Barbecue Championship Ribs Recipes

Steps:

• Combine the brown sugar, chili powder, 1 tablespoon salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper, the oregano, cayenne, garlic powder and onion powder in a small bowl and rub the mixture on both sides of the ribs. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour or overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. In a roasting pan, combine the broth and vinegar. Add the ribs to the pan. Cover with foil and tightly seal. Bake 2 hours. Remove the ribs from the pan and place them on a platter. Pour the liquid from the pan into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook until reduced by half. Add the barbecue sauce.
• Preheat an outdoor grill to medium high. Put the ribs on the grill and cook about 5 minutes on each side, until browned and slightly charred. Cut the ribs between the bones and toss them in a large bowl with the sauce. Serve hot.

Steps:

• Prepare your cooker to cook indirectly at 235 degrees F using medium pecan wood for smoke flavor.
• Peel the membrane off the back of the ribs and trim any excess fat. Season the ribs liberally on both sides with the barbecue rub. Place the ribs in the smoker, meat-side up, and cook for 2 hours. Flip the ribs and cook for 45 minutes.
• Lay out two double-thick sheets of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Lay one slab on each piece of foil, meat-side up. Top each slab with half of the brown sugar. Drizzle each slab with half of the honey, butter, and Tiger Sauce. Close up the rib packages, pressing out as much air as possible. Do not seal the packages tightly; they need to breathe a little.
• Return to the cooker for 30 minutes. Open the packages and check for doneness by pushing a toothpick into the meat. It should go in and out very easily. If you want the ribs more tender, just wrap them back up and cook a little longer. When they're as you like them, transfer to a sheet pan. Remove the foil and return the ribs to the cooker meat-side down. Brush the bone side liberally with barbecue sauce and cook for 10 minutes. Flip the ribs and brush the meat side liberally with barbecue sauce. Cook for 20 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and tent loosely with foil. Let rest for 5 minutes. Slice each rib individually and transfer to a platter to serve.
• This rub is extra-sweet and goes really well with ribs and other cuts of pork. It is a good choice if you like to serve your ribs dry. The sweetness will have the guests thinking you used barbecue sauce. This one isn't recommended for hot grilling because all that sugar makes it burn pretty easily. I like to mix it in the food processor for a finer grind, but if you like it coarse just mix it in a bowl.
• Combine all the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor with a metal blade. Process for 5 seconds, until the lumps are gone. The rub may be stored in an airtight container in a cool place for up to 6 months.
• This is a big, thick, red barbecue sauce made with fresh ingredients and a lot of love in your kitchen. Every barbecue cook I have ever known has a mother sauce they've been working on for years and this would be a great place to start on yours. You can skip the liquid smoke if you like, but I think it adds a nice layer to barbecue sauce.
• In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onion, garlic, and jalapeno and cook for about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft. Add the celery seed and mix well. Cook for 1 minute. Add the ketchup, vinegar, honey, mustard, apple juice, soy sauce, Worcestershire, hot sauce, tomato paste, liquid smoke (if using), salt, and pepper. Mix well and bring to a simmer. Cook for 20 minutes, mixing often, until thickened. Remove from the heat and serve or cool and store the sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Steps:

• For the basic BBQ rub: Using a coffee grinder, grind the turbinado sugar with a few "pulses" until it is lightly powdered. Combine with the granulated sugar, salt, onion powder, granulated garlic, cayenne, black pepper, mustard, chili powder, cumin and paprika in a bowl and hand stir until well incorporated. Store in an airtight container.
• For the BBQ mother sauce: In a medium saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes. Turn the heat to low if the onion is cooking too fast--you don't want it caramelized or browned. As the onion is getting close, add the garlic and cook until lightly golden, about 2 minutes longer. Add the ketchup, honey, tomato paste, vinegar, brown sugar, Worcestershire, dry mustard, cayenne and black pepper and stir well. Slowly add up to 1/2 cup water until the sauce reaches the consistency you like. A slightly thick consistency is best. Add about 3 tablespoons of the basic BBQ rub, stir well and taste. The sauce should have a good, well-rounded flavor. Add more of the basic BBQ rub in 1-tablespoon increments until your desired flavor is achieved, up to about 1/2 cup total. Cool and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.
• For the ribs: Rinse the ribs and remove the membrane from the back. Trim any excess fat from the tops of the slabs. Trim 1 bone from the large end of the ribs and 2 bones from the small end. This will give you a much more consistent slab for cooking.
• Starting on the backs, sprinkle the slabs of ribs with approximately 1/2 tablespoon of the basic BBQ rub each, then add 1/2 tablespoon yellow mustard each and massage into the meat. Flip the ribs over and repeat. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours. For a contest, I marinate ribs like this for 12 to 16 hours.
• Prepare a smoker to run at 225 degrees F with around 4 chunks of apple wood and 4 chunks of cherry wood so that the wood will smolder throughout the cooking. Remove the ribs from the refrigerator, unwrap and repeat the basic BBQ rub and mustard procedure, massaging them in. Don't get it too thick or paste-like, as this will give you a dark appearance when cooked. Place the ribs in the smoker meat-side up and cook for 2 hours. Remove the ribs from the smoker and increase the temperature to 250 degrees F. Apply the basic BBQ rub and mustard to both sides of the ribs as before. On the top sides, slather approximately 1 tablespoon of honey over the surface of each slab, then sprinkle heavily with the turbinado sugar. Lay each slab of ribs meat-side up on a piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil and fold up the edges. Pour approximately 1 to 2 ounces of the grape juice into the bottom of each foil package, then finish wrapping the ribs but don't crimp the edges--you want steam to be able to escape.
• Return the ribs to the cooker for 2 hours, then test for tenderness. (I cook ribs in this stage until they look overdone and too tender. Don't worry, they'll tighten up. If they still have too much texture, leave them in for 20 to 30 more minutes.) Remove the ribs from the cooker, open the foil and drain off the liquid. Using the foil as a tool, "roll" the ribs over so the bone side is up, glaze with the BBQ mother sauce, then roll them back over and glaze the tops. Using long tongs, carefully remove the ribs from the foil and place them back in the smoker for 15 minutes. This will let the glaze cook onto the ribs and let the ribs tighten back up. Remove from the cooker and allow to rest for 5 minutes, apply a very thin coat of sauce to "glisten" the ribs, then lightly sprinkle with chipotle powder before serving.