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My overall recipes for ribs admittedly are randomized and to the terror of my wife… improvised. That said, there is method and recipe to my madness, it just changes slightly each time based on my mood, quantity of meat and end target I’m going for.

This weekend kicked off a run of heavier than usual work, so my meal prepping this week needed to be on point. No better time I say to let the Traeger do its thing! If you want a far better description than my post look up the “3 2 1 Rib Method” there are some variations but that should get you going right.

First up, the Rub!

So, here’s the rub (I apologize), Most of my BBQ rubs come down to a few basic foundational factors

• 1 Cup Brown Sugar
• 4 teaspoons Paprika (Smoke(d) if you got em)
• 2 teaspoons Fine Sea Salt
• 2 teaspoons Black Pepper
• 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
• 1 teaspoon Onion Powder
• 1 teaspoon Mustard Powder
• 1 teaspoon Chili Powder
• 1 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper

Bonus Points to add the following in any combo

• 1 teaspoon Ginger
• 1 teaspoon Chipotle Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon MSG

Also note i made another rub post with a different recipe, but i like paprika and brown sugar heavy with some nice smoke added from Chipotle, but honestly you get plenty of smoke on… THE SMOKER. If you are using an oven then yes add some smoked or roasted spices.

Once you have your delicious rub, you are ready to begin. This can be stored in a mason jar or a shaker, just careful not to let it get too moist in between otherwise you end up with a brick due to the brown sugar.

Pork Prep

Get your pork product of preference. In this case, I’m using a 3 pack of back ribs from Costco (comes vacuum sealed with 3 racks all with membrane removed). Always check the back to see if the membrane has been removed. The membrane is a glossy white looking skin that really does not break down. You will want to pull it up using paper towel, knife to loosen it and a bit of pull. That is a whole other post or video. It is not the end of the world if it is on there, I have not removed it loads of time, just need some floss.

Next up you want to give your rub a base. your base can be olive oil or yellow mustard. I like going with mustard as it adds a bit more crusting and doesn’t flame up like olive oil does.

After you are done rubbing it down good, do the same with egregious amounts of your Rub. Get all of the nooks and crannies.

Lest we not forget the ever vigilant guardians of the Pork. They were very careful to make sure i was safe during this whole process.

End Result are some fine looking ribs, ready to be covered in plastic wrap and thrown in fridge overnight or perhaps for a few days to soak up all that rub.

Piggy Smoke Day!

Today is the day! You are one lucky dog! I don’t plan on breaking down the what tool to use, but ill give the general focus to my process.

1. Pull the ribs out of the fridge and let them rest at room temp while preparing your smoker or oven set on stupidly low.
2. Get your smoker to 180°F-200°F with a combo of Apple and Maple.
3. Slap those ribs onto the smoker bone side down.
4. You are gonna give it a nice low smoke for about 3 hours. You are going to want to check on them and spritz/baste them once an hour with apple cider vinegar to make sure it doesn’t dry out. Increase your fancy level with a spray bottle for spritzin. You can also add some BBQ sauce or some of your rub to make a mighty fine spritz.
5. After 3 hours you want to wrap them in foil with some BBQ Sauce, Maybe Apple Juice or more Apple Cider Vinegar for 2 hours and continue slow heat.
6. For the last 1 hour, take them out of the package and put back on grill exposed with a bit of BBQ sauce until you are in the 200°F-205°F range end temp. its at that point that its fall apart.

Overall you can skip the foil and last part and just keep going for a total 5 hours or until you reach temp but you gotta keep spritzing and watching and you lose some juice and tenderness. if you like a bit more bite to your ribs, this will do. Good example is that in this smoke I used Apple & Maple Mix of wood, I was doing 3 racks at once and my smoke schedule turned out like the following:

• 5 hours 180-200 Smoke
• 1 hours wrapped 250 with some BBQ sauce & Apple cider Vinegar.
• 2 hours unwrapped @ 300
• Rest off grill for 30-45 minutes

The general idea is smoke it up, get it cooking up to 160’ish, wrap it to tenderize and finish in open so it has structure and a sugary lacquer from the rub/sauce.