BBQ Ribs award winning dry rub for ribs Johnny Trigg Way We reverse engineered the legendary pitmasters award winning method for BBQ Ribs. SmokedBBQSource is supported by its readers.
First off, run your hands over the rack of ribs to feel for any loose bone fragments or gritty parts leftover from the butcher block. Rinse it under cold water to get any grit off, and trim any excess fat, loose bone parts and shiners. Flip your ribs over to the back, non-meaty side, and remove the membrane. Most rib racks come with the membrane on unless you specifically ask for the butcher to remove it. It’s important to remove the membrane because it becomes tough and chewy when left on to cook, and it prevents smoke and rub from penetrating and adding flavor to the meat. Once your smoker is up to temp, add your smoking wood.
B all natural lump charcoal made from oak in the firebox. Staying true to the Johnny Trigg method, stick with natural fuel sources like wood or lump charcoal. He uses one hardwood, pecan, and one fruitwood, cherry, giving a complex, layered flavor to the smoke. Try to steer clear of briquettes that have unnecessary fillers and may influence the taste of the final product in an undesirable manner.
F, I throw on 3 chunks of local hardwood, hickory, and 2 chunks of fruitwood. If you’ve been following this process closely, it should have timed up almost perfectly to where your smoker is steady at temp with clean smoke and your ribs have reached the proper amount of rest time at room temperature. Place your ribs directly on the smoker grates with the bone side down. Smoke your ribs uninterrupted for three hours.
Another method is to spritz the ribs with a liquid like apple juice every hour during this portion of the cook. At the three hour mark, lay the aluminum sheet flat on a table. If you’re using squeeze butter or margarine, a zig-zag pattern in this area will do. Once your butter is down, sprinkle the brown sugar and one ounce of the tiger sauce on top. Lastly, squeeze the agave nectar or honey back and forth to cover the same area as the butter. Place the ribs-meat side down into the glaze mixture.