Brent Gann

3-2-1 spare ribs

Three hours in smoke, two hours wrapped with butter, brown sugar, and honey, one hour sauced. The rib tips come off at the wrap and finish in the oven.

Smoker

Grill
225°F
Smoke
3 hours, meat up
Wrapped
2 hours
Sauced
1 hour

Trim and season

Trim the ribs and cut the tips into bites. Mustard as the binder, then all of this. No measurements, it’s by eye:

  • Coarse black pepper
  • Granulated garlic
  • Pink salt
  • Granulated onion
  • Red pepper flakes, or another pepper
  • Seasoning salt
  • Cumin
  • Brown sugar
  • MSG

Three

  1. Get the grill to 225°F.
  2. Ribs and bites go on unwrapped, meat side up.
  3. Smoke for three hours.

Two

  1. Pull the ribs and spray them with apple juice.
  2. Lay them meat side up on foil. Put a quarter to a half stick of butter, chopped, on top, then season with brown sugar, MSG, and honey.
  3. Wrap tightly in foil and smoke for two hours.
  4. The bites come off here instead: sauce them and finish them in the oven.

One

  1. Unwrap, baste in sauce, and put back on the grill meat side up.
  2. Smoke for one hour.
  3. Broil to the char you want. Re-baste if you want them wetter.

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