Recipe Smoked Baby Back Ribs Tagine Style Smothered In Spicy Apricot Sauce Food

BILL'S SMOKED BBQ BABY BACK RIBS

Steps:

• Prepare charcoal in a smoker, and bring the temperature to 225 degrees F (110 degrees C).
• Cut the ribs into smaller portions of 3 or 4 ribs, and place them in a large pot. Pour in enough apple juice to cover. Place a lid on the pot and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat, and let stand for 15 minutes.
• Lightly oil the grate in your smoker. Place ribs on the grate, and throw a few cloves of garlic onto the hot coals. Close the smoker. Maintain the temperature at 225 degrees F (110 degrees C) by adding more charcoal as needed. Smoke the ribs for 7 hours, adding more garlic cloves to the coals occasionally.
• Make a sauce by mixing together the barbeque sauce with 2 cups of the apple juice from the pot. Season with granulated garlic. Baste ribs with this sauce while continuing to cook for another 30 minutes.

SMOKED BABY BACK RIBS

Steps:

• Prepare the ribs (see below). Combine the brown sugar, chili powder, paprika, cumin, mustard powder and 2 tablespoons salt in a small bowl. Rub the ribs all over with the cut sides of the lemon and then the spice mixture and place in a large roasting pan or resealable plastic bag. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.
• Meanwhile, soak the wood chips in water 1 hour, then prepare your grill for smoking, filling the smoker box with one-quarter each of the wood chips and apple.
• About 30 minutes before smoking, remove the ribs from the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature. Meanwhile, combine the apple juice, Worcestershire sauce and vinegar in a small spray bottle. Shake to mix.
• Once the grill reaches 250 degrees F, lightly brush the grates with vegetable oil and place the ribs on the cooler side of the grill, meat-side up. Spray with the apple juice mixture. Close the grill and let smoke 1 hour.
• Replenish the smoker box with another one-quarter each of the wood chips and apple. Flip the ribs so they're meat-side down with the opposite edge of the racks closer to the smoker box. Spray with the apple juice mixture; close the grill and let smoke 1 more hour. Repeat this process every hour until the ribs are dark brown and tender and the meat starts to shrink away from the bones, about 2 more hours. Remove the ribs from the grill and let rest 5 minutes before slicing.
• How to prep your ribs:
• Position the ribs meat-side down. Insert a paring knife under the membrane that covers the back of the rack. Loosen the membrane with the knife. Grab the membrane with your fingers and peel off completely.

BABY BACK RIBS, SMOKED TO PERFECTION

Steps:

• Place 3 fist-sized chunks of wood in a smoker and heat to 250 degrees F (121 degrees C).
• While the wood burns down, mix salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, and cumin together. Apply the rub to both sides of the ribs.
• Add ribs to the smoker, bone-side down, once a thin blue smoke appears. Smoke for 2 hours. Wrap ribs lightly in aluminum foil to retain juices. Continue smoking for 1 1/2 hours at 225 to 250 degrees F (107 to 121 degrees C).
• Remove foil and continue to smoke until meat is tender but still stays on the bone, about 1 hour more, brushing lightly with barbeque sauce in the last 15 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read 145 degrees F (63 degrees C).

MEATHEAD'S LAST MEAL RIBS RECIPE

Steps:

