SmokeBarbecue
Country-style ribs, smoked
Not ribs. Blade-end shoulder, cut into thick strips. They eat like pork steaks if you give them collagen time.
Made it?
4 hr · 25 min hands-on · pull 195°F · rest 15 min
Ingredients
4.5 lb on the fire · ~2.5 lb to the table · 5 plates at 8 oz
- country-style ribs (shoulder, not loin)4 1/2 lb
- kosher salt2 tbsp
- rib rub2 tbsp
- apple cider vinegar, for mopping1/4 cup
Method
- 1
Read the label. Loin country-style is a different, leaner cook. Shoulder-cut is what you want. Salt and rub.
- 2
Smoke at 275°F with hickory or apple. Mop lightly after the first hour if they look dry.
- 3
Pull at 195°F or when a probe slides. Rest 15 minutes. Sauce at the table if you want it.
If you don’t have it
- Shoulder country-style → Pork steaks or a small Boston butt. Loin country-style is leaner — pull at 145, not 195. Read the label.
- Hickory → Apple or pecan. Hickory is tavern pork. Fruitwood reads sweeter.
Same cook, different day
Braised
No smoker. Covered pan, 300°F, a little cider, 2½ hours until they yield.
Grilled finish
You want char. Smoke to 180, then 3 minutes a side over direct with a thin sauce.
Mustard slather
A wetter bark. Yellow mustard under the rub. Same 275°F.
On the plate
With this, try
- With this dish, try making pinto beans.
Start when a packer wraps, or at the beginning of a shoulder. Soaked beans, smoked hock, onion, chili. Simmer until creamy. Salt late.
2 hr 30 min
- With this dish, try making pot liquor collards.
On with a shoulder or a ham. They want time, not a grate. Strip the stems, simmer with a hock until the leaves give and the pot liquor is the sauce.
1 hr 30 min
- With this dish, try making watermelon-feta salad.
Ribs, chicken, lamb, a hot afternoon. Chunks, not balls. Salt the melon. Feta last.
10 min