St. Luis, Competition style ribs are some of the best ribs that you'll ever taste. For this recipe, we're going to give you the scoop on how to make the best Competition Style Pork ribs you'll ever have!
For this recipe we're going to do the 3-2-1 method using our Sweet Heat BBQ rub as a base rub, and then we're going Sweet Honey Hog for the top layered rub! We will then finish the ribs off using Kinders amazing Sweet Honey BBQ sauce that is available at any Costco!
To get the process started, as with any rib, you will want to go ahead and remove that pesky membrane from the back of the ribs. Any judge judging ribs would immediately disqualify any rib with the membrane on it! Plus, who in the world wants to eat a rib with the membrane on the back of it? I know we sure don't! Once you have the membrane off the back of the ribs, you're then going to shape your ribs, to give them that St. Luis styled cut. You can buy them pre-trimmed, but it typically costs more per pound to do it this way, so it's cheaper to do it yourself. Trim off the bones on each end. They're too small to be used as turn-in ribs. Trim off the flap of meat on the backside. Trim and remove any excess fat. You want the ribs to be more rounded than squared. Remember with any BBQ, square sharp edges burn faster, more rounded uniform edges cook more evenly.
Once you have the ribs trimmed, it's time to get them rubbed and ready for the smoker! Rub the backside with mustard and rib rub. Again we're going Sweet Heat rub as a base layer, and Sweet Honey Hog as a top layer rub. Let the ribs sweat for 15 minutes. Flip and rub the topside with mustard and rib rub. Let rest in the fridge while your smoker hits 225F degrees.
Once the smoker hits 225 degrees, close the smokestack to halfway, and then place the ribs on the grill meat side up. Smoke with the lid closed for around 3 hours. After the 3 hour mark, you're going to place two sheets of heavy-duty aluminum foil on the counter. In the middle of the foil place 4-5 pats of butter, 1-2 tablespoons brown sugar, a liberal drizzle of honey and 1/4 cup juice. Place the ribs on the butter, meat side down. On the bone side of the ribs, add 4-5 more pats butter, 1-2 more tablespoons brown sugar and another drizzle of honey. Wrap tightly, crimping up the ends. After this put the ribs back on the smoker for another 2 hours.
After the 2 hours or so have passed, it's time to unwrap get the ribs sauced and then go for the final hour. Remove from the smoker, and unwrap from the foil. Flip the ribs over. Brush with sauce. Return to the smoker for one more hour, at 245 degrees. After the hour, remove from the smoker. Let rest a few minutes and slice. For competitions, select your 6 best bones for the judges!
Ingredients
- However many slabs or pork spare ribs you want. 1 slab per 2-3 people
- Yellow Mustard
- Little Lu's BBQ Sweet Heat & Sweet Honey Hog BBQ Rubs
- 1/4 cup of brown sugar
- Honey
- Your favorite BBQ sauce
Instructions
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Flip the ribs, so that the bones are facing up. Using a paper towel, pull off the membrane and discard.
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Trim off the bones on each end. They're too small to be used as turn-in ribs. Trim off the flap of meat on the backside. Trim and remove any excess fat.
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Rub the backside with mustard and rib rub. Let the ribs sweat for 15 minutes. Flip and rub the topside with mustard and rib rub. Let rest while you heat your smoker to 225F degrees.
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Place the ribs on the grill meat side up. Smoke with the lid closed for 3 hours.
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Place two sheets of heavy-duty aluminum foil on the counter. Top with 4-5 pats of butter, 1-2 tablespoons brown sugar, a liberal drizzle of honey and 1/4 cup juice. Place the ribs on the butter, meat side down. To the bone side of the ribs, add 4-5 more pats butter, 1-2 more tablespoons brown sugar and another drizzle of honey. Wrap tightly, crimping up the ends.
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Place back on the smoker for 2 hours.
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Remove from the smoker, and unwrap from the foil. Flip the ribs over. Brush with sauce. Return to the smoker for one more hour.
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Remove from the smoker. Let rest a for few minutes and slice.