• Prep. Rinse the ribs in cool water to remove any bone bits from the butchering.
• If the butcher has not removed the membrane from the under side, do it yourself. It gets leathery and hard to chew, it keeps fat in, and it keeps sauce out. To remove it, insert a butter knife under the membrane, then your fingers, work a section loose, grip it with a paper towel, and peel it off. If you can't get the skin off, with a sharp knife, cut slashes through it every inch so some of the fat will render out during the cooking. Click here to see more photos of how to skin 'n' trim ribs and here's a quickie 1 minute video of the technique.
• Trim the excess fat from both sides of the rack of ribs.
• Next it is time to add the salt. The rule of thumb is 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt per pound of meat, but ribs are about 50% bone, so use about 1/4 teaspoon per pound. You can simply eyeball it by sprinkling on the same amount of salt you would sprinkle on the ribs if they were served to you unsalted. If you can, give the salt 1 to 2 hours to be absorbed. The process of salting in advance is called dry brining.
• Before adding a BBQ rub, be aware of double salt jeopardy! Rubs and spice blends are a great way to add flavor to meat, but almost all commercial rubs contain salt so be careful not to pre-salt the ribs if you plan on using one of these rubs otherwise they will be unbearably salty. Also note that some ribs sold in grocery stores are labeled as "enhanced" or "flavor enhanced" or "self-basting" or "basted," meaning that they have been injected with a brine at the packing plant so if you are using these you probably want to use a rub that doesn't include salt like our Meathead's Memphis Dust recipe.Some folks insist on putting the barbecue rub on the night before, but it isn't necessary. The molecules in spices are too large to penetrate more than a tiny fraction of an inch. Read this for the science.
• Before applying the rub, just coat the meat with a thin layer of water. The water helps dissolve the spices. A lot of cooks like to use mustard under the rub as a form of glue. Mustard is water, vinegar, and maybe white wine (all mostly water) with mustard powder mixed in. The amount of mustard powder is so small that by the time the water steams off and drips away, the mustard powder remaining is miniscule. My experience is that using a mustard slather makes little or no difference in the final outcome. If you want a mustard flavor, you will do much better by simply sprinkling it on the meat. Once wet, sprinkle enough Meathead's Memphis Dust to coat all surfaces but not so much that the meat doesn't show through. That is about 2 tablespoons per side depending on the size of the slab. Spread the Memphis Dust on the meat and rub it in.
• Fire up. Pre-heat your barbecue smoker or set up your grill for 2-zone (indirect) cooking. Adjust the dampers on your cooker to bring the temperature to about 225°F and try to keep it there throughout the cook. Cooking at 225°F will allow the meat to roast low and slow, liquefying the collagen in connective tissues and melting fats without getting the proteins knotted in a bunch. It's a magic temp that creates silky texture, adds moisture, and keeps the meat tender. If you can't hit 225°F, get as close as you can. Don't go under 200°F and try not to go over 250°F.When monitoring the cooker temperature you can absolutely positively noway nohow rely on bi-metal dial thermometers. If you are not monitoring your cooker with a good digital oven thermometer, you are setting yourself up for disappointment. Using a dial thermometer is like trying to send email with a typewriter. Click here to read my buyer's guide to thermometers.Once you have reached the desired temperature, add about 4 ounces of dry wood, placing it as close to the flame as possible.
• Cook. Put the slabs in the cooker in indirect heat, meaty side up, close the lid, go drink a beer, read a book, or make love.
• When the smoke dwindles after 20 to 30 minutes, add another 4 ounces of wood. After that, DO NOT add any more wood. On your first attempt, resist the temptation. Nothing will ruin a meal faster and waste money better than over-smoked meat. You can always add more the next time you cook, but you cannot take it away if you over-smoke.
• If you have more than one slab on, halfway through the cook you will need to move the ribs closest to the fire away from the heat, and the slabs farthest from the flame in closer. Leave the meat side up. There is no need to flip the slabs. You can peek if you must, but don't leave the lid open for long.
• This next step is known as the Texas Crutch. This optional trick involves wrapping the slab in foil with about an ounce of water for up to an hour to speed cooking and tenderize a bit. Almost all barbecue ribs competition cooks use the Texas Crutch to get an edge. But the improvement is really slight and I never bother for backyard cooking. If you crutch too long you can turn the meat to mush and time in foil can soften the bark and remove a lot of rub. I recommend it only for barbecue competitions when the tiniest improvement can mean thousands of dollars. Skip it and you'll still have killer ribs. But if you've seen it on TV and must try it, click here to learn more about The Texas Crutch. The Texas Crutch is it is baked into a popular technique called the 3-2-1 method which I do not recommend. Two hours in foil or butcher paper is far too long and can make the meat mushy. Try the Texas Crutch after you master the basics.
• For cooking time, allow 5 to 7 hours for St. Louis Cut (SLC) Ribs or Spare Ribs, and 3 to 5 hours for Baby Back Ribs. Thicker, meatier slabs take longer. If you use rib holders so they are crammed close to each other, add another hour.
• When it is time to find out whether or not the ribs are ready, we us the bend test (a.k.a. the bounce test). Although we insist that you buy a good digital meat thermometer for most smoking and grilling, this is one of the few meats on which you cannot use a meat thermometer because the bones have an impact on the meat temp and because the meat is so thin. To conduct the bend test, pick up the slab with tongs and bounce it gently. If the surface cracks as in the picture above, it is ready. Here are some other tricks to tell when ribs are ready.
• Once the ribs are done cooking it is time to add the sauce unless you intend to serve them "dry" like they do in Memphis. The key to saucing ribs is to go easy on it so that the meat can shine through. Simply paint both sides of the rack with your favorite home made barbecue sauce or store-bought barbecue sauce and cook for another 15 minutes or so. Don't put the sauce on earlier than that. It has sugar and there is a risk it can burn. Now here's a trick I like: Sizzle on the sauce. Put the ribs with sauce directly over the hottest part of a grill in order to caramelize and crisp the sauce. On a charcoal grill, just move the slab over the coals. On a gas grill, crank up all the burners. On a water smoker, remove the water pan and move the meat close to the coals. On an offset smoker, put a grate over the coals in the firebox and put the meat there. With the lid open so you don't roast the meat from above, sizzle the sauce on one side and then the other. The sauce will actually sizzle and bubble. Stand by your grill and watch because sweet sauce can go from caramelized to carbonized in less than a minute! One coat of a thick sauce should be enough, but if you need two, go ahead, but don't hide all the fabulous flavors under too much sauce. If you think you'll want more sauce, put some in a bowl on the table.
• Serve. Once sauced, slice the rack between the bones. If you've done all this right, you will notice that there is a thin pink layer beneath the surface of the meat. This does not mean it is undercooked! It is the highly prized smoke ring caused by the combustion gases and the smoke. It is a sign of Amazing Ribs. Now plate, serve to your guests, and take a bow when the applause swells from the audience.

