Search the Community

Fellow Rebels, I generally celebrate the birth of the USA with good barbecue; and this year I thought I'd slap together a photo-diary of my process for really basic spareribs. This "recipe" is about as stripped down as it gets, and I think it makes a great platform from which you can begin to tinker and make this recipe your own. These are not Paleo or fashioned to any other eating plan--this is just good ol' American comfort food smoked out under the open sky. Part 1 First you'll need some ribs. We buy in bulk when they're on sale and then freeze them for later use. This pair has been thawing for a day and is ready to prep. You'll also need a workspace: The large poly cutting board makes for a great prep surface, and it cleans up very easily. The towel underneath catches any drips and keeps the board nice and stable while you're working--just make sure to send it straight to the laundry after you've finished with the ribs. A sharp knife is an absolute must, and I like my chef's knife for almost all large kitchen work. Lastly, I keep my offhand covered with a nitrile glove so I can strip it and have clean hands in a pinch. Before making a meaty mess, we'll prepare the rub: I start with Meathead's Memphis Dust, which is pretty much my go-to base for all pork barbecue. I recommend following his recipe exactly for your first time out, then you can experiment to your own tastes and develop some personal "style". I mix all the ingredients in a bowl, then use a paper plate to transfer them to my mason jar: A custom perforated lid can be swapped in to make a dandy shaker. This helps with uniform application of the rub. That jar will last an entire summer, and I make a lot of pork barbecue. It's fantastic on chicken, too. With the rub complete, we can finally turn our attention to the meat: This is a full untrimmed sparerib, removed from cryo-storage and patted dry with paper towels. In fact, this is the first one I've seen with the breastbone still attached. It seems that the packers are cutting corners to help keep costs down, which is fine by me--I enjoy making my own food. Still, this isn't (yet) suitable for the smoker; we need to do some trimming: From the backside of the rack I make three cuts. First I rock the knife down the edge of the breastbone to section it off. Second, I trim any loose or overhanging meat from the near end. Finally, I raise the flap of meat running across the bones and shave it off to level the rear surface. With the cuts made, the rack is beginning to take shape: There is a membrane of connective tissue that covers part of the rear surface. I leave it intact until after the rack is completely trimmed, it keeps the whole thing easier to deal with. Now, we turn the rack over and make the last cuts: There's a line of fat that pretty much shows you where to cut. Rock the knife down this line to section off the tips. Finally, look at the far end where the meat tapers slightly and the bones are smaller, and if necessary trim a small section to square up the end and remove any bits with bones that are too small to be useful in eating. Bravo! You now have a St. Louis cut sparerib: By the way, see that pan in the upper corner? You didn't think we were going to throw all of those trimmings away, did you? The final step to prepare the rack for seasoning is to remove the membrane on the back side: I usually just work my fingers gently under until I can grab a large section with a paper towel, then I give a steady pull until it all comes off. Some folks like to work a table knife under to get it started, but I can never seem to do that without damaging the structure beneath. Slow and steady works fine for me: There we are--all prepared for seasoning. If you've already looked at the recipe for Memphis Dust, you'll have noticed that there's no salt in it; and maybe you'll even have read Meathead's explanation thereof. Now is the time for salt, and you want to be careful not to over-season the meat. The size and weight of a full rack can fool you in to thinking it needs more salt than it actually does, but the meat is actually relatively thin and there's a lot of surface area here. When applying salt think "steak," not "roast;" and be sure to hit both sides. At this stage some folks like to follow the salt with a light coat of oil or mustard. The claim is that it helps the rub stick (true) and adds flavor (also true). I've done it both ways in the past, and honestly it's more work than it's worth to me. Feel free to experiment, though; it's your food. Generally, I skip any bonding coats and just go straight to the rub: Shake (or sprinkle) the rub on evenly, and don't overdo it. A light coating will add plenty of flavor and develop a nice crust while still allowing the smoke to penetrate. From here they're ready to go straight to your smoker, or you can wrap them up and refrigerate over night to really absorb the rub and perfume the meat with the spices: Now we can turn our attention to the trimmings: That pan is full of what's left after prepping only two racks. There's a lot of good stuff there, and even the inedible bits will contribute flavor and texture. So I season and rub them up just like the ribs: The same light coat of rub will flavor the meat, and more importantly it will begin to form the base of our sauce! You heard what I said: All of the seasoned and rubbed trimmings go in to the slow-cooker on high. It will take about four hours for these to render and turn tender, and when they're finished you'll be left with a mass of pork and about a quart of luscious drippings loaded with gelatin. We'll see these in Part 2...

Hi guys, Time for our 3rd meetup (this year) in beautiful Sydney, Australia, home of many more meetups than Melbourne ever manage Everyone is welcome to attend. Date: Tuesday 12th August Time: 6:30pm Venue: Hurricane's Grill, Darling Harbor Confirmed so far: Endor, Yuen, BarefootDawsy Witness the marvel of our very own HufflePuff Warrior @Yuen eating a whole cow and 2 sets of pork ribs! Witness the majesty of the fabled scout leader @BarefootDawsy running away from a plate of prawns in sheer terror But most of all come and enjoy some good food and the company of fellow Nerds for an evening. Hope to see you there. @suguru