The St. Louis style rib is a great choice. It has more
marbling than baby back ribs and generally meatier
as well. They require longer cooking to get tender.
First start out with some St Louis style cut pork ribs
The top is trimmed from the spare ribs, not the back ribs.
You can usually buy them this way, but you can also
trim your own up.
Recipe: Per rack of St Louis style spare Ribs
2 tablespoons mustard, Yellow mustard or dijon
2-4 tablespoons of your favorite dry rub or salt and pepper See dry rub recipe below
1 cup smokey, tomato BBQ sauce See BBQ sauce recipes below
Heavy duty foil if doing oven style
Remove the silver skin off the ribs.
The rub, sauce and smoke will penetrate the meat. It tastes better also without it.
It is fairly easy after a little practice and you can do it quick
Spread mustard on the top of the rib then lightly apply1 -2 tablespoon of dry rub seasoning so it is just lightly covered.. Flip over and repeat on that side. Let stand for 15-30 minutes 2 hours is better.
Allow ribs to come to room temperature just before placing on the grill.
BBQ at 225-250 f with indirect heat, opposite coals or the heat source with closed grill lid for 3-4 hours.
Testing St Louis Style Ribs for doneness
There are four criteria that should be met in order for ribs to be done. First, the internal temperature of the meat should be 185 to 190 degrees F. Second, pick up each slab from the center with tongs and it should droop into a u-shape and crack slightly. Third, while holding with the tongs, and bouncing gently, the surface of the ribs should crack slightly. Lastly, the meat should pull easily off the bone but not fall off. If ribs pass all tests, remove them from the smoker and wrap in heavy-duty foil and rest for 15 minutes. If not, continue smoking for 45 minutes to 1 hour and test again until done.
Oven Method Wrap the seasoned ribs in heavy duty foil with the seam up. Bake on a sheet pan for 2 hours at 275 degrees F. Open seam of foil and brush with bbq sauce and bake at 300 degrees F for another hour or until ribs are tender. I like to baste a few times with sauce during this hour.
By opening up the foil the sauce sets on the ribs better and is not so gooey.
The individual ribs should be tender but not falling off the bone. The meat should not yieldwhen you bite
but it still has definition and strength to cling to the bone.
The red ring around the edge is the smoke ring and it should be small so there is not too much smoke flavor.
I don't like putting runny bbq sauce on top. I don't think sugary bbq sauce is a "good messy".I prefer it glazed like in the picture. It's a lot less messy.
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Basic BBQ Rub
This is a fairly basic sweet rub that is called a Kansas City Rub (close to S. Louis) and is sweet. So you don't want to cook this directly over the flames.
Makes 1 cup
Time 10 minutes
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup paprika
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon pepper
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 teaspoon cayenne or red pepper
This of course is a flexible recipe and if you don't have one ingredient don't worry about it.
Just salt and pepper works too. But don't just throw anything and everything together. These proportions
are a good rule of thumb.
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Basic St. Louis BBQ Sauce
St. Louis Barbecue Sauce is thinner and has more of a tangy flavor than its Kansas City cousin. Being at the crossroads St. Louis style barbecue has many influences, so there are a number of ways of making this style sauce.
One of the oldest St. Louis BBQ sauce companies is Maulls
1 1/2 cups tomato puree
1/3 cup distilled white vinegar
3 TBSP dark corn syrup
2 TBSP brown sugar
2 TBSP worcestshire sauce
1 1/2 TBSP molasses
1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
3 TBSP fresh lemon juice
1 TBSP thawed orange juice concentrate
2 tsp A1 steak sauce
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp tabasco or other hot sauce
1 1/2 tsp coarse salt (kosher or sea)
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp ground cloves
Combine the tomato puree, vinegar, corn syrup, brown sugar, worcestershire sauce, molasses, lemon zest and juice, orange juice concentrate, steak sauce, soy sauce, tabasco sauce, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, pepper, and cloves in a large deep heavy non reactive sauce pan over medium-high heat. Gradually bring to a boil, whisking often.
Reduce the heat to medium and let the sauce simmer until thick and richly flavored, 6 to 10 minutes, whisking occasionally. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt and/or pepper as necessary.
Makes about two cups.
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Simple St. Louis BBQ Sauce
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Yield: Makes about 3 1/2 cups
Ingredients:
2 cups ketchup
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons yellow mustard
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
Preparation:
Combine all ingredients in a saucepan over a low heat. Stirring occasionally and simmer for 20 minutes. Sauce should be thin, but not watery. Allow to cool. Store in an airtight container and refrigerate. Sauce is better if allow to sit for a day.
This has a lightweight polypropylene grip, and a single large, tough pad (with a spare included) that did an excellent job cleaning off a baked-on mixture of honey, molasses, barbecue sauce, and mustard.
Sturdy construction, generous capacity, heat-resistant handle, and second handle for pouring control. With the most ventilation holes in its canister, coals ignited quickly.
Recommended by Cooking Illustrated
Plastic basting bottles with brush heads eliminate messy dripping between your bowl of barbecue sauce and the grill. Just fill the bottle, screw on the brush head, and squeeze to release sauce onto the brush. We tried out four bottles, basting grilled chicken. Brushes with soft silicone bristles gently distributed sauce, while stiffer bristles tore and even removed delicate chicken skin. We also preferred long-necked bottles, which kept our hands far from the heat.
a barbecue mitt must meet two core requirements: enough heat resistance to keep hands from burning and enough pliability to keep cooks from inadvertently dropping grill grates or smashing food
ability to simultaneously check the food and oven temperatures, and bargain price. On the grill, a heatproof silicone finger-grip under the dial allows you to take the thermometer out of the lid vents and check the temperature of the meat.
This has a lightweight polypropylene grip, and a single large, tough pad (with a spare included) that did an excellent job cleaning off a baked-on mixture of honey, molasses, barbecue sauce, and mustard.
Sturdy construction, generous capacity, heat-resistant handle, and second handle for pouring control. With the most ventilation holes in its canister, coals ignited quickly.
