Nick's Smoked Barbecue Ribs

We both love barbecue however we have different preferences on how it’s done. Nick wants a dry-rubbed and smoked rib while I want mine soaked and smothered in Asian vinegar-based marinade. He claims “his” was the true all-American barbecue. So one day he surprised me with a huge rack of pork ribs from Sam’s Club, wood chunks, a bag of charcoal, a digital meat thermometer for 17$ and a Brinkmann Vertical Smoker from Home Depot for 59$. Apparently he has done some research about smoking foods for quite sometime and wanted to prove that his smoked ribs is better than anything I ever had in my life.

Armed with a tweaked-out Food Network's Deen Brothers Smoked Rib (couldn’t get any American than that) recipe he began his quest towards smoking perfection. First we prep the meat and when I say “we”, I meant, “me”. I was in charge of removing the tough membrane found in the back portion of the ribs. It is done to ensure that the smoky flavor penetrates every fiber. He then brines the meat in a salt and sugar solution for an hour to make it moist and tender. Safe food handling is always observed in our household everything is washed under hot water. Our kitchen surfaces are Corian which makes it non porous which we then disinfected with bleach. I suggest using color coded food boards when prepping meats to prevent cross contamination.

The meat is rubbed with spices such as cumin, cayenne pepper, smoke paprika, brown sugar, salt and pepper. This would add color and flavor to the meat.

It is then placed in the smoker for 3 hours at a temperature of 200F. The bottom compartment is where your preheated charcoal and wood chunks are placed. The chunks of wood were soaked in water for 24 hours prior to yield an intense smoky flavor while the steam from the water pan keeps the meat from drying out.

After 3 hours he finished off the ribs on the grill for 10-15 minutes – as soon as the internal temperature registered at 165F. The result is a perfectly smoked meat – so tender and juicy. I am quite convinced this is the best barbecue I’ve ever had in my life and from the looks of it I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t be my last.

Just so you know – I ate the whole thing!!! Messy messy goodness!