How To Cook Spare Ribs In A Pellet Smoker Like A Pro!
Smoked Spare Ribs – It is one of the staple foods that everyone ask for at a BBQ. But what makes a competition style Spare Rib different.
Well, first what is a Competition Spare Rib? It is usually a St. Louis Cut Spare Rib that has been smoked on a smoker. The texture of a competition Style Spare Ribs
is the difference. In a Competition Spare Rib, you want to meat to still be adhered to the bone and have a little chew to it when you bit. You will be able to leave the teeth marks in the meat and still be tender.
The meat should pull off the bone with little effort and leave a bare moist bone behind. This is called “the perfect bite” in competition BBQ.
When you are talking about competition Spare Ribs you will need to focus on 5 things: Texture, Moisture, Flavor and Presentation.
Texture – The texture of a competition Style Spare Ribs is different than backyard. In a Competition Spare Rib, you want to meat to still be adhered to the bone and have a little chew to it when you bit. You will be able to leave the teeth marks in the meat and still be tender. For a traditional Backyard Ribs the meat is normally cooked to “Fall off the Bone”
Moisture – The Moisture is a major part that contributes to the overall texture of competition ribs. Competition Spare Ribs need to be moist, never a bit dry. Smoking at a low and slow cooking time is needed for the connective tissues and fat to render out. That fat gives a rich bite and makes the meat silky smooth.
Flavor – Competition Spare Ribs need to have a little smoky flavor. To accomplish this you need to keep the ribs moist during the cook. A moist surface will absorb more smoke than a dry surface. Using a water pan and spritzing the ribs periodically during the cook will provide the humidity needed for that rich bite and makes the meat silky smooth.
Presentation – Every rib should be sliced, sauce and presented to be uniform and appetizing.
The techniques and recipe will give you a baseline for competition style Spare Ribs.
We hope that you watch these videos and that it helps you. Please know that if you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me and I will be happy to help. Good luck and hope to see you at a BBQ competition somewhere.
Spare Ribs - Competition Style
Equipment
- Grill / Smoker
Ingredients
- Prairie Fresh Spare Ribs
- Parkay Butter
- Brown Sugar
Spritz
- Apple Juice
Rubs
- Rufus Teague – Spicy Meat Rub
Sauce
- Rufus Teague – Honey Sweet
Instructions
Preparing
- Remove the membrane off the back side of the ribs
- Trim down to 10 bones
- Apply a liberal amount of Rufus Teague Spicy Meat to the Back side of the Ribs
- Let the Ribs rest for amount 10-minutes to allow the Rufus Teague Rub to bind to the ribs
- Flip them over and apply a liberal amount of Rufus Teague Spicy Meat to the Meat side of the Ribs
Cooking/ Smoking
- Pre-heat your Recteq pellet smoker to 300°
- Place the ribs in the Recteq Smoker to start the cooking process
- Spritz about every 30-minutes to maintain moisture in the bark
- When you get the color on the Ribs that you are looking for, wrap them. It will be around 2-hrs
- Return to the Recteq Pellet Smoker
- When your ribs start to reach an internal temperature of 205° you will start to see the bones start to pull back.
- Pick them up (Gently) and see if the meat starts to break. If they are doing that, then you are ready.
- Flip them Meat Side up and return to the foil and apply a thin coat of sauce to the meat side of the ribs.
- Return them to the smoker to allow the sauce to set, about 10-minutes
- Remove and let them rest, Slice and Enjoy
- Let us know how they turned out and Tag #EliteBBQSmokers in your social media post.