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St.Louis style Ribs - The meaty big brother of spare ribs
Low and slow BBQ at its best.
Ingredients
- 1 pcs St.Louis rib (approx. 2 kg)
- 4 tbsp Dry rub
- 2 tsp mustard
- 1 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 dl BBQ sauce
BBQ liquid for brushing
- 2 dl apple juice
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
Equipment
- 1 pcs Aluminum foil
This is some of the absolute best I can make on a grill. St. Louis style ribs are like overgrown spare ribs with lots of meat on top. Today I make 1 rack and it weighs about 2 kg. Time and layer upon layer of flavors create magic when you make this dish. I cook mine on a smoker grill which gives extra good smoky taste and I have full control of the temperature all the time. This is BBQ at its best and here you will get my recipe and best tips for success with St.Louis style ribs.
Step 1
As always, raw materials are extremely important to get the very best result. Get a smooth piece that is fairly rectangular and has plenty of meat over the bones on the upper side. I trim away extra fat or tendons. IMPORTANT. All spare ribs have a membrane on the back that you must remove. The easiest way to do this is to take a knife along one of the legs at the back. Grab the tendon with some paper and pull it off.
Step 2
Now comes an important part to get the very best result and that is seasoning the meat. On the back I use a homemade "dryrub" spice mixture and rub well into the meat. Then I turn the meat around and spread on a thin layer of mustard. This acts as an adhesive and gives an extra layer of flavor. Then put plenty of dryrub on the top of the meat as well. Try to get it as even as possible. Now I leave the meat with this spice mixture at room temperature for about 1 hour. This works a bit like a marinade.
Step 3
Set the smoker grill at 105-110 degrees and I recommend and use pellets with apple wood or cherries when making pork. The small sweetness from fruit trees goes well with pork. Add the meat and move it occasionally so that it gets a completely even heat treatment. Here the meat should now be enjoyed for 3 hours. I check the meat from time to time and if it has a slightly dry surface, I brush on with a little liquid. (see under ingredients: BBQ brushing)
Step 4
When 3 hours have passed, I take the meat out of the smoker grill and onto the kitchen counter. Now it should be packed tightly in aluminum foil or burcherpaper. I take over some honey and put a couple of spoons of butter in the package. Now this package should be back on the grill for 2 hours. During this period, steam will be created inside the package. This makes the meat very juicy and you get a liquid of butter, honey, broth and spices we will use to brush the meat with at the very end.
Step 5
The last hour of preparation has come and now you unpack the meat from the aluminum foil. Take care of the liquid that has remained in the foil. Put the meat back on the smoker grill and now it should enjoy itself for about 1 more hour. This time can vary slightly depending on the thickness of the meat, so feel for it with a pointed stick or similar. It should slide through the meat without any particular resistance. Brush on with the BBQ brush liquid if the meat starts to dry out. For the last 20 minutes, I start to glaze the meat. Use a good BBQ sauce and brush the meat on the underside, the edges and on top. I recommend and brush in the order I wrote for the best result. When the sauce is heated, you get a beautiful shine and another layer of flavor on your St. Luis style ribs.
Step 6
Let the meat rest for 10 minutes before cutting it up. Feel where the legs are and make nice cuts between the legs. Use a sharp knife and try to cut them up with one movement. This gives a nicer surface where you have cut. Gently tilt the meat to the side and brush the area where you cut up with the liquid from the aluminum foil. Now put the meat back together nicely and serve.
To me, this is some of the very best you can get from a barbecue. Classic BBQ with lots of delicious flavors. It takes time, but it's worth it !! I can promise you you will impress your guests if you serve this. Good luck.
