Grilled Competition Spare Ribs
Become a tailgate grillmaster when you follow these steps for perfectly delicious spareribs.
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Ingredients
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1 rack St. Louis-style spareribs
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¼ cup yellow mustard
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¼ cup your favorite dry rub
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4 tbsp. butter cut into ⅛-inch pieces
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2 tbsp. honey
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¼ cup brown sugar
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2 tbsp. apple juice
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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.
2 Grill Prep
Fuel: We recommend Kingsford® Original Charcoal Briquets.
Method: Two-Zone Method: Parallel Configuration
Temp: 250°F (Low Heat)
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!
Recipe created by Clint Cantwell on behalf of Kingsford® Charcoal.
For safe meat preparation, reference the USDA website.
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