Hickory Smoked Baby Back Ribs Recipes

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.

MEMPHIS-STYLE HICKORY-SMOKED BEEF RIBS

Steps:

• Rinse and dry ribs. Place on a clean cutting board and pull off the membrane, the thin fatty skin that lines the underside of the ribs. Trim the ribs of excess fat and meat. Liberally season both sides of each slab with 1/4 to 1/2 cup Neely's BBQ Dry Rub. Wrap ribs with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours so flavors can permeate.
• Preheat grill to 250 degrees F. using hickory and charcoal. Use indirect heat and cook with the cover down.
• Place ribs, meatier side down, on the grill away from the coals. Cook beef 2 hours, adding more coals as needed. Turn and cook for 45 minutes more, or until the ribs "bend" and the meat easily separates from the bone using a fork. Remove from grill.
• For dry ribs: Sprinkle extra Neely's BBQ Dry Rub over ribs, cut between the bones and serve.
• In a bowl stir together the paprika, sugar and onion powder until combined. Keep in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

MEMPHIS-STYLE HICKORY-SMOKED BEEF AND PORK RIBS

Steps:

• For the rub:
• Add all ingredients to a bowl and stir until combined. Keep in an airtight container for up to 6 months.
• For the ribs:
• Rinse and dry ribs. Place on a clean cutting board and pull off the membrane, the thin fatty skin that lines the underside of the ribs. Trim the ribs of excess fat and meat. Liberally season both sides of the ribs with 1/4 to 1/2 cup Neely's BBQ Rub. Wrap ribs and refrigerate for at least 8 hours so flavors can permeate.
• Preheat grill to 250 degrees F using hickory and charcoal.
• Use indirect heat and cook with the cover down.
• Place ribs, meatier side down, on the grill away from the coals. Cook beef 2 hours, adding more coals as needed. Turn and cook for 45 minutes more, or until the ribs "bend" and the meat easily separates from the bone using a fork. Cook the pork ribs 3 hours. Turn and cook another hour, or until ribs bend. Remove from grill.
• For dry ribs: Sprinkle extra Neely's BBQ seasoning over ribs, cut bones and serve.
• For wet ribs: Coat ribs with Neely's BBQ Sauce, cut and serve.
• In a medium saucepan, combine all ingredients. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat to simmer. Cooked uncovered, stirring frequently, for 1 hour 15 minutes.

SMOKED BABY BACK RIBS

Steps:

• Remove silver skin from the back of each rack. Rub each rack with 1 teaspoon salt and let sit for 20 minutes.
• Slather 3 tablespoons mustard on 1 rack, then shake 1/3 cup BBQ rub on top; rub in on all sides until evenly coated. Repeat on the second rack and refrigerate both racks, covered, 8 hours to overnight. Set aside remaining BBQ rub.
• Remove ribs from the refrigerator and bring to room temperature, 20 to 30 minutes. Spread the remaining 1/3 cup rub over the ribs.
• Meanwhile, mix dry wood chips with charcoal in a smoker and preheat, according to manufacturer's instructions, until temperature is a steady 225 degrees F (107 degrees F).
• Place a water pan on the smoker (or use the smoker's water tray, if it has one) and add water to the depth of the fill line. Place ribs in the smoker and close the lid.
• Combine apple juice and beer in a spray bottle. Spritz ribs every hour, rotating each time you spray. Cook for 3 hours, then remove ribs and check temperature. Wrap ribs in aluminum foil, and return to the smoker.
• Smoke until meat pulls away easily from the bone, 1 3/4 to 2 hours. Remove from the grill and check temperature; an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read 170 to 180 degrees F (77 to 82 degrees C). The ribs will be very juicy but the outside will not be crispy.
• Remove the foil and return ribs to the smoker. Cook until crispy, 15 to 30 minutes; an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read 190 to 195 degrees F (88 to 91 degrees C). Remove from the grill and tent with foil to allow juices to resettle into the meat before slicing and serving.

HICKORY SMOKED/BBQ BABY BACK RIBS

Steps:

• 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.

STOVE TOP SMOKER HICKORY SMOKED RIBS

Steps:

• Rub the salt, pepper and garlic powder into the ribs and carefully arrange on the rack to allow good circulation of the smoke.
• Place smoker in medium heat and smoke-cook for 45 minutes per pound.
• The smoking stage can be done in advance and refrigerated until just before serving.
• To finish, brush lightly with BBQ sauce and place on a cookie sheet into a 450º oven, watching and turning twice to crisp, or on an outdoor grill for 15 minutes.
• Serve with remainder of BBQ sauce on the side. The ribs will turn out tender with lots of flavor.