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Smokin’ Good Ribs with Smithfield

May 26, 2014 By Beth 20 Comments

This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Weave Made Media® and Farmland/Smithfield, but all my opinions are my own. #weavemade #ReadySetRibs http://my-disclosur.es/RgFrEH

I love ribs!

Seriously, who doesn’t enjoy a good rack of ribs?  Beth’s family has long made fun of me because I believe in eating my ribs in the Southern tradition.  Namely, attacking the ribs with my teeth, resulting in sauce becoming attached to every part of my face, hands, and lower arms and the need for at least one entire roll of paper towels to clean up.  When I look up with a huge grin on my face and set to cleaning sauce out from under my fingernails, all of her family is looking at me like I’m crazy.  I don’t care.  I just love eating my ribs!

There are lots of different methods for cooking ribs.  I’ve seen them boiled and slow-baked in the oven, but, personally, I love my ribs smoked.  Preparing them this way is a labor of love, but I have never been disappointed with the results.  Here’s how I do it.

First, you have to select your ribs.  Do you choose beef or pork?  Do you go with Baby Back Ribs or the St. Louis Style Spareribs?  I picked up some Smithfield Pork Spareribs at my local Walmart (head over to coupons.com for a $1 off coupon while supplies last).  While the Baby Backs are more tender, the St. Louis Style ribs are much meatier.  For our family, one rack of Spareribs will pretty much take care of us.  If I choose the Baby Backs, I usually eat a rack on my own.

SmithField Ribs-1Next, you have to remove the thin membrane on the bone side of the ribs.  You don’t really have to, but it really is preferred for more tender ribs.  It’s pretty easy.  Slide a small knife up under the membrane to separate it from the meat and bones.  Then grab and pull.  Repeat until it’s all gone.SmithField Ribs-2The next step for my ribs is to apply a dry rub.  I pretty much have 3 parts.  One part kosher salt, 1 part brown sugar, and 1 part seasonings.  My seasonings are always different and might include paprika for smokiness, garlic and onion powders, black pepper, cayenne pepper, thyme, Italian seasonings, red pepper flakes, etc.  I’ve even just added a Chinese 5-Spice blend.  Don’t get anything special, just use what you have.  This is your time to really get creative and have fun with it.  After you mix your rub together, apply liberally to the ribs and rub it into the meat.SmithField Ribs-3

This next part is an exercise in patience and planning.  You want to set your smoker (or grill) to a pretty low heat (around 250 degrees).  You put your prepared ribs in the smoker (or on the coldest part of the grill), add your soaked wood chips, and wait.  You don’t keep messing with it.  Every time you check on things, you lose that precious heat.  They are going to cook for 5-6 hours, all told.  Let it go for a solid hour before checking it.  Then just check on your wood chips.  Add more, if necessary.  Do this again in an hour and once again in another hour.  They should start looking pretty dried out and tasty.  Don’t be fooled!  They are not done yet!

Now is when you start applying a little moisture to the equation.  Take a squirt or spray bottle and fill it with apple juice.  You can do half beer and juice or some other concoction, but I like just straight apple juice for this.  Every 30 minutes or so, spray them down with the juice.  After about 4 1/2 hours of total cooking, you can start checking them.  When you pick up one of the ribs, the rest of the rack should bend and just begin to crack.  If you are applying the juice, it’s a little hard to overcook them, but it can be done.  Worse, though, is undercooked with meat still attached to the bone when you try to eat.  Let it cook until you know it’s done.  Here’s about what mine looked like.

SmithField Ribs-4Now it’s time to sauce the ribs.  You can use your favorite brand or you can make your own like my Maple Bourbon BBQ Sauce over on This Cookin’ Dad.  Put your racks onto the grill and lightly sauce them.  You’ve spent hours with a lovely rub and imparting great smoke flavor.  Please don’t ruin it by drowning the ribs in sauce!  A light coating glazed on by the heat of the grill is plenty.  If you really like sauce, do a second light coat, but no more.  Let them rest for about 15 minutes while you finish up the sides and then slice them up into individual servings.

