I brined them overnight in a gallon of water, 10 ounces salt, and 1/2 cup honey. The dry rub is Meathead's Memphis Dust. They were in the smoker at 235 for about 6 hours, with 2 doses of hickory smoke (about 12oz of chips total). 5 hours in, I brushed on the glaze: Mix ¼ cup Ketchup, 3 Tbsp Honey, 2 ½ Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar, 2 tsp Onion Powder, 1 tsp Chili Powder, 4 cloves fresh garlic, 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder, ¼ cup Olive Oil, and 8 dried chilis in a blender. When it's all incorporated, stir in some liquid smoke and bourbon to taste. For the last 15 minutes, I cranked the heat to 400 to caramelize the glaze a little. Remove, rest under foil for 10 minutes or so, and enjoy! What it looked like on the inside. The smoke ring was more prominent than the photo shows.
oh, I also coated them with a little olive oil before shaking on the rub. It helps with adhesion, and it blooms the spices in the rub (a lot of the flavor compounds are fat soluble).
tips: 1) It's just a cheapo vertical smoker. Temp control can be an issue; adding mass helps with stability. bricks, a pizza stone, and unglazed ceramic tile all act as thermal capacitors to hold and evenly distribute the heat. I always use a put a pan of water in with the meat, too. Water does a phenominal job of stabilizing temparure, and steam helps carry smoke into the meat better. 2) These are back ribs, but I've used St. Louis with good results, too. I'm not hardcore in favor of one cut over another, I just use whichever looks the best at the butcher. 3) I don't flip them. Since my smoker is vertical, the bottom rack is hotter than the top, so I do rotate them every couple of hours. I don't mop; if I'm saucing them at all, I'll brush it on about an hour before they come out. Other times, I'll serve the sauce on the side. One thing I will say - don't go overboard with the rub or the sauce. You can always add more on the plate, but you can't take it off. There's delicious pork on those bones; your goal should be to amplify that, not drown it out.
for the chili: I used a mix of Ancho and Guajillo. Arbol also work, and I'll even toss a ghost pepper in sometimes if I'm feeling saucy.
Memphis Dust Recipe Yield. Makes about 3 cups. I typically use about 1 tablespoon per side of a slab of St. Louis cut ribs, and a bit less for baby backs. Store the extra in a zipper bag or a glass jar with a tight lid. Preparation time. 10 minutes to find everything and 5 minutes to dump them together.
Ingredients 3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar 3/4 cup white sugar 1/2 cup paprika 1/4 cup Morton's kosher salt 1/4 cup garlic powder 2 tablespoons ground black pepper 2 tablespoons ground ginger powder 2 tablespoons onion powder 2 teaspoons rosemary powder
About the sugar and salt. I encourage readers to experiment with recipes, and "no rules in the bedroom or dining room" is my motto, but I have gotten some emails that require a response. I appreciate that many of you feel the need to reduce sugar and salt in your diets (although recent research has warned that low salt diets can be just as dangerous as high salt diets), but they are in the recipe for more than flavor enhancement, they help form the crust (a.k.a. called "the bark" by the pros), an important part of the texture of the surface of ribs and slow smoke roasted pork. The salt pulls some moisture to the surface to form a "pellicle" and the sugar mixes with the moisture, caramelizes, and also contributes to the crust. Salt also penetrates the meat far deeper than the spices and there it helps bind moisture. I strongly recommend you leave them in.
There are only about 2 tablespoons of rub on a large slab. Of that about 1 tablespoon is sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Some of it falls and drips off during cooking. If you eat half a slab, you're not eating about 1 teaspoon of sugar and less than 1/4 teaspoon of salt. And for those of you who object to white sugar for non-dietary reasons, and use brown sugar instead, you need to know brown sugar is just white sugar with molasses added. It is not unrefined sugar. I use brown sugar for the flavor and white sugar because it improves the bark. You can substitute table salt, but beware that if you do, you should use about 2/3 as much. Read my article on salt.
If you want to cut back on carbs, leave off the sweet barbecue sauce. It has a lot more sugar. Switch to a Lexington sauce which is mostly vinegar, or just eat the pork with rub and no sauce. It's mighty good that way...
About the rosemary. One reader hates rosemary and leaves it out. Trust me, it hides in the background and you will never know it is there. But it is. It is subtle and important in this blend. Substitute thyme or oregano if you must, but I think rosemary is the best choice. If you can find ground rosemary, good for you. It's hard to find. So just grind the rosemary leaves in a mortar and pestle or in a coffee grinder. It will take 2 to 3 tablespoons of leaves to make 2 teaspoons of powder.
About the paprika. If you read my discussion of paprika by clicking the link you'll learn about the different kinds of paprika. In short, garden variety grocery store paprika has little flavor and is used mostly for color. But fresh Hungarian or Spanish paprika have mild but distinctive flavors. If you can find them, they improve this recipe. If you wish, you can use smoked paprika, especially good if you are cooking indoors, or even mix in some stronger stuff like ancho (slightly spicy), chipotle powder, cayenne, or chili powder (not very hot). Chipotle can be quite hot, so be thoughtful of who will be eating your food. I usually go easy on the heat in deference to the kids and wimps (like me) and add it to the sauce or put chipotle powder on the table for the chile heads.
About the ginger. I think it is a very important ingredient. If you don't have any, get some.
Method 1) Mix the ingredients thoroughly in a bowl. If the sugar is lumpy, crumble the lumps by hand or on the side of the bowl with a fork. If you store the rub in a tight jar, you can keep it for months. If it clumps just chop it up, or if you wish, spread it on a baking sheet and put it in a 250°F oven for 15 minutes to drive off moisture. No hotter or the sugar can burn.
2) For most meats, sprinkle just enough on to color it. Not too thick, about 2 tablespoons per side of a large slab of St. Louis Cut ribs. For Memphis style ribs without a sauce, apply the rub thick enough to make a crunchy crust, about 3 tablespoons per side (remember to Skin 'n' Trim the back side). To prevent contaminating your rub with uncooked meat juices, spoon out the proper amount before you start and seal the bottle for future use. Keep your powder dry. To prevent cross-contamination, one hand sprinkles on the rub and the other hand does the rubbing. Don't put the hand that is rubbing into the powder.
3) Massage the rub into the meat at least an hour before cooking. Two to three hours is better.