Yes, you can do these ribs in your oven or on a gas grill, but I love the aroma of the smoke that comes off a pellet or charcoal grill. Be a pal and supply plenty of paper napkins, a finger bowl, a bone bowl and toothpicks for after dinner!
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Excerpted from Living High Off the Hog: Over 100 Recipes and Techniques to Cook Pork Perfectly by Michael Olson. Copyright © 2019 Michael Olson. Photography by Janis Nicolay. Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.
Yield: 4-6
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 3 hours
Ingredients:
- 2 1/4 lb (1 kg) Ontario pork back ribs, membrane removed
- 3 Tbsp yellow mustard
Basic Barbecue Rub
- 1/2 cup (125 mL) sweet paprika
- 1/4 cup (60 mL) packed light brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp (30 mL) ground cumin
- 2 Tbsp (30 mL) ground coriander
- 2 Tbsp (30 mL) dry mustard powder
- 2 Tbsp (30 mL) table salt
- 1 Tbsp (15 mL) granulated garlic
- 1 Tbsp (15 mL) ground black pepper
Basic Barbecue Mop
- 1 cup (250 mL) BBQ sauce (store-bought or homemade)
- 1/2 cup (125 mL) apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup (125 mL) lager-style beer or your favorite style
Cooking Instructions:
- For the BBQ rub, stir all of the ingredients together in a large mixing bowl until evenly combined. You’ll wind up with about 1 1/2 cups (375 mL), but if you’d like to keep the rub on hand, you can easily double or triple the recipe. Store the rub in an airtight container in the pantry until ready to use. It will keep for 3 months.
- For the mop, stir together the BBQ sauce, vinegar and beer, and chill until ready to use.
- Brush a thin layer of mustard over both sides of the ribs (this will help the rub stick to the meat). Completely cover both sides of the ribs with the BBQ rub.
- If using a smoker BBQ, set it to 225°F (110°C) and cook the ribs, covered, until the ribs “give” when twisted with tongs, about 3 hours. If using a gas grill, cook at the same temperature for about 3 hours using the indirect method. For the last hour of cooking, baste the ribs on both sides with the mop every 15 minutes. You can shut off the barbecue and rest the ribs in there, with the lid on, until ready to serve. To serve, carve between each bone to present individual ribs.