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Grilled Competition Spare Ribs

Name: Grilled Competition Spare Ribs
Ingredients: 1 rack St. Louis-style spareribs; ¼ cup yellow mustard; ¼ cup your favorite dry rub; 4 tbsp. butter cut into ⅛-inch pieces; 2 tbsp. honey; ¼ cup brown sugar; 2 tbsp. apple juice; ¼ cup your favorite BBQ sauce

Become a tailgate grillmaster when you follow these steps for perfectly delicious spareribs.

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1 Food Prep 10 min
2 Grill Prep 10–20 min
3 The Cook 5 hrs

Cooking for people

Ingredients

1 rack St. Louis-style spareribs
¼ cup yellow mustard
¼ cup your favorite dry rub
4 tbsp. butter cut into ⅛-inch pieces
2 tbsp. honey
¼ cup brown sugar
2 tbsp. apple juice
¼ cup your favorite BBQ sauce

1 Food Prep

Remove the membrane from the back of the ribs and coat both sides of the ribs with a layer of yellow mustard.
Season the ribs with the dry rub and allow them to set while you prepare the smoker or grill.

What Should I Watch for When Shopping for Pork Ribs?

Select a rib with the fresh date being as far in the future as possible. Choose ribs that are a reddish/pink color as opposed to pale pink, they will have more moisture retention after cooking. Also, look for a rib with plenty of internal marbling to ensure juiciness and flavor.

Although there is nothing wrong with frozen ribs, a fresh rib will provide a bit more of a vibrant meat flavor so go with fresh ribs whenever possible. Supermarket pork ribs are commonly sealed in packaging to extend their freshness from a few days to a few weeks. But because of this packaging, the closer you get to the fresh date, the more susceptible the meat is to being past its prime.

Credit: World Champion Pitmaster Chris Lilly of Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q.

Here’s How to Remove the Membrane of the Bone Side of Ribs Slide a butter knife underneath the membrane between the bones at about the second or third bone from the end, then grab the membrane with a cloth and peel it off of the ribs.

2 Grill Prep

Fuel: We recommend Kingsford® Original Charcoal Briquets.

Method: Two-Zone Method: Parallel Configuration

Temp: 250°F (Low Heat)

How to Gauge Grill Heat Without a Thermometer

Carefully hold your hand about 5” to 6” above the grate, and refer to the temperature settings below:

• High Heat (450° to 550°F):
2 to 4 seconds
• Medium Heat (350° to 450°F):
5 to 6 seconds
• Low Heat (250° to 350°F):
8 to 10 seconds

Make sure your clothing doesn’t touch the grate, and always move your hand away from the heat before you feel discomfort.

When you’re at temp, put cooking oil on a folded paper towel. Grab the oiled paper towel with long-handled tongs and oil the grate thoroughly.

3 The Cook

Place a water-filled, disposable aluminum half pan in the center of the grill’s charcoal grate and pile the preheated charcoal briquets on either side of the pan.
Replace the main cooking grate and adjust the bottom grill vents to bring the temperature to 250°F.
When you’re at temp, put cooking oil on a folded paper towel. Grab the oiled paper towel with long-handled tongs and oil the grate thoroughly.
Place the ribs on the grill directly above the aluminum pan.
Cover the grill and allow the ribs to smoke for approximately 3 hours, until the meat begins to pull away from the bone.
Meanwhile, lay out a large sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil and top with four ½ tbsp. pieces of butter laid side-to-side and roughly the same length as the rack of ribs, followed by 1 tbsp. honey drizzled over the butter, and 2 tbsp. brown sugar sprinkled over the top.
Lay the ribs meat-side-down on the butter, honey and brown sugar mixture. Place remaining sections of butter, the second tbsp. of honey and 2 tbsp. brown sugar evenly on top of the bone-side of the ribs. Fold the sides of the foil up and add the apple juice before loosely sealing the foil.
Place the foil wrapped ribs back on the grill directly above the water pan, cover the grill, and allow the ribs to cook for another 1½ hours.
Remove the ribs from the grill and gently open the foil packet to allow the steam to escape.
Remove the ribs from the foil and set them back on the grill, cover the grill, and allow them to cook for approximately 20 minutes until tender, but not fall-off-the-bone, and have reached an internal temperature of 145°F on a digital meat thermometer. (Note: ribs should bend at a 45° angle when held on one end with tongs.)
Next, sauce both sides of the ribs, cover the grill and cook for another 3–4 minutes so the sauce sets and becomes tacky.
Remove the ribs from the grill, slice, serve and soak up the compliments!

Here’s How to Control Your Grill Temperature with Vents An easy way to control the temperature of your grill is by opening and closing its vents. To reduce the temperature: Close the vents on your grill to reduce the flow of oxygen. To increase the temperature: Open up the vents fully to allow more oxygen in to increase the flames.

Recipe created by Clint Cantwell on behalf of Kingsford® Charcoal.

For safe meat preparation, reference the USDA website.