Pork Spare Ribs

A couple of weeks ago I received 40 lbs. of BBQ Delight hickory pellets I had ordered from Big Poppa’s Smokers. I wanted to see if they were any better than the Traeger pellets I have been using. I can only find Traeger pellets locally and most other pellets are too expensive to order because of the shipping. From Big Poppa’s their BBQ Delight pellets are the same per pound, including the shipping as I pay for the Traeger pellets. I bought a rack of pork spare ribs from my butcher to try. I trimmed them up to what I think is a St. Louis cut. The trimmed pieces I did up for the cook! I cut the slab in half since I was going to do half with Sauce & half without. I wet them down w/red wine vinegar, then added the dry rub, wrapped in saran wrap & then in the fridge until ready to smoke, that was about 5 to 6 hrs. A lot of people use a coat of mustard on the ribs to hold the rub, but I prefer the red wine vinegar I have used for yrs. I used some 17th Street BBQ Rub this time, from Big Poppa’s, and would use Bone Suckin Sauce on half. I have come to prefer that sauce, their original style, over my old favorite from Kah’s Meats here in Wapakoneta. It is just a tad more sour & just a hint of heat. So I would say break from your traditional & try new things, you might like it better than your usual. I had some potato salad & marinated artichokes left over from my last cook & they would go well with the ribs. I fired up my smoker & got the ribs on at 1:30 on smoke mode that was running 170 to 180 deg. Total cook time would be 4 ½ hrs. I did them one hr. on smoke mode & then went to 225 deg. At 5:00 I went to 250 deg. then at 5:15 I slathered on some Bone Suckin Sauce on half & flipped. At 5:45 I repeated this & pulled them at 6:00. I covered them w/foil for 10 min before serving. Ribs were great, wife liked them too. I was where I was liking my ribs naked, just the rub & no sauce, but I am getting to be a big fan of that Bone Suckin Sauce. I also like the 17th Street Rub. Did I think the BBQ Delight pellets were better than the Traeger’s? To be honest I could not tell too much difference, maybe with more use I can say one way or the other.

Seasonings & Ribs

On the Traeger

Resting

My plated supper

Smokin Don