If there is one rib recipe to keep in your repertoire, St Louis style ribs is the one. A combination of smokey flavors, sticky goodness and that tang make these so moreish.
Ingredients
For the Rub
2 tablespoons paprika
2 teaspoons ground coriander seeds
2 teaspoons ground cumin seeds
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt or table salt
1/3 cup Dijon mustard (or mustard of your choice)
Or you can use any other rub of your choice. Rystar Red Rub or any other paprika-based rubs work well.
For the Sauce
4 cups of tomato sauce (ketchup)
1 cup water
2/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup jaggery or brown sugar
4 tablespoons Dijon mustard or mustard of your choice.
2 tablespoons onion powder
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (Optional)
Method
Prepare the pork ribs by trimming and removing the silvery membrane. For proper St Louis style ribs also remove the strip of fatty meat along the edge. St Louis style mostly refers to the method of trimming but you can use this recipe for any cut of pork ribs trimmed anyway you like.
Coat the ribs with the Dijon mustard then sprinkle generously with the rub. Leave in the refrigerator for 1 to 4 hours, or overnight.
Prepare the smoker pit for cooking low and slow (or prepare your charcoal grill for indirect cooking). To control temperature on your offset smoker, first get the fire going using charcoal to bring the temperature up slowly. Then add your smoking woods such as iron bark, pecan, apple wood. Keep the flue damper wide open to make sure you are getting good smoke flow through the chamber. Also try to keep the fire box damper completely open and control the heat by controlling the size of your fire. If you choke off the oxygen supply too much you will get a ‘dirty fire’ that gives off too much smoke and creosote. You want to get a nice, clean smoke flowing through the chamber and you want to keep the smoke fresh.
The ribs are ideally cooked at 110-125 degrees C for 4 hours in total. Cook for 2 hours initially, flip the ribs over and smoke for another hour.
While the ribs are cooking, make the sauce. Place all ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer while stirring. Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Sauce should be a bit thinner than a regular barbecue sauce (hence the addition of water). It should also be nice and tangy.
After 3 hours, remove the ribs from the smoker and place the ribs on a sheet of foil. Spoon the sauce over the ribs and wrap them up. Make sure you reserve some sauce to put on the ribs later. Put the ribs in foil back into the smoker for another hour. For this last hour it is not necessary to keep the fire stoked as the ribs will continue to cook in the foil from the retained heat of the meat.
Unwrap and slice between the bones. Dollop some extra sauce on them and they are ready to eat. Serve with your choice of sides.
Ribs should be tender, moist and tangy! If you have cooked these in an offset smoker you should also see a nice smoke ring.
Notes
You can use any mustard you choose but it is important to note that the choice of mustard greatly affects the final taste. A nice, spicy brown mustard works well if you can find it. Some brands of Dijon mustard have a slight spice to them (such as the Tania brand) and these are the ones we prefer. The Masterfoods Australian mustard is another good choice. Avoid using the mustards that are heavy on the coloring like the one branded as American mustard.