PRO TIP:  If you slice along one bone, then skip a bone before slicing close to the next one, you’ll get very large and meaty rib servings that’ll make it easier for you and your guests to enjoy the meat without picking through as many bones. (Want more tips?  Check out the BBQ Pitmasters over at readysetribs.com.)

Here’s they’ll look like after all is said and done.  Enjoy!

SmithField Ribs-5Do you prepare your own ribs?  What is your preferred method?  Leave us a comment and share your story.

Filed Under: Promotional, Simply Food, Tips & Techniques Tagged With: barbecue, bbq, grill, grilling, ribs, smoke, smoking, spareribs, st. louis style ribs

Comments

  1. deborah kay pressley says

    May 27, 2014 at 7:28 pm

    I love ribs. These look so good

    Reply
  2. Lisa @ Crazy Adventures in Parenting says

    May 28, 2014 at 4:21 pm

    We looooove ribs, too! We do a dry rub but we steam with apple juice in a foil packet with the dry rub before we grill ’em with our favorite sauce.

    Reply
  3. Virginia @thatbaldchick says

    May 28, 2014 at 4:52 pm

    I have never prepared ribs. I much prefer someone else to do the dirty work and let me enjoy the rib of their labors. LOL

    Reply
  4. Rachel @RunningRachel says

    May 28, 2014 at 5:02 pm

    YUMMY!! Great recipe! 🙂

    Reply
  5. Mommy Has A Life says

    May 28, 2014 at 5:47 pm

    I LOVE good ribs! You are now making me hungry bc these look mouth watering delicious 🙂

    Reply
  6. Andrea Kruse says

    May 28, 2014 at 8:24 pm

    Those look so good, you have my mouth watering! Now I know what I want to make this weekend. Ribs for sure!

    Reply
  7. Jennifer @ Mom Spotted says

    May 28, 2014 at 8:40 pm

    I love ribs but I’ve never even attempted making my own!

    Reply
  8. Melissa says

    May 28, 2014 at 11:40 pm

    These look so delicious! I love ribs!

    Reply
  9. Julie says

    May 29, 2014 at 12:25 am

    I’ve never made ribs – these look really great! I am barely brave enough to cook chicken, though…ribs seem out of my league even if it is easy!

    Reply
  10. melinda says

    May 29, 2014 at 9:00 am

    i love ribs. those look amazing

    Reply
  11. Liz Mays says

    May 29, 2014 at 9:02 am

    I need to get another smoker! I had one but I let someone else have it. Big mistake! I want it back!

    Reply
  12. Crystal says

    May 29, 2014 at 9:19 am

    Oh my gosh, those look soooo good. My husband doesn’t eat meat off of a bone, but I totally do. YUM!

    Reply
  13. trisha says

    May 29, 2014 at 9:44 am

    Oh man I so wish I had a smoker! It makes it look so so easy!

    Reply
  14. Marina says

    May 29, 2014 at 9:51 am

    My husband is in charge of the ribs. We like spicy and a good solid rub marinating into the meat.

    Reply
  15. Crystal Green says

    May 29, 2014 at 10:21 am

    I love ribs, and have tried to make them lately myself, but haven’t had much success. I use to make mine in my slow cooker. I’m going to have to give it a try again. (In the past they turned out perfectly!)

    Reply
  16. Rebekah {McMama} says

    May 29, 2014 at 11:16 am

    I don’t eat a lot of red meat (taste preference), but these look really good! Maybe we’ll give these a try this summer on our new grill.

    Reply
  17. Krissy says

    May 29, 2014 at 1:28 pm

    I have actually NEVER made spare ribs, though I do enjoy eating them. Those look delicious and are making me hungry for lunch!

    Reply
  18. Robin {Mom Foodie} says

    May 29, 2014 at 7:01 pm

    Those ribs look just about perfect!

    Reply
  19. Valerie Remy-Milora says

    May 30, 2014 at 11:55 am

    Oh My these sound sooooo delicious I’m salivating ready your post! My neighbors have a smoker and I think I’m going to be prepping some ribs to share with them… Yuuuumm!

    Reply
  20. Notorious Spinks says

    June 7, 2014 at 1:33 am

    We love these ribs. We eat them at least once a month.

    Reply

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