Barbecue Pork Spare Ribs

Yield: 8 servings

• 2 racks pork spare ribs, trimmed St. Louis style
• Kozlik’s Carolina BBQ Sauce
• Plowboys BBQ Yardbird Rub
• R Butts R Smokin’ Honey Chipotle Rub
• Brown sugar
• Reida Farm Wildflower Honey

Light two chimneys of lump charcoal. When the charcoal is red-hot, dump each one at opposite ends of the Yoder Smokers Flat-Top Adjustable Charcoal Grill, leaving the center of the grill open and without charcoal.

Position one grate in the center of the grill (the second grate can be removed for this cook). Set up a FireBoard 2 Wireless Thermometer to monitor the grill temperature, with an ambient thermometer clipped in the center of the grate.

Add a couple of chunks of smoking wood (we used cherry), or small splits (hickory) to the charcoal beds to add smoke and heat. Try to stabilize the temperature in the 250ºF-300ºF range. As the temperature drops, add more chunks of unlit lump charcoal and smoking wood to maintain the heat. If the coal bed gets too small, light a new chimney of charcoal and add when hot. You can also manage the heat by closing down the vents on the top and bottom (leave about 1/4 open) of the grill to minimize airflow, which keeps the temperature lower and allows for a longer burn time with your charcoal.

Slather the ribs with Kozlik’s Carolina BBQ Sauce. Season with Plowboys Yardbird and R Butts R Smokin’ Honey Chipotle.

Place the ribs on the smoking rack in the center of the grill. There should be not direct heat from the charcoal underneath the ribs, or they will scorch.  Smoke the ribs, maintaining the temperature of the grill as described above, until a dark reddish mahogany brown bark is formed on the surface. Remove the racks of ribs from the grill.

Lay out four sheets of foil (two per rack).

For sweeter ribs, add about 1/3-1/2 cup brown to the foil, in the shape of a rack of ribs. Drizzle a couple of tablespoons of Reida Farm Wildflower Honey over the sugar. Place the ribs meat-side down on top of the sugar and honey. Wrap tightly in foil.

For less sweet ribs, simple double wrap in foil with nothing added.

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Return the ribs to the grill and continue cooking until tender. Looking at the ends of the bones, the meat should move freely from the bone when twisted.

Finish your sweet ribs by brushing them with Firebug Mild Grillin’ Sauce while still warm. Slice and serve.

Finish the less sweet ribs by brushing them with the Kozlik’s Carolina BBQ Sauce while still warm. Slice and serve.