Smoked St. Louis Cut Spare Ribs | How to BBQ with Troy Barrett

Smoked St. Louis Cut Spare Ribs | How to BBQ with Troy Barrett

In this video I cook St. Louis cut Spare Ribs. I look for a well marbled rib with good weight – 3lbs and up. This size rib has plenty of meat on the bones for your family and friends, so they can get a good bite.

My process starts with trimming the ribs. I square up each rack by removing the end bones and taking any excess meat off the rib tip area. Each slab needs to be close to the same size in order to cook at the same rate. Remove the sinew membrane from the back side the ribs and trim away any thick deposits of fat from both sides.

For pork ribs I want a sweet layer of seasoning. In this video I use Kosmos Sweet Honey Pecan Dry BBQ Rub. This rub can be found on Amazon.com. The rub is a competition dry rub manufactured for Kosmo’s Q, Inc. Layer on a very light coat of mustard on each slab and sprinkle the rub on both sides. Let them hang out at room temp while the smoker comes up to temperature.

Just about any type of pit can be used to smoke ribs. For this cook I’m firing up my Camp Chef Deluxe Pellet Grill. The target smoking temperature is 250⁰. I chose to use Pecan pellets to match the seasoning I used on the ribs for smoke flavor.

Place the ribs on the cooking grate and make sure they’re lying straight on the rack. The way you set them in place is the shape they will cook. Smoke for 2 hours and spritz with a 50:50 mixture of apple cider vinegar and water as needed (about every 30 minutes).

The ribs will start to develop a bark on the outside as the rub caramelizes and this is the point where you want to get them wrapped. Tear off a sheet of aluminum foil long enough to cover the ribs. On the foil layer a few lines of Parkay squeeze margarine, ¼ cup brown sugar, and 1 Tablespoon of honey. Place the ribs meat down in this mixture. Pour a light layer of apple cider vinegar on the back of the ribs. Close the aluminum foil around the ribs and place them back on the smoker to tenderize meat side down.

It takes about 1 – 1 ½ hours in the wrap but be sure to check them after 1 hour. When you see the larger bones exposed on the back it’s a tell-tell sign that the ribs are tender. As you lift the slabs you can feel them bend in between the bones almost to the point of breaking.

You have to be careful here when handling them or the slab could tear. Let the ribs hang out for 30 minutes on the counter to rest in the foil.

Now the ribs are ready to cut into portions. Place each rack meat side down on the cutting board and use a long bladed, sharp knife to precisely cut in between each bone. *a good knife is key here. Once all of the ribs are cut, apply a little glaze to the cut side of each piece and your ribs will be ready to be judged or to eat.

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