"I tried this recipe last weekend for a Patriots tailgate party. Precooked on the grill at home, I then re-heated them, on the grill, at the game. The Smokey Aroma sparked other fans curiosity. And Cap'n Ron's Country Style Ribs got voted BEST TAILGATE of the season by the regulars !!"
This is an easy recipe for Smokin' Country Style Ribs. It takes a while, so be sure to have plenty of your favorite frosty beverage on hand.
It's labor Day Weekend, and I figured that it would be a great day to have a few friends over for BBQ Ribs. On top of that, one of our local grocery stores had Boston Butt (Pork Shoulder) on sale for $ .88 / pound. I picked out a big one, then asked the butcher to slice it into Country Style Ribs. I was happy that for a little over $8.00 I would have enough meat to feed 5 or 6 hungry guests.
Little did I know that, in my exuberance, I caused myself a major problem. I went ahead and made up the BBQ Dry Rub and the BBQ Mop, then I prepped the meat, and all was going well, until I went to place the Pork Ribs on my grill. Living on a boat has it's pros and cons, and one of the cons is that our grills are pretty small. I finally figured out that by putting my grilling pan directly on the first layer of Pork, I could get all of it on in 2 layers. Now the only worry that I had was wether or not both layers would smoke. They did, and the only downside was that it caused me a little additional work in having to rotate the Ribs every 30 - 45 minutes.
Pork ribs, being so popular, have really gone crazy with their price. I've used these "Country Style Ribs" quite often with great results. And, as a bonus, you're getting more meat, and not paying so much for a handle (the bone).
For you purists out there, these ribs really don't require any barbecue sauce, that's just the way I had them this time. Most often I'll eat the ribs without any sauce. The Rub, Mop, and Hickory Smoke provide plenty of flavor.
12 Pounds, Country Style Pork Ribs, from Boston Butt
1. Either the morning of, or the day before you'll be cooking, Place some hickory chips in a stainless or glass bowl and fill with water. They've got to be real wet in order to smoke.
2. Mix up about 1 1/2 cups of Butt Kickin' Rub, and set aside. This is the Dry Rub that you'll use to marinate the ribs.
3. Prepare the meat by cutting off any large chunks of fat, and any REALLY fatty internal pieces. Place these prepped pieces in a large pan.
4. Rub the Rub well into the meat, making sure to get those pieces that are on the bottom. It's best to do this with your hands.
5. I have a small charcoal grill, so I don't have room to place the coals off to one side, so I poured a large amount of charcoal in the grill, started it, and waited for the coals to get real hot, white, all over. I then sprinkled some water on the coals to cool them off, and placed some of the soaked chips directly on the coals. Then I started placing the meat all over the grill.
6. That's when I realized that I had way too much meat to cook at one time. Rather than not have to cook the left over ribs again tomorrow, I punted. I have a vegetable grilling grate that is slightly smaller than my grill. I placed this directly on top of the ribs, and continued getting the rest of the pork on the grill.
7. It took me about 3 hours of flipping and mopping, and smoking to get these pork ribs done so that they were real tender. I then had about 1/3 that needed a little longer, so I was able to use the bottom grill only.
When these were done, I set them aside until my company showed up. That's when I placed them back on the grill with a little barbecue sauce to reheat.
Ron's Note: The Mop helps to keep the ribs moist, while giving them a nice glaze. It's not thick, like a bbq sauce, and doesn't contain as much sugar, so it won't burn as quickly as a thick, bbq sauce would.
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This recipe prints as a shortened version, with only 1 Picture, Ingredients, and Directions.
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This recipe prints as a shortened version, with only 1 Picture, Ingredients, and Directions.
Leftovers
Leftovers can be nuked, or re-heated in the oven, covered, with a little extra BBQ Sauce.
Or, you can cut up the meat, place it in a pot with a bunch of extra BBQ Sauce. Re-heat over a low flame, covered, until the meat is tender. Serve it on a hamburger bun with some leftover Slaw on top, for a Pulled Pork Sandwich.
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By Cap'n Ron
