Baby Back Ribs. An all time BBQ and smoker favorite. With this easy recipe you can make some baby back ribs that can compete with any restaurant.
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Where It All Began
I love to cook and I also love to enjoy the company of a group of people, friends, family or even strangers. I find it very pleasant and relaxing!
There is something that is very primal and communal in sharing a meal with others, specially when you end up serving huge platters of multiple dishes and that all guests dig in. The smoky odors that embalms the atmosphere transcend the experience when food is prepared in a smoker. If you have not tried it before, please do so! You will be very much impressed!
The Smoking Gift
Last summer I finally bought myself a nice little smoker
The first meal I always wanted to prepare, to baptise my smoker, are some deliciously tender Baby Back Ribs.
Why?
I am a total fan of ribs, and the slow smoking technique allows to cook a tender and juicy meat which suit them perfectly, all the while adding that smokiness that makes me travel back in time to the fires of my childhood…
I’ve tried several techniques over time, from slow cooker to BBQ, with different end results. In the end, for the primal smoky tenderness feel, this tried and true smoker technique is the best, it always had a lot of success, even for 50 guests.
Preparing the Baby Back Ribs Racks
I prefer to get my meat from the local butcher, whenever possible, as it’s often a guarantee of quality.
If you call him ahead of time, he might even be able to trim the ribs, cut excess bone and maybe remove the membrane free of charge, specially if you are a good customer. You want the most exquisite looking ribs, don’t forget that we all eat with the eye first!
As always, if you buy in bulk, remember to ask for a price reduction!
There is something that lots of folks I know tend to forget with baby back ribs: there is a membrane on the underside of the rack. This membrane will affect the tenderness of the meat if it is not removed.
Don’t forger the Membrane!
To remove the membrane: Use the end of a small paring knife and insert it carefully underneath. Make sure you don’t cut too deep into the meat. You want to lift the membrane up slightly just enough to get a finger underneath.
Carefully work you finger across the rack, trying not to tear the membrane. Once you can get a grip on it, pull it all the way off the baby back rib rack. If you have trouble getting a grip, use a paper towel. Wash the slab of ribs and pat dry with paper towel.
Rubbing the Baby Back Rib Racks
Technically, a dry rub is not absolutely required… However, it will add another layer of flavors and complexity to your meat and your guest will be very tankful for the improvement. You can use any dry rub you want. You can make one yourself based on what you have on hand. I always use the same rub on most of my pork meat and you can find it here.
I personally give a Dijon mustard coat to the meat as it helps the dry rub adhere. You could also use Yellow mustard or ketchup if you wish, but the Dijon mustard adds a spicy hot and tangy taste that is pleasant to the palate.
Some people will want to massage the rack at this time, I find it very messy. I prefer stacking them in a large pan or in Ziploc bags. Doing that, the pressure will have the same results as massaging your rack, without the mess. But, I cannot pretend to know which technique is the best I have used both and did not taste any difference.
Once rubbed, the meat needs to rest from all that stress, and 15 minute of rest is a bare minimum. I tend to let them rest for at least a few hours or overnight if possible, to let the meat draw the flavor of the Dry Rub.
Preparing the Smoking Wood
Place the wood chips in a bowl/pan/bucket and fill it with water, you want your wood chip to be soaking. Also, if you want to add an extra special flavor, you can also add a cup (or more) of Whisky to the soaking water.
You might ask Why do we have to soak the wood chips?
Soaking the wood chips/chunks will ensure that they do not burn too rapidly and that they give out a nice smoke.
Smoking and Basting the Baby Back Rib Racks (3 hours)
Slow and low… Slow and low… Slow and low…
This is the mantra when you cook meat on the smoker. A long cooking at low temperature is the key for developing the smoky flavors.
To get a nice and slow cooking, I suggest you set your smoker to between 175F and 200F. It’s now time to add the wood. There are several variety you could use :
- Cherry wood
- Apple wood
- Hickory
- Maple wood (My personal favorite)
The goal at this step is to get a light blue smoke, more then that and the smoking might be too intense and will give a light bitter taste to your meat. And, having that kind of bitter taste might be appropriate for some dishes, but not in this case.
Smoking the baby back ribs
Once the smoker is at the correct temperature and that it smokes generously, it’s now time to place the ribs directly on the smoker’s racks.
If you are having more Baby Back Ribs then what your smoker’s rack can contains, you can use some Rib Racks to increase the amount you can place in the smoker. Like that you are not only using horizontal space but vertical as well.
Basting recipe
Let them smoke for 3 hours all the while sprinkling or basting them every 30 minutes. This will keep the meat nice and moist throughout the cooking process. Depending on the ingredients at hand, or my whim, here are the 2 “moisturizer” I use: Apple juice (simple and rapid) or:
- 2 part Apple cider,
- 1 part water
- 1 part Maple syrup (My favorite).
Tips:
Do not forget to add wood chips or wood chunks as required to keep a light blue smoke. Also, do not add more then a few at a time, it will increase the temperature and will generate a lot of smoke at once, you are better to keep adding a small amount of wood chips at smaller time intervals.
