Hickory Smoked/Bbq Baby Back Ribs
photo by Rita1652
- Ready In:
- 4hrs 30mins
- Ingredients:
- 11
- Yields:
-
2 Racks
- Serves:
- 4
ingredients
- 2 (2 lb) racks of baby-back pork ribs or (2 lb) loin ribs
-
for the brine
- 1⁄2 cup salt or 1 cup kosher salt
- 1⁄2 cup granulated sugar
- 4 quarts cold water
-
for the rub
- 6 garlic cloves
- 8 large fresh basil leaves
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon fresh oregano
- 2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley
- 1⁄2 cup olive oil
- 2 -4 tablespoons light brown sugar
directions
- Combine the salt, sugar and water in a large plastic container or non-reactive stock pot.
- Place ribs in brine and refrigerate for one hour.
- Meanwhile, combine all rub ingredients except sugar and grind into a green thick liquid with a food processor, blender or immersion blender.
- Remove ribs from the brine (after the hour) and pat dry with paper towels.
- Brush or rub green liquid over both sides of the ribs, sprinkle with sugar and wrap tightly with plastic wrap.
- Place in refrigerator for a minimum of one hour, but preferably 4 hours, you can go overnight for a really flavorful treat.
- Wood/Charcoal method: Soak 2 large chunks of hickory in water. Light about 40-50 coals or you may also use an equal amount of dry hickory chunks for an intense smoke flavor.
- Do not use lighter fluid, a fire starter chimney is the best method.
- Once coals are covered with a gray ash push them over to one side put the soaked hickory chunks on the coals and replace the grate, form a pan with some heavy aluminum foil large enough for the rib, put it on the cool side of the grill, place the ribs in the"pan" add about 1 cup of water and put the cover on the grill with the holes over the meat.
- Turn the meat 180 degrees and over every 30 minutes.
- Add some more coals/wood in about 2 hours.
- Smoke ribs for a total of 4 hours.
- Gas Grill: I don't recommend this as it can leave a very slight chemical gas taste to the meat, but it does work.
- It's the same basic technique as the charcoal method, light the grill and turn off half (or 2/3rds) of the burners, use soaked hickory chips in a throw away aluminum pan on top of the hot side of the grill.
- For either method the temp inside the grill should be around 275°F with a total cooking time of 4 hours.
- Serve with your favorite bbq sauce. Se like recipe#26794, Lee Lee's Famous Barbecue Sauce for Ribs w/ Preserves.
- Brush some on the meat for the last 5-10 minutes of the cooking process if desired.
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Reviews
-
Ok I must admit I like the flavor but as constructive critisim I think we both could work on getting the brine flavor a little deeper in the ribs... Maybe a little more time? I brine and smoke a turkey for Thanksgiving and I brine it for almost 40 hours, I think that maybe a bit much for ribs but additional time I think would help. The flavor was great and moist but closer to the bone the flavors were light. Thanks for the start... I will modify and continue using it.
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This is a great method to cook ribs! It left them tender, juicy, and delicious, with the smoke flavor penetrating the meat. I replaced the smoking chips throughout the process to ensure a good flavor. Cooking the entire process with low heat in smoke is a superior method and you have a fabulous recipe that produces ribs to die for! Thanks, Steve!
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I had never heard of Brining ribs before so I had to try this one. The ribs came out just perfectly! Rich wonderful flavor. I used my Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker for these...about 260 degrees for 4 hours turning only once in the process so as to keep the temperature constant. Used dry Hickory Chunks over Briquetts. I made a Bar-B-Que sauce but no one used it! The meat was too good to drown out with sauce.
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We just recently got a smoker, this is the first recipe we tried. These ribs are fantastic!! I didn't plan far enough ahead of time, so I soaked the ribs in the brine for one hour and allowed to marinate with the herb mixture for only one hour. I completely forgot to brush/serve with BBQ sauce, but they were delicious without. Thanks for the great recipe! =]
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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
Steve_G
Fort Myers, Florida