Juicy, Fall of the Bone, Smoked Baby Back Ribs

Randy and I have been super busy with remodeling our home's exterior. I haven’t been able to cook as much because we work until there is no sunlight, or when the mosquitoes come out, whichever comes first. One thing we are taking advantage of is the barbeque and the smoker for cooking bulk meats so we can grab a quick something to eat while laboring in the hot sun. I like to have some fresh veggies and homemade beans on hand with the meats for a fast meal.

2 days ago, we bought a big package of Baby Back Ribs from one of those big box grocery stores. I brought them home and generously sprinkled some of my red spice rub (Click for recipe) on both sides of the ribs, stacked them on top of each other, then vacuumed sealed the ribs with the Food Saver for 2 nights. When you vacuum seal them, it forces the flavors into the meat, making the meat tender and juicy. I have also learned that when you buy the ribs from the big box store, they’re much meatier than regular grocery stores.

So here’s the scoop for making these Juicy, Fall of the Bone, Smoked Baby Back Ribs. I’m giving you directions for smoking them, but if you don’t have a smoker you can always use the oven. If you go the oven route, buy some smoked paprika and sprinkle it on the meat before applying the spice rub so you can still have a smoky flavor.

I’m also recommending the use of a vacuum sealer, but it’s not the end of the world if you don’t have one. Just store the rubbed ribs in an airtight container for a couple of days and that should do the trick.

You will need:

1 Large package of Baby Back Ribs from a big box store.

A Generous Amount of Susie’s Red Spice Rub (click for recipe)

A Smoker

Hickory and Oak Wood Chips

A Rib Rack (for stacking the ribs)

Your Favorite Barbeque Sauce

Heavy Duty Foil

Time on your hands to smoke all day

Generously apply the Red Spice Rub on both sides of each rib, using your hand to pat the rub into the meat. Stack each set of ribs on top of each other and place in a vacuum bag. Vacuum seal the bag and be sure it is completely sealed so no air gets in. Leave in the refrigerator for 2 nights.

In the morning, get your smoker ready. I used both hickory and oak wood. Cut each rib slab in half and place on a rib rack. You can get a rib rack at any barbeque cooking store and even some hardware stores that sell barbeques and smokers. Place the rib rack on a shallow baking pan to catch the fatty drips that will fall off the ribs during the cooking. Place in the smoker for 5 hours at 250 degrees. Keep your eyes on the temperature to make sure it maintains 250. Add more wood if needed during cooking process.

After 5 hours, take the ribs off the smoker. Generously brush the ribs on both sides with barbeque sauce and wrap tightly in Heavy Duty Foil. Place the wrapped meat on the shallow pan and put back on the smoker, only this time turn the heat up to 300 degrees and continue to cook for 2 more hours.

That’s it. It’s really that easy. Unwrap the foil and you have tender, moist ribs that will fall of the bone. 

The most important thing about making these ribs is to know your smoker.  I have a section in my blog dedicated to Barbeques and Smokers that may help you in shopping for the right smoker. This website was also very helpful to me in researching smokers: http://www.deejayssmokepit.net/

-Susie Tronti