BBQ RIBS

Mike Scrutchfield
“Top Secret”

This recipe and cooking procedure won the prestigious title “Best Ribs in the Universe” at the 1996 American Royal Invitational and the 1993 American Royal Open BBQ contest as the Overall Grand Champion.

Meat:

Premium loin baby back ribs, 1 2/4 to 2 lbs.  Membrane on the inner side removed.  All excess fat trimmed.

Dry Rub:

Mix all ingredients thoroughly and store in moisture proof container.

1 cup sugar
1 cup Non-Iodized salt
½ cup brown sugar (dried lightly by exposing on cookie sheet at room temp. several hours or in slightly warmed oven.)
5 T + 1 tsp. chili powder
2 T + 2 tsp. ground cumin
4 tsp. MSG
4 tsp. cayenne pepper
4 tsp. black pepper
4 tsp. garlic powder
4 tsp. onion powder

Sprinkle meat 2 hours before cooking with rub and allow meat to come to room temperature.  Do not over season.  A good overall dusting of the spices is all that is needed.  The spices will become a nice red, liquid coating after sitting for about an hour if you used the proper amount.

Cooking Procedure:

Smoke ribs in a “water pan’ smoker, e.g. Brinkman, Weber.  Start charcoal (12 to 15 lbs.) and 4 chunks of white oak and 2 chunks of cherry wood (about the size of a tennis ball) at least 1 hour before cooking the meat.  All fuel should be started in a chimney style starter, no starter fluid, and all must be gray/white hot.  Remove all bark from the wood chunks, do not soak.

Very little smoke will be visible.

Use water in the water pan and keep full during the entire cooking process.  Control oven temperature of cooker by regulating the bottom vents only.  Never completely close the top vent.  Cook ribs for 3 hours at 225 degrees on rib racks.  After 3 hours lift the lid for the first time, flip the slabs end for end, and upside down, and open all the vents on the smoker wide open.

Temperature of the cooker should rise to 250 to 275 degrees.  Peek every ½ hour to monitor doneness.  Ribs will be finished when fairly brown in color and the meat has pulled down on the long bones at least ¾ inch. (Usually another 1 to 2 hours).  Remove from cooker and sauce both sides before cutting individual ribs.

Use K. C. Masterpiece sweetened  (5 parts sauce, 1 part honey).

This basic cooking procedure is probably the most important of all and works very well with other meats as well.  Forget about how much smoke is coming out of the cooker, if you’ve got the wood you like burning cleanly, the flavor will be in the meat.