THE BEST BABY BACK RIBS

Steps:

• If necessary, remove thin membrane from ribs and discard. Combine broth, soy sauce, 1/2 cup sugar, vinegar, olive oil and garlic. Place ribs in a shallow baking dish; pour two-thirds of the marinade over ribs. Turn to coat; refrigerate overnight, turning occasionally. Cover and refrigerate remaining marinade., Drain ribs, discarding marinade. Combine remaining sugar, salt and seasonings; rub over both sides of ribs., Grill ribs, covered, on an oiled rack over indirect medium heat for 30 minutes on each side., Baste with reserved marinade, or, if desired, barbecue sauce. Move ribs to direct medium heat and cook until pork is tender, turning and basting occasionally, 20-40 minutes longer.

TENDER BABY BACK RIBS

Steps:

• Rub ribs with oil. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, paprika, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder and cayenne; rub over ribs. Wrap in a large piece of heavy-duty foil (about 28 in. x 18 in.). Seal the edges of foil. In a small bowl, combine barbecue sauce and beer; set aside., Prepare grill for indirect heat. Grill ribs, covered, over indirect medium heat for 1 hour. Carefully remove ribs from foil. Place over direct heat; baste with sauce mixture. Grill 20 minutes or until meat is tender, turning and basting occasionally with sauce.

NO FAIL BBQ BABY BACK RIBS (GRILL)

Steps:

• Remove silver skin from bone side of ribs. Never used to do this, but now understand why the pros do. Using the tine of a dinner fork helps get things started, then it just peels off.
• Put a large sheet of foil on the counter and place the ribs meat side down. You want enough foil to VERY lightly wrap (or tent) the ribs for grilling.
• All the spice measurements above are estimates. We like things a bit on the zippy side, but not burning hot -- just a little bite. With that said, we season the bone side of the ribs heavy with garlic powder, medium heavy with cayenne, medium heavy with pepper, and light with salt. Really hard to over do it, as after 4+ hours on the grill, the spices seem to mellow.
• Flip the ribs and repeat the seasoning. Again, may look heavy, but the flavors kinda vanish during cooking. Why you need to try it once and adjust to taste the 2nd time. I never taste the garlic no matter how much I put on, but the cayenne does adjust the spiciness. Even when we go pretty heavy with the cayenne, it is not over-powering.
• Lightly wrap the ribs. You want to create a tent on top so the foil does not touch the meat. Pull up the ends lightly and seal. You do want to seal things so moisture does not escape. You can put these in the fridge all day, or put on the grill immediately.
• I have a Weber Genesis gas grill that has a front, center and rear burner. Don't have to pre-heat, but I only turn on the front burner to low-medium -- grill will heat to about 250 degrees. Place the ribs towards the rear of the grill (away from the burner). Leave them there for 2 hours. Nothing you need to do except make sure the temp stays around 250. 200 is fine, 300 is fine -- but lower seems to produce better results.
• After 2 hours, open the foil and coat with BBQ sauce. Should be a lot of juice in the foil at this point. If not, add some water, beer, or something. Re-seal the foil and let them go another 2 hours.
• Now the tricky part. Pull the ribs towards the front the grill. Get a couple wide spatulas, open the foil, and carefully lift the rack of ribs from the foil and place directly on the center of the grill. At this point, the ribs will be pretty much done. Remove the foil from the grill. Turn on all the burners and coat the ribs with sauce. Close the lid. Things should start smoking from the sauce dripping and burning. If things are not smoking, turn up the heat. Keep an eye on things at this point. You do want a nice char, but you don't want to overdo it. Maybe 10-20 minutes for this step.
• Get the 2 spatulas and remove to a cookie sheet or platter. Enjoy.
• If you like Sweet Baby Ray's Original, you will like these. Fall off the bone every single time, and they require very little effort or attention. You can adjust the base seasoning to your liking. I have made these with the same general recipe and process from anywhere between 3 hours and 6 hours with very little loss in outcome. Hence the reason I call it "no fail".

