SmokeBarbecue
St. Louis ribs, hot and fast
Spare ribs with the breastbone off, cooked in an afternoon — 300°F, a short wrap, a glaze. Not 3-2-1.
Made it?
3 hr 30 min · 30 min hands-on · pull 195°F · rest 15 min
Ingredients
3.5 lb on the fire · ~1.9 lb to the table · 4 plates at 8 oz
- St. Louis cut spare ribs2 racks (3 1/2 lb)
- yellow mustard3 tbsp
- rib rub1/3 cup
- butter4 tbsp
- barbecue sauce1/3 cup
Method
- 1
Peel membranes. Mustard binder, rub. Rest while the cooker hits 300°F.
- 2
Smoke unwrapped 2 hours. Wrap in foil with butter when bark is set, 45 minutes.
- 3
Unwrap, sauce thin, 20–30 minutes more until the rack bends 90 degrees. Rest 15 minutes.
If you don’t have it
- St. Louis spares → Untrimmed spares, or baby backs. Untrimmed need the breastbone off or they cook uneven. Baby backs want the no-wrap cook already in the library.
- 300°F → The 3-2-1 spare cook. If you want fall-off-the-bone and have six hours. Different dish, same hog.
Same cook, different day
No-wrap
You want maximum bark. 300°F unwrapped until the bend, 3½–4 hours. Sauce last 15 minutes.
Dry Memphis
No sauce. Skip glaze. Dust of the same rub after they rest.
Overnight hold
Serving at noon. Cook, wrap, hold 150°F. Re-glaze 10 minutes before service.
On the plate
With this, try
- With this dish, try making vinegar slaw.
Anytime. Better after an hour in the fridge. Cabbage, carrot, cider vinegar, a pinch of sugar, salt, pepper. No mayo if the meat is already rich.
20 min
- With this dish, try making skillet mac.
In the oven while a roast rests, or the last stretch of a smoke. A real béchamel, cheddar, a breadcrumb top. Do not start it at the same time as a packer and expect timing to match.
40 min
- 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