Smoked Pork Ribs
A smoking guide for pork ribs using brine for maximum flavor and juciness.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- Pork Ribs minimum 4 per person
- 133 grams of Salt
- 63 grams of Brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon of Ground Allspice
- 1.5 teaspoons of Ground Cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon of dried Thyme leaves
- 2 pounds of tap Water
- 2 pounds of Ice
Instructions
Making the Brine
- Combine and boil: Combine the spices, herb, salt, and sugar in a pan large enough to hold twice the water. Bring the water and ingredients to a boil, stirring occasionally to ensure the salt and sugar dissolve.
- Cool the brine: When the brine has boiled, remove it from the heat. Add all the ice and stir to cool and melt the ice. When the ice is melted, or mostly melted, and the brine is at least 70° F, it is ready to use.
Smoking the ribs:
- Remove the skin: Remove the silverskin from the back of the ribs. Here’s a helpful video showing how to do that.
- Prep the ribs: Cut the rib in at least half. Usually, there are 14 bones. Cut between 6 and 7, or 7 and 8 for the most uniform.
- Ready the brine: Add brine to your pan or container. I use a restaurant-style 4” half hotel pan.
- Brine the ribs: Place the ribs meat side down in the brine. Cover and chill for 2 hours. 30 minutes before the brining ends, start the smoker.
- Pat them dry: Remove the ribs. Pat dry with paper towels and place meat side up on your smoking rack
- Smoke the ribs: Smoke at 225° F for 4 hours, or until tender. The meat pulling away from the ribs is a sign that they are close to done. 198° F is generally a good temperature for ribs. The temperature will carry up a bit while they glaze and rest.
- Glaze the ribs: Glaze the ribs on a hot grill or under the broiler in your oven. If you are glazing them under the broiler, now is a good time to add sauce if that’s how you like your ribs.
- Cover and rest: Rest your glazed, sauced ribs for about 15 minutes, covering them with a foil tent. The tent will help hold in some heat without sticking to the surface and risk the crust sticking to the foil. If you did not sauce them, wrap them tightly in foil. Place the foil in a zip-top bag, and wrap that package in a kitchen towel or two to hold heat.