SMOKED SOUTHERN BABY BACK RIBS

Steps:

• Take the olive oil with a basting brush and go over all sides of the ribs. After you fo this, sprinkle the rub on both sides of the pork. If you run out, just mix some more. I am a heavy rub girl so I like a lot! The sauce is last portion of the ingredients. Start with the BBQ sauce and work your way down.
• Now its time to prepare your smoker. If you do not have a smoker, you can do this with a regular grill to get the same smoke flavor. If you do not have a smoker, just go to the end of the directions for smoking and you will see how to do it with a grill.
• I have an upright, cylinder shaped, 2 tier smoker made by Brinkman. I buy hickory wood chunks from Home Depot or Walmart. I will put 4 or 5 in a pan of water to soak for about an hour. I light my coals and let them burn until the coals turn ashy of the sides. I add my soaked wood and water pan/drip pan ontop of that. I close the lid so it can get up to temperature.
• After about half an hour, I place the ribs in the smoker (bone side down)and leave them alone for atleast 2 hours. You want to maintain a constant temperature in the smoker of about 200 to 220 degrees. The secret to fall-off-the-bone ribs is cooking them low and slow. Do not even take the top off for 2 hours. After 2 hours, take them off and wrap in aluminum foil. Add more wet or dry wood chunks to the bottom bowl. Close the lid and let them cook another hour and a half. If you choose to add sauce, this is the time to do it. Open the aluminum foil and pour my sauce over them. After about 30 more minutes, you have the finest ribs that you have ever had!
• Now, if you do not have a smoker I recommend you get one. It's only $39 at Home Depot. Prepare your grill with coals and place wet hickory wood chunks all around ontop of the coals. Place ribs on the grill (bone side down) and let them cook about 30 minutes, turning them over after 15 minutes. Afterwards, wrap in aluminum foil and place back onto grill. Let them cook an additional 30 minutes. Pour my sticky sauce over them in the foil and let cook additional 15 minutes. Remove and enjoy!

3-2-1 RIBS: PERFECT FALL OFF THE BONE RIBS

Steps:

• Begin by removing the membrane on the back of the ribs
• Liberally season both sides of the ribs using the sweet rub, starting with the bone side.
• Prepare your smoker for indirect smoking. Target temperature is between 180-200 with thin blue smoke. Place the seasoned ribs on the smoker and close the lid. Leave them to smoke for 3 hours.
• Tear off a large piece of aluminum foil and place it on a large working surface. Transfer the ribs to the foil bone side up so the bones don't tear through the foil. Sprinkle with the brown sugar, top with the butter cut into small pads, and then pour over the apple cider.
• Tightly crimp the foil together to create an airtight seal. Return to the grill and increase your cooking temperature to as close to 225 degrees as you can get it. Let the ribs braise for 2 hours in the foil.
• Carefully remove the ribs from the grill and place on a large working surface. Open the foil package (be careful of hot steam) and use tongs to remove the ribs and place them back on the grill, bone side down. Discard the foil and excess cooking liquid,
• Brush the ribs with your favorite BBQ sauce, close the lid of your grill and cook at 225 degrees for an additional hour until the ribs are done to your desired tenderness and the sauce is sticky and set.

RECIPE: SMOKED BABY BACK RIBS TAGINE STYLE SMOTHERED IN SPICY APRICOT SAUCE

Steps:

• INSTRUCTIONS For the spicy apricot sauce: Place serrano peppers in smoker for one hour. Cook onions until soft and translucent then add serrano peppers. Add Moroccan rib rub, Worcestershire sauce. Simmer for 30 minutes. Add apricot preserves, honey, tomato sauce and pan drippings. Cook rapidly until sauce thickens then let simmer for one to two hours. For the tagine-style ribs: Remove the membrane from the ribs and rub generously with the rub (about ¾ cup). Prepare smoker for barbecue at 225 to 250 degrees F. Add the ribs to a rack and set a water dish directly below to catch drippings and help braise while cooking. Carefully monitor smoker temperature, adding additional wood as required. After two hours, slice tomato and add to smoker along with the whole garlic clove. After two and a half hours, remove ribs from smoker, dress with spicy apricot sauce, wrap in aluminum foil (a technique known as the "Texas crutch") and return to smoker for the final 30 minutes. After three hours, finely chop smoked tomatoes, peel and chop garlic and add to prepared couscous. Remove ribs and slather generously with sauce. Cut into one to two ribs servings, place over bed of couscous, garnish with mint leaves and serve.

