Without a doubt one of the finest foods known to the entirety of mankind is a pork rib, especially those cooked low and slow over a real wood fire.
There are those who will argue that the baby back is the perfect rib; we’d agree they’re flavorful if not a bit dainty. They’ve grace many a table and you’ll find them in many an eatery.
That said, we’ll side with those who clamor for pork spareribs, cut from the belly of the hog and therefore a kissin’ cousin to bacon. They’re a touch fattier than baby backs (which keeps them moist during a long stint in the smoker) and packed to the brim with flavor. These ribs rule the competition que circuit for good reason; they’re meaty and only blossom when they’re cooked long and slow. (3/down refers to the weight of the ribs – referring to three pounds or less for these…)
Spending years in Montana we found that we could manage the smoker in just about any weather but the coldest of the cold winter days. Now and again the clan would clamor for real ribs despite the subzero temps, and given the fact that we’d pledged to our bbq mentors we’d never ever, ever ever parboil ribs (a mortal sin that’s in essence unforgivable), we crafted a suitable alternative.
You can cheat having to fire the smoker with these ribs by using two things – a flavor-packed rub that crisps up nicely and a quick sear on the grill at the end of the cook time. You’re still using a ‘low and slow’ method to wrestle the great flavors from the spareribs, you’re just doing it in the oven for four hours, during which these ribs smell heavenly by the way.
You can throw these in the smoker too and they’re outrageously good; we like to use oak though any other mildly flavored smoking wood would work wonders.
She Who Must Be Obeyed thinks these are the best ribs she’s ever tasted; I’d put them in the top three for sure. Never more will your rib cravings be stopped by the cold of winter.
3 full racks 3/down pork spareribs
1/4 cup ground cumin
1/4 cup ground coriander
1/2 cup sweet paprika
1/3 cup minced garlic
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh oregano
1/2 brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup freshly cracked black pepper
3 tbsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. chipotle powder (optional, though we think a must for the oven version)
Prep your ribs. Remove the membranes, wash off the bone dust then pat the ribs dry.
Rub it in. Combine all the rub ingredients (everything but the ribs) and mix well. Paint the ribs with cider vinegar and coat both sides liberally (very liberally) with the rub.
The my cheatin’ heart version. Place on a baking sheet (they can be stacked) and place in a 200 degree oven for 4 hours. No need to turn these beauties; your slow-cooking in dry heat and letting those spices work their magic.
At about 3 and a half hours into the process, fire your grill to a low heat setting (real wood is so much better here). When the ribs are done (at 4 hours) throw them over the low heat fire for about 10 minutes, turning once. All you want to do here is color them up a bit and add a bit of a crunchy sear.
The low and slow smoker version. Fire the smoker with a gently flavored wood; we favor oak for this one though alder or some of the milder fruit woods would be a nice touch as well. Smoke for 4 hours at a target temp of 200. These babies won’t need to be tuned up on the grill like their oven-roasted kin above.
Serve ‘em up. We like to cut these into single ribs at the table and let everyone ‘grab it and growl’. Our favorite sauce is a latin-inspired green chile-tomatillo version with these, though they’re so damned good you really don’t need any.
Enjoy.
