Pork Ribs with Hook's Smokin' Sweetness Rub

Pork Ribs with Hook's Smokin' Sweetness Rub

RIBS!!! No matter the type of pork ribs, we love them all! Ribs are one of the tastiest, messiest and most manageable finger foods around. They are great for backyard bar-b-ques, tailgating, entertaining at parties and competitions of course.

Our Smokin' Sweetness rub was MADE for pork as the sweet, smoky flavor perfectly compliments the marbling in pork (and beef). I developed this fool-proof recipe using our Smokin' Sweetness that is sure to please even the pickiest of rib eaters!

Ingredients:

• 1 Rack of Baby Back Ribs (Double the ribs to double the recipe)
• 6-12 oz. Hook's Smokin' Sweetness BBQ Dry Rub (to taste)
• 1/4 cup Apple Juice
• 1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
• Brown Sugar
• Honey
• 1 cup Butter/Margarine sliced into 1 TBS cubes or 1/2 cup squeezable Parkay
• Mustard/Mayo/Hot Sauce as a binder
  
• Brown Sugar
• Honey
• 8 oz. of your favorite BBQ sauce (for dry rubbed ribs, omit sauce until end to use as dip)
• Foil or Foil Pan
• Instant Read Thermometer like the ones from Thermoworks

(make sure you use proper meat handling procedures and sanitary hand washing when using this or any recipe involving raw meat)

Method:

1. Heat smoker, grill or oven to 300 degrees (if using a smoker or grill, use good smoking wood chunks or chips like apple, hickory, oak, mesquite, pecan, or cherry on the coals or in the smoker's wood container. You can also use any of those same flavored pellets if you have a pellet grill. NEVER use wood from the cut lumber section of your local hardware store/pinion because IT IS NOT SAFE TO COOK WITH!!!
2. Using a butter knife, a piece of paper towel (or some meat tweezers) and some persistence, peel off the thick membrane on the bone (curved) side to expose the meat. This helps the meat "fall off the bone" easier!
3. Spread mustard, mayo or hot sauce all over surface of the ribs. This acts as a binder to hold on the seasoning.
4. Season both sides liberally with Hook's Rub letting each side site about 5-15 minutes before seasoning the other side.
5. Cook ribs with the bone side down for 1-3 hours at 300 degrees. You can use a mixture of apple juice & apple cider vinegar (or just vinegar) to spray the ribs each hour. Our method is spray-flip-spray which is to say spray the top, flip it over, then spray the bottom and let it cook for the next hour then repeat. You can also use this as a baste with a silicon or mop brush to mop the meat in the same method.
   PRO TIP: The grill may fluctuate in temperature, so don't worry unless it gets over 350/400, then you'd have to open the lid or close the damper to cool it down some.
6. When the ribs have hit 160 degrees internally using your digital thermometer, get a large enough sheet of foil to completely wrap around the ribs. Starting on top (meat side), drizzle honey, spinkle brown sugar and add 4 tbs of butter or margarine (squirt Parkay). Then flip it over as the butter and sugar may fall off a little which is fine and repeat on the bottom (bone side). Cup the edges of the foil and pour apple juice/vinegar in the foil being careful not to spill it all over your counter!
7. Next, enclose the foiled ribs making a tight seal being careful not to puncture the sides of the foil. You can always double layer the foil to make sure there are no holes as this will spill if there are.
8. Carefully place the ribs back on the smoker for at least 1 hour making sure they hit 195 degrees. You can tell they are done if you poke them with the thermometer probe or a toothpick and it slides in and out like butter.
   PRO TIP: If you can push the bone and it moves a little from the meat, you are in business! This is where the "fall off the bone" comes in.
9. Remove ribs from foil, discard foil and you can discard or save remaining apple juice as a jus for dipping/basting. Set the ribs on the grill and brush the top and bottom side with BBQ sauce. Close the lid and let the sauce set for 10-15 minutes. If not using BBQ sauce pull the ribs off the grill and let them rest about 10 minutes before cutting between each bone with a sharp knife.
10. Remove and enjoy!

** If you like this recipe & have made it, please leave a review, follow us on Instagram: @HooksSpiceRubs & TikTok: @HooksRub and share it with your friends!