Championship Ribs

You’ll love this recipe for Championship Ribs. Recipe adapted from “Dr. BBQ’s Big-Time Barbecue Cookbook” by Ray Lampe and published by St. Martin.

Ingredients:

3 slabs of St. Louis-style ribs or baby back ribs, cut in half, membrane off* and ribs washed
1 cup of your favorite commercial or homemade dry BBQ rub (See Below)
1 cup honey
1-1/2 cups apple juice
2 cups honey BBQ Sauce

Instructions:

Cover the ribs with the rub, using about two-thirds on the meaty side and one-third on the boney side. Allow to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before grilling.

Set the EGG® up for indirect cooking with a convEGGtor at 325°F. Using a handful of hickory and cherry chips will help caramelize the ribs.

Cook for one-and-a-half hours, using a rib rack if you need it to have sufficient space for three slabs of ribs. Remove ribs to a flat pan or cookie sheet and brush them all on both sides with honey.

Put the ribs in an aluminum foil pan with about one-inch of apple juice in the bottom, standing them on end in the pan if necessary to get them to fit. Cover with foil and continue cooking for about one hour, replenishing the apple juice if needed to maintain liquid in the pan. Test the ribs by inserting a toothpick to determine whether they are tender.

At this point, you could cool them down, wrap each slab separately and refrigerate them for a day or two. They can then be transported to a tailgate party or reheated for entertaining at home.

When ready to serve them, transfer the cooked ribs to a medium hot grill. Brush with Honey BBQ Sauce; heat a few minutes, flipping them to heat both sides. Cut in to pieces and serve.

* Removing the membrane: Carefully slide an implement, such as a fish skinner (available in the sporting goods department), the tip of a butter knife or the tip of a meat thermometer between the membrane and a bone near the end of the rack of ribs. Rock the implement back and forth gently to loosen the membrane until you have enough space to slide your finger under it. Using a paper towel, pull up the membrane and slowly peel the membrane off.

Big Time BBQ Rub Ingredients:

1/2 cup salt
1/2 cup turbinado sugar
1/4 cup granulated brown sugar
1 tbsp granulated garlic
1 tbsp granulated onion
2 tbsp paprika
2 tbsp chili powder
2 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp cayenne
1 tbsp thyme leaves
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground nutmeg