Smoky Sweet Baby Back Ribs

I don't care if spring weather is refusing to arrive in Seattle, I'm rolling forward.  I've broken out the linen pants already and tomorrow, I may even wear white pants.  Today, I rolled out the charcoal Weber, soaked some hickory wood chips, made a little rub, and mixed together a simple mop sauce.  Here's to looking on the bright side.. it's almost 57 degrees out and it's not raining.  So barbecue it is.
For the rub I mixed together garlic salt, brown sugar, chili powder, paprika, mustard powder and freshly ground black pepper.  Coat 1 full rack of baby back ribs and let marinate in the refrigerator for several hours.  For the mopping sauce, I mixed together ketchup, red wine vinegar, honey, a few dashes of Franks Red Hot sauce and a couple tablespoons of butter.  Heat the sauce enough just to melt the butter.
An all day smoking would be preferred, but if you don't have the whole day, as I did not, this works pretty well.  Prepare your grill with indirect heat for the ribs.  Start the charcoal and place to one side of the grill.  You will want to maintain a temperature of about 325f for the next 2-2 1/2 hours.  So, adjust your vents to allow this and add a few more coals as you go.  I usually open the bottom about half way and keep the top just slightly open.  In a small disposable aluminum pan, combine sliced onions, a few garlic cloves and any beer you happen to have in the refrigerator.  Place the pan under the area where you will be laying the ribs.  Place the ribs on the grate over the pan.  Toss half of your soaked wood chips on the charcoal, cover the grill and let smoke.  While the chips are smoking, I go ahead and close the top vent to try to capture as much smoke as possible inside the grill.  Once the chips are finished smoking, you can open the vent again slightly to help maintain the proper heat.
Half way through the process, repeat the wood chip addition again.  About 30-45 minutes before ribs are finished, start brushing them with the sauce.   For the last 10 minutes, I placed the ribs directly over the coals.  If you do not finish the sauce, heat the remainder in a small sauce pan and use for dipping on the side.  My gals love this.
Sweet and smoky for sure.

Comments

  1. my kids want to know why i never make ribs and whether they can move in with you!!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular Posts