The Ultimate BBQ Rib

Cook Time: 4.5 - 5 hours
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Time in refrigerator: 12 - 24 hrs

Following the near flawless chicken, I was on a electric smoker high.  I have been trying to smoke almost anything I can get my hands on at the grocery store.  But in this post, I am going to discuss my ultimate smoked BBQ ribs.

I have decided that each one of my posts, will have an ingredient to my recipe that I have worked on for over 10 years.  So continue to read my blog, and enjoy the food!

I usually purchase my ribs from Costco.  I always buy the baby back ribs that come in a pack of 3.  If I am feeling super generous, I will get my ribs from a meat market.  But the Costco ribs are an excellent choice if there happens to be one by where you live.

Regardless of where you buy your ribs, there are a few steps you need to take before putting on the rub.  Step one, is to completely rinse them off in the sink.  Make sure to give them a quick rub down, and then pat them dry.  Step two, is to remove the membrane on the back of the ribs.  I have found that if you can find a corner of the membrane that you can lift up, you can slide a knife between the ribs and the membrane.  Slowly inch the knife along as you pull off the membrane.

Once you have completed this daunting task, you are ready to apply the dry rub.  Now, there are great recipes out there for a dry rub, but I prefer the sweet and heat dry rub.  I first start with about 12 tablespoons of light brown sugar.  I then mix in the remaining ingredients (little bit of this and that).  After mixing in a bowl, the rub is ready to be applied.

Carefully lay down a large sheet of aluminum foil and place the rib with the bone side up.  Give a good even coat of rub to the baby back rib, then flip the ribs over and repeat.  Wrap the rib in the tin foil and place in the refrigerator.  Do this for all three slabs.  Leave in fridge for 12 - 24 hrs.

Preheat your smoker to 225 degrees.  I prefer to heat my smoker about 2 hrs in advance, so I can get a good smoke throughout.  Once the smoker reaches the desired temp, place the ribs in the smoker on either a rib rack, or on separate shelves.  About every 30 mins, spray the ribs with an apple juice mixture to keep them moist.  Also, you will need to add smoking chips about every hour.  I prefer to use a good hickory and mesquite blend.

After roughly 4 - 4.5 hrs of smoke, check the ribs by pulling one slab out of the smoke with BBQ tongs.  If the rib bends, but does not break, they are ready to be wrapped in foil.  Pull a sheet of aluminum foil large enough for one slab.  Before laying the rib bone side up down on the foil, put light brown sugar, honey and squeeze butter.  Why Squeeze butter?  It keeps the ribs moist, and adds that much more flavor.  Do the same for the bone side.  Wrap the ribs tightly, and place back in the smoker for about another hour.  Do this for all slabs of ribs.

When removing the ribs, let rest so the juices can soak back into the meat.  If you wish to add a glaze to your ribs, feel free.  Here is a great recipe that I have used in the past.

Rib Glaze:
1 Cup White Wine
2 Tablespoons White Wine Vinegar
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
1 tablespoon Honey
2 Cloves Garlic, Chopped
The Rib liquid that ran off in the tin foil

Take all ingredients and mix it into a bowl.  Grab a sauce pan and over medium heat, pour ingredients into pan.  Stir frequently and the liquid will begin to thicken.  Once the liquid has become an almost glue like texture, apply to the ribs.  Place the ribs over medium heat on a grill for 10 min.  This will give the ribs a great sweet flavor.

Enjoy and thanks for reading!

Best BBQ chicken in a smoker

A few weeks ago, I tried smoking a whole chicken for the first time.  What an experience!  Between trying to find the perfect dry rub, and figuring out smoking times, I had my hands full.

But let me first begin with my preferred type of smoker.  I tend to lean towards the electric smokers that allow you to use the smoking chips.  The brand I currently own is a Masterbuilt smoker.  What a great piece of BBQ equipment!  I am able to accurately keep the temp right where it needs to be, so I can carry on with my daily activities.

This piece of equipment comes with a remote, so you can control all aspects of the process.  The front window is great, but it does get fogged up as you continue to smoke.  After each use, you will need to clean the glass.

Now on to the chicken.....  I first picked up a whole chicken from the local grocery store.  The cook time for this bird was roughly six hours at 225 degrees.

I used my secret dry rub recipe that I have worked on for over 8 years now.  It has the sweet and heat that everyone is looking for in the rub.  I highly recommend not using a dry rub from the grocery store.  I have used one before, and it was terrible.

After applying a large amount of dry rub throughout the bird (including the cavities), I let it sit for three hours.  This allowed the rub to soak into the chicken.

As you can see, I used a drip pan while the chicken sat, so I could reapply the drippings as the chicken sat waiting.  Right before the chicken went into the smoker, I applied squeeze butter all over the skin, so I could get a good crisp flavor.  The squeeze butter helps the skin get crispy, while it keeps the meat moist with flavor.

Throughout the cooking process, I would spray apple juice over the top of the chicken.  This would help keep the moisture in, while given the skin that extra crisp and flavor.  After the six hours, I pulled the chicken from the smoker and this was my end result.

I let rest for approximately 30 minutes to make sure all the juices went back into the meat.  Now some of you like a little BBQ sauce on the side with your chicken.  So below, I have added a recipe that will make you come back and read more!

Todd's BBQ Sauce
2 Tablespoons Onion Powder
2 Tablespoons Garlic Powder
Two 6 Ounce Cans of Tomato Paste
2 Tablespoons Paprika
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 Cup Light Brown Sugar
2 Tablespoons Honey
2 Tablespoons Kosher Salt
2 Tablespoons Fresh Ground Pepper

In a bowl, mix all ingredients.  Apply a pan to the stove and over medium heat, pour sauce mixture into pan.  Heat sauce for roughly ten minutes stirring occasionally so as not to burn the sauce.  For some of you that prefer a sauce that has more liquid, add a cup of water, and stir.  Continue to add water until you have it to the consistency that you desire.

Until Next Time!