A few years back our family lived, worked, and played hard in Montana; I was involved (more than) full time in a medical practice, and as a family we ran a horse farm, training facility, and equestrian event center.
We were unbelievably busy, and tended by necessity to be very efficient in our food preparation and cooking. Our food prep challenges were compounded during the winter season; winters in Northwestern Montana can be long, dark, snowy, and brutally cold.
Back several years ago we were catering an event at the barn, and the group wanted a Texas-inspired barbecue with brisket, ribs, and all the trimmings. Brisket is another issue, but the ribs were a particular challenge as we were deep in a teeth-chatteringly-cold snowy spell and couldn’t spend a day outside tending ribs in our commercial smoker.
Long story short, we sorted through a pile of recipes and experimented for several weeks to craft the predecessor of this rub. The beauty of this approach was simple: we could rub the ribs and do the majority of the cook in a relatively slow oven, then finish them up over a quick turn on the grill (something we could do no matter how damn cold it was at at time).
The ribs were so easy, and more importantly, so danged good that we’ve ended up making this our default, go-to rib rub recipe, whether we’re cooking in the smoker or in the oven, as I did again a few days ago when a day-long rain make a long cook in the smoker impossible.
I make the rub in fairly large batches and have outlined the proportions used for the ingredients below – you can make as big or small a batch as you desire. You can substitute fresh cilantro and oregano for the dried, add any dried pepper you care to for heat (we like chipotle), and add a bit of brown sugar or cane sugar for a hint of sweetness, though I haven’t done that in years.
3 full racks 3/down pork spareribs
2 parts sweet paprika
1 part chile powder
1 part ground cumin
1 part ground coriander
1 part granulated garlic
1 part freshly ground pepper
1 part good salt
1 part dried cilantro
1 part dried oregano
Optional
Sub 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro for the dried
Sub 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh oregano for the dried
1-2 tsp chipotle powder
Up to 1 part brown sugar
Prep your ribs by removing the membranes, washing off the bone, then patting dry.
Combine the rub ingredients and mix well, paint the ribs with cider vinegar and coat both sides liberally (very liberally) with the rub.
The rain day oven cheat version: Place on a baking sheet (they can be stacked) and place in a 225 to 250 degree oven for at least 4 hours, I typically try to shoot for 6 hours. No need to turn these beauties; your slow-cooking in dry heat and letting those spices work their magic.
Thirty minutes before the end of your planned cook time, fire your trusty grill to a low heat setting (real wood is so much better here). When the ribs are done, throw them over the low heat fire for about 10 minutes, turning once. Your goal 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 with just a little mesquite for this one (though use your favorites). Smoke for 4-6 hours at a target temp of 200 to 225. These beauties won’t need to be tuned up on the grill like their oven-roasted kin above.
We like to trim these into single ribs right at the table and let everyone ‘grab it and growl’. These are so good, and tender, we most often don’t serve with any sauce; if you insist on one, use your favorite, though we most often reach for a tomatillo-based sauce/salsa like this one, or use a taqueria-style guacamole.
Enjoy.
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