HICKORY-SMOKED BABY BACK RIBS

Steps:

• The Rainford Method
• For the ribs, stir together the sugar, salt, smoked paprika, chili powder, regular paprika, onion powder, black pepper and thyme. Set aside.
• With a small, sharp knife, release the edge of the membrane on the back of each rack of ribs. Grasp the edge with needle-nose pliers or a piece of paper towel and peel the membrane off the rack. (If you leave the membrane on, the ribs will be chewy.)
• Spread the dry rub all over each rack of ribs until completely coated. Make sure you press the dry rub into the meat. This is where your flavor is going to come from. Arrange the ribs in a rib rack, with all the racks facing the same direction. A rib rack has 8 slab compartments, looks like a rack of coat hangers and can be purchased at most barbecue stores.
• Fire up your charcoal grill and prep the grill for cooking over indirect heat. You need a low temperature of around 250 to 300°F (120 to 150°C) to grill the ribs. For gas grills, preheat the grill to low then turn off one side of the grill to achieve indirect heat. Place a drip tray on the cooler side of the grate and half fill the pan with warm water or the beer of your choice.
• Drain 2 chunks of hickory, place them on top of the charcoal and set the grate in place. For gas barbecues, place half of the hickory chips in a foil pouch and place the pouch directly on the heated side of the grill. Wait for the hickory to start to smoke.
• Place the rib racks over indirect heat as far from the heat as possible, with the bone sides facing toward the heat. Close the lid and close the top vent on a charcoal grill about halfway. This will maintain a temperature between 250 and 300°F (120 and 150°C). Cook the ribs for 2 hours.
• Once the ribs are on, it's time to start working on the barbecue sauce. If you have a side burner this can be done outside. If you don't, go inside and use your stove top to simmer your sauce. Combine all the ingredients in a small saucepan set over medium heat. Simmer for 20 to 30 minutes or until the sauce reaches a glaze consistency. Remove the saucepan from the heat and set aside to cool.
• The first batch of charcoal should be cooling down after 2 hours. Now is the time to use your chimney starter and get another batch of charcoal lit. Add the remaining wood chunks to the coals to get a little more smoke. If using a gas grill, wrap the remaining chips in foil and place directly on the hotter side of the grate. Close the lid and grill for another 2 hours. Make sure to come back every hour on the hour to check the temperature and to add more charcoal, if necessary. In the last hour of grilling, your ribs will start to show signs of cooking all the way through. When the meat pulls back from the bone, the ribs are almost ready. Baste the ribs with the barbecue sauce during the last 5 to 10 minutes of cooking. I like to tent my ribs before serving, so take them off the grill and let them rest, loosely covered with foil, for 10 minutes.

SMOKED RIBS WITH CAROLINA-STYLE BBQ SAUCE

Steps:

• For the rub:
• Combine all the spices in a small bowl. Brush both sides of the racks with oil and rub with the spice mixture. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 12 hours.
• In a large pot over low heat, add all the mop ingredients. Bring to a simmer and cook until the sugar is dissolved. Let cool to room temperature.
• Remove the ribs from the refrigerator 45 minutes before smoking to allow them to come to room temperature. Add the mix of hickory and applewood chips to the smoker according to package instructions. Heat a smoker to 220 degrees F. Put the apple cider in a small heatproof pan in the smoker.
• Put the ribs directly on the smoker rack. Smoke for 6 hours, brushing the ribs with the mop every hour for the first 5 hours. During the last hour, brush the ribs with the North Carolina Barbecue Sauce every 10 minutes. Remove the ribs to a serving platter and serve.
• For the BBQ Sauce:
• Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan. Add the onions and cook until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the ketchup and water, bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer until thickened, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Cool for about 5 minutes.
• Carefully transfer the mixture to a food processor and puree until smooth. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, then pour into a bowl and allow to cool at room temperature. Sauce will keep for 1 week in the refrigerator, stored in a tightly sealed container.