There is no food that screams summer to me than a rack of smoked pork ribs.
When I first started smoking meat, I wondered what the hell it meant to smoke ribs 3-2-1 method. Before 3-2-1, I had made several attempts at "grilling" or "smoking ribs." The ribs, if cooked improperly, can result in tough meat that has to be ripped off the bone. Which is was the typical result of my ribs until I had a full grasp of this technique.
Tender, juicy, and flavorful is what I got following this technique. I love my ribs to be coated with rub, smothered in sauce and falling off the bone. This method, often called 3-2-1, is easy and generally fool proof. It creates ribs that your friends and family will speak of for summers to come.
WHAT IS 3: This first stage is the stage where the ribs are smoked for 3 hours. Set the smoker is set for 225F to create a low and slow smoke. Make sure the ribs are generously coated with a good BBQ rub. We recommend Knuckle Dragger or Cherry Blast for ribs. 3 hours of smoking is the recommended time for pork spare ribs. If you are smoking back ribs you may want to smoke them for just 2 hours. Any more and you may find it dries the ribs out a bit too much. I have used hickory, apple, cherry, alder and maple woods with this method of smoking ribs. My preference is hickory or apple although the ribs taste wonderful with any of those types of wood.
WHAT IS 2: The second stage is where the meat tenderizes. If you like your ribs to be fall off the bone tender then make sure you do this step. Wrap the ribs tightly in foil. This steams the ribs and the result is tender juicy ribs. Just before closing each rack of ribs in the foil, put a little bit of beer or apple juice in with the ribs. This helps the steaming process. Put the ribs, wrapped in foil, back in the smoker for 2 hours at 225F. My smoker can function as an oven and so, for this stage, I turn off the smoking element in my smoker and actually just bake them in the smoker at 225F for the 2 hours. Some people continue to smoke for these 2 hours as well. It is also possible to use an oven for this stage.
What is 1: Sauce the ribs with your favourite BBQ sauce and smoke at UNCOVERED 225F for a final hour.
*TECHNICAL NOTES:
1: PREP YOUR RIBS
- Peel off the membrane on the underside of the rack of ribs.
- Generously rub the BBQ rub on the the ribs before smoking. Let the rub penetrate in the meat for an hour or as long as you can before smoking it.
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