Labor Day is almost upon us and there is nothing more American than lighting up the grill and cooking a rack of ribs. We caught up with
Chef Jason K. Morse, CEC to bring you this amazing mouthwatering rib recipe.
Yields: 4 racks of ribs
Prep time: 20 minutes
Total time: 6 hours
Ingredients
- 4 racks of ribs, pork, Baby Back or St. Louis Sparerib; membrane peeled
- A taste of Rub-a-dub Rub from 5280 Culinary
- A taste of Oink Rub from 5280 Culinary
- A taste of High Altitude BBQ sauce from 5280 Culinary; or a taste of Low Country BBQ Sauce, 5280 Culinary Carolina Mustard Flavor; or a taste of Happy Ending BBQ Sauce
Prep Directions
- Buy Fresh ribs and be sure to remove the membrane on the rib side of the rack.
- Pro Tip for easy removal of the membrane: peel a corner of the membrane back (we use a dull butter knife to get under between the membrane and rib). Firmly grab the membrane corner with a napkin or paper towel. Pull the membrane back using a firm consistent pull. If membrane tears, don’t sweat it. Grab the dull butter knife and start again. Discard membrane.
- For a more robust flavor: season the ribs, wrap and refrigerate for 6-12 hours (or overnight).
Rib Notes
- Baby Back Ribs: Most tender and lean ribs; connected to the backbone and nestled under the loin muscle; slab usually contains 10 to 13 bones, bones tend to be curved.
- Spareribs AKA St. Louis Style or St. Louis Cut: Very tender and contain heavier bones and more pork fat; connected to the lower belly area; trimmed of breastbone and rib tips/cartilage; slab usually contains 11 bones.
Cooking Directions
Rub
- Peel the rib membrane and place onto a cooking sheet.
- Sprinkle the desired amount of 50/50 blend of Rub A Dub and Oink rub onto the meat side and allow to become tacky and wet.
- Turn the ribs over and repeat.
- Allow the rub to sit for 20 minutes before smoking.
- Pro tip for a more robust flavor: season the ribs, wrap and refrigerate for 6-12 hours (or overnight).
Traeger Smoking
- Fill the hopper with your favorite pellets or pellet blend recipe – we used Big Game Blend.
- Turn the Traeger on to smoke setting and allow smoke to start.
- Once the smoke has started place the ribs meat side up and smoke for 3 hours with the lid closed.
- At the 3 hour mark remove the ribs and place them on the cooking sheet.
- Close the lid to the Traeger and turn temp to 225 degrees.
- Adjust the seasoning on the ribs if desired.
- Brush both sides of the ribs with High Altitude BBQ Sauce, then drizzle with Low Country BBQ Sauce, then wrap tightly in peach butcher paper.
- Ensure the ends and seams are well sealed to prevent leaking. We suggest folding seams and edges to face upwards.
- Place the ribs back onto the Traeger and cook for approx. 2 hours.
- Check the pellet hopper to ensure pellets are full.
- At the 2 hour mark remove the ribs to the cookie sheet, meat side up and remove the foil.<
- Ribs should have pulled back from the tips of the ribs and have some resistance or pull. We like our ribs to have more chew versus falling off the bone.
- Season, sauce or honey glaze as needed and place back onto the Traeger.
- Cook for an additional 45 minutes to 1 hour to set the sauce or glaze.