Smoking ribs is what BBQ is about. Chances are if you own or aspire to own a Primo Grill & Smoker smoking amazing ribs is a reason why! Here is a competition inspired method of smoking St. Louis style spare ribs on a Primo.
You will want to start by trimming your spare ribs St. Louis style and by removing the membrane on the back of the ribs. At this point you want to either brine or inject the ribs. You can create your own brine with a ratio of 1/2 cup of salt per gallon of water infused with any spices, herbs, juices, etc you choose. We recommend you brine the ribs for 4 to 24 hours. Alternatively, you can inject the ribs and let them rest for a much shorter period of time. We recommend using products from Kosmos Q- their Pork Injection or their Moisture Magic added to your own concoction. These ribs have been brined and are ready to be rubbed. Before you rub, prepare the Primo for smoking and soak a few cups of apple, hickory, and/or cherry wood chips or chunks. You’ll want to target a 225-235 smoking temp.
You will want to rub your ribs well- here we are using Rib Rub from Chef Andrew Evan’s The BBQ Joint here in Easton Maryland (yes, available at AQUA!). Chef Andrew’s Walk the Swine BBQ team used this rub to finish in the top ten nationally in the 2012 Smithfield rib series-needless to say it works!
Smoke the ribs until the internal temp hits 170 or so- typically this takes 2 to 3 hours. At this point you can choose to wrap the ribs in foil with a little liquid (may we suggest a honey butter glaze?) and place back on the smoker until the internal temp hits 190 to 195- a Thermapen is an especially helpful tool for checking rib temps. Typically this may take another hour. Alternatively, you can choose not to wrap the ribs (the Primo’s superior heat and moisture retention shines here) and just let them cook. Alternative number 2- you can a choose to mop the ribs with a vinegar based sauce in this stage.
Once the temp is around 190-195 you can keep the ribs wrapped in foil and then towel in a cooler until you are ready to serve. (They will stay hot for hours!) When you are ready to serve, put them back on the Primo and give them another healthy sprinkle of rub.
Glaze them with your favorite sauce- we recommend the BBQ Joint’s Sweet or Swicy sauces. Cook for another 20-30 minutes to let the glaze set.
Pull the ribs off and let them rest for 10 minutes or so before you slice.
Enjoy!
Man, the pics are just awesome. Looking at them already makes us hungry for bbq ribs.
what if you don’t have a smoker?
You can use the method in an oven but it won’t have the smoke flavor… any charcoal or gas grill can be turned into a smoker by using wood chips or chunks in some fashion.
Amazing looking ribs. I cooked my first set of ribs on my
Primo from Aqua. They were perfect. Thanks for the tips Danny