The Baby Back Rib’s Sauna (2 hours)
After 3 hours of smoking, our Ribs have accumulated quite a lot of smoky flavor. Leaving them longer in direct smoke will give them a weird over smoked taste, much like they were cooked over kerosene, and no one likes that taste… No one…
That’s why it is time to wrap them up in a nice aluminium sauna. This sauna will, not only help brake down the fatty section of the ribs, but it will also tenderize the meat and keep it moist and juicy.
And, it will also protect your smoked ribs from getting too much smoke and getting that foul taste, that your guest will complain about.
Tip:
A good planing and forward thinking is very useful for this step. You need to wrap the racks in a strong/double layer aluminum foil. All of them. As such. by preparing your wrap before hand, you do have 3 hours to do so, it will speed up the process and will make sure that the Racks do not cool down too much.
Moistening the baby back ribs
You also need some of the “moistener” from the previous step. You need a location to wrap them up, a table of a counter top should be sufficient.
Remove your Baby Back Ribs from the smoker and stack them in a large pan. Doing one Rib at a time Lay the Rib on the aluminum foil. Generously baste both side of the Rib with the “moisturizer” or pour a few table spoon of the “moisturizer” under the Rib. Wrap the Rib in the aluminium foil.
Tip:
Make sure that you wrap your Racks tightly and that you do not puncture it. You want the warping to keep the cooking juice and the vapor inside, that’s what makes the meat tender. You do not have to add more wood to the smoker at this point, it will not add any flavor, except maybe to the aluminum foil, but I tend not to eat aluminum, personally.
Reinstall, carefully, the wrapped Ribs on the smokers racks. You can crank the heat of the smoker to no more then 225F.
Now it’s time to relax for another 2 hours while the Rib’s Sauna works for you and tenderize all that meat. It normally takes 2 hours for most Baby Back Ribs to be tenderizes completely. But it has happened in the past that some where ready 15 to 20 minutes ahead of the others. As such, you can randomly check them.
Tip:
A perfectly tender baby back rib should give a little under pressure. The meat will draw back from the edge of the bones, and when you tug on two bones, the meat should start to separate. Also, you can use a toothpick to check for tenderness. It should penetrate the meat easily almost like cutting butter with a hot knife.
The Baby Back Rib finish (1 hour)
After the 2 hours spent in there sauna, it is time to let the Ribs vent a little bit of steam.
Be very cautious, and allow some steam to vent before totally unwrapping the Ribs, it will be very hot! (Steam temperature will be higher then 100C or 212F)
In this step the Ribs will be transferred to the smoker’s rack and allowed to cooked unwrapped, this will allow the BBQ sauce to bake on the Ribs and give them another layer of flavors.
Tip:
Be careful when you transfer your baby back Ribs from the foil to the rack, they will be very tender and the meat will tend to detach from the bone and your Rack could split in several pieces. Again, adding wood is not required at this point.
Brushing it.
Gently brush the selected finishing sauce, you can use any sauce you like, store bought or home made. I prefer using my own BBQ sauce as I always have some on hand. But if you are in a hurry, there are some good BBQ sauce out there. I prefer a sticky sweet and a bit spicy sauce, not too acid. And, brush, carefully, both sides of your Racks.
Maybe it could be called overkill, but I like to brush my baby Back Ribs every 15 minutes on both sides and turn them half way trough. However, you do not want to burn the sauce. The sugar in a BBQ sauce will tend to burn faster if your smoker’s temperature is too high, and if you are not careful, you might end up with black baby Back Ribs. Burnt BBQ sauce is not my favorite flavor.
Also, if you prefer, you can finish the Baby Back Ribs onto your BBQ, I often do that, but it is, normally, because something else will be smoked in the smoker (Smoked bread any one?)
Presenting your perfect Baby Back Ribs
Now that your Ribs are cooked, you can carefully remove them from the smoker or BBQ. Let them rest under a loose aluminum foil, to conserve the heat, for about 15 min before serving them. It is always mandatory to give some rest to your meat!
There are several way to present the awesomely delicious Baby Back Ribs you have just cooked to perfection.
- Family Gathering. Stacked onto a huge serving platter, for every one to pick one.
- Single serving. As a Rack onto a single plate.
- Party platter. Cut into smaller 2 bones pieces with meat on both sides.
- Appetizer. Cut into smaller 2 bones pieces with meat on both sides.
Also, don’t forget to keep some extra BBQ sauce on the side.
As my girlfriend always says: “There’s never enough BBQ sauce!”
For those that skimmed through to the end
Here is a little summary of the technique to perfectly cook your own delicious Baby back ribs.
- 3 hours unwrapped with a a light blue smoke.
- 2 hours wrapped in aluminum foil with a little bit of liquid/moistener.
- 1 hour unwrapped and glazed with your favorite BBQ sauce (Here is my own maple BBQ sauce).
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