchen as part of your kit anyway. It helps with not only membrane removal, but also for extracting bones from salmon fillets.
One thing I forgot to mention above is that I always rub pork right before throwing it on the smoker. I first salt the meat, wait about 15 minutes and then use a dry rub (the moisture that comes from salting the pork acts as a glue to help adhere the rub to the meat). If you let salt sit on pork for over a few hours (such as what Michael recommends above in his recipe), you risk the meat having a "hammy taste."
Erik
This flange heats up nicely and, since I have removed the portion of the grate that is above the burner, I can easily add more chips as needed when I rotate my ribs.
I use a drip pan under the ribs filled with apple juice, or wine, or whatever I feel like, and I spray my ribs about every half hour with an apple cider/apple vinegar mix.
I bought an inexpensive probe thermometer, skewer a potato with it, and place it where the ribs are to get a good air temperature reading right where the ribs are. mine holds a temp at the lowest flame setting of 217 degrees during an Arizona Summer. (hell I am already halfway there before I start....)
All in all I have been pretty satisfied with my ribs, but one day I have to make that leap and actually invest in a real smoker, probably a Weber Smoky Mountain (WSM) to start.
One more thing, I rub a small amount of mustard on my ribs before applying the rub to act as a glue. I do not think it affects the taste, and have seen this done at many BBQ competitions.
Nice job, Michael. keep the posts coming!
Dean
There are a lot of people coming and I would just like to do as many things as possible ahead of time. Thank you so much for your help!
The flavor and texture should be fine. I'd mostly be concerned about serving ribs that might have a cold piece of bone in it. This all depends on how long you plan on reheating over the grill. If you do a short grill time, then you might consider wrapping the ribs up in foil and setting them in the oven on the lowest temperature (or on the grill over indirect heat) for a thirty minutes to an hour to heat through (depending on how you stacked the ribs when you wrapped them up).