TASTY SPARE RIBS

The all-time favourite summer BBQ dish is spare ribs, the first to throw onto the grill when the snow is melting! Still, cooking spot-on delicious spare ribs is not always easy on the first time, so we created this Poppamies Guaranteed Spare Ribs recipe for perfectly barbecued spare ribs every time!

The first step is finding the meatiest rack of ribs possible. If the ribs are cut very thin with bones shining through, it is really difficult to make them juicy and rich. There are also many types of ribs. In Finland, baby back ribs and spare ribs are the most common. Baby back ribs are shorter and thinner, cut from near the spine. The meat in baby back ribs might be slightly more tender, but they often have less meat in them. Spare ribs are cut from a lower part, and longer and bigger. If you can’t find meaty baby backs, it is better to choose spare ribs.

After getting the ribs, you should remove the membranes from the back of the rack. Sometimes the membranes have been removed when the rack is cut, but more often it has been left on the rack. Removing the membrane is easy, when you first slide the tip of a knife under it and then, using a paper towel, pick up the edge of the membrane and peel it off.

Next, spread a thin layer of Poppamies Strong Mustard on both sides of the ribs and sprinkle them generously with Poppamies Burgers & Ribs Rub spice mix. The rub stays easily on the mustard, which also gives the ribs a nice flavour. Leave the seasoned surface to moisten with the mustard and meat juices, while you heat up the grill or smoker.

Warm up the grill or smoker up to approx. 110 °C of indirect heat. If you need to revise grill temperature ranges and their adjustments, watch the Poppamies BBQ Course on YouTube (only in Finnish unfortunately, subtitles penging)! Place the ribs on indirect heat with the thicker side nearer the coals. Cook the ribs with or without smoke for about two hours. After one hour, check that the seasoned surface isn’t getting too dry, and if necessary, moisten it by sprinkling some apple juice on the ribs.

After two hours, the ribs will have been nicely browned and they can be wrapped in tin foil. First, sprinkle the ribs with apple juice and then wrap them tightly in tin foil. Place the ribs back on the grill, still on indirect heat, and keep grilling them for about one more hour. The ribs will be ready for finishing when the bones are about 1 cm more exposed than they were when uncooked.

Heat the grill up to approx. 150-200 °C, unwrap the ribs and place them back to indirect heat for about one minute. Brush the ribs with Poppamies Smoky Hickory BBQ Sauce and allow a few minutes for the sauce to get sticky.

This method is an easy way to cook tasty ribs. There are other ways to cook ribs, all with their own supporters.