BBQ Holidays Game Day Gatherings Gluten-Free Grill Main Dish Pork Pork Ribs Slow Smoke

Spare Ribs Dizzy Style

By Mike Kerslake

Back in 2002, Ribs Dizzy Style on the Big Green Egg was one of the first recipes posted on the Dizzy Pig website (at that time brand new). This is a low/slow method that does not require wrapping the ribs to steam. It takes a little longer than when wrapping but has a superior flavor and crust. The recipe is delicious, and Mike’s commentary and description of the cook is inspiring.

Since the time this was posted, we’ve adopted a different technique for our spare ribs. But you will want to read what Mike [Kerslake] says.

Want to see our new technique for Pork Spare Ribs? Check out our Recipe!
Chris’ Competition Style Spare Ribs Recipe

Mike’s Narrative

One of the best compliments I’ve ever received on my barbecue cooking came from long-time bbq’er and multiple-cooker owner, Ken Gajda (Kenny G), when we were both down at a gathering of Big Green Egg owners in Maryland in the spring of 2002. Ken said that the ribs I cooked there were among the best he’d ever tasted. Knowing the number of slabs Ken had cooked himself over the years, and the number of bbq joints he’d been to in his travels, his comments filled me with pride.

Here’s the process I used on the ribs that day.

As with any successful cook, you need to have the necessary equipment and top quality ingredients. Here you see that I have all I will, or may, need for the cook right close at hand. I’ve got a slab each of spare ribs and babybacks for this demo cook.

Quality ingredients and necessary equipment to make ribs

Trimming Pork Ribs

The first step I take is to remove the sheet of membrane on the backside of both slabs of ribs. I find working a knife under the membrane, lifting up and then grasping and pulling that loose ‘tag’ with a paper towel will quickly and efficiently remove the entire sheet, usually in one piece.

Starting with the spare ribs, I remove the breast bone from the rest of the slab. There’s some nice meat here, but it doesn’t really present well, so I’ll cook it on the side and put the meat into baked beans. To make the spare ribs into ‘St. Louis style’, I will continue to trim off the tail end at the last bone, remove any large ‘blobs’ or extraneous fat as well as the ‘brisket flap’ of meat that appears on the backside of the ribs. Again, this piece is fine for smoking up and adding to chili or beans, but detracts from ‘presentation-quality’ ribs.

Trim ribs

Seasoning Pork Ribs

Some folks in the bbq community feel that a smear of plain old yellow mustard onto the surface of ribs helps in creating flavor, tenderness and a sticky surface for rubs to adhere. Sometimes I’ll do this step, other times not. For this demo, I did do the mustard smear on the spare ribs, but went without on the slab of babybacks.

Mustard on ribs is optional

What would the recipe page on the Dizzy Pig website be without a generous coating of Dizzy Pig products on the meats we’re cooking? A lot less flavorful, that’s what! Here the spare ribs get a generous coating of our Dizzy Dust all-purpose rub. You may detect the yellowish color of the mustard smear peaking through the dusting of rub.

Coat generously with Dizzy Dust

Set Up Cooker

Obviously, not everyone has the same cooker as I am using here, which is a Big Green Egg (BGE) ceramic cooker. However, the ideas used here can probably be duplicated in your smoker unit, regardless of brand. Some multiple burner gas grills can do an okay job, with the help of a smoking box and a long, slow cook.

Put ribs on grill

Here you can see that a lump charcoal fire has been established and some smokewood chips (pecan and hickory used here) added. On top of the cooker’s grill was set 3 firebricks to create a barrier between the food and direct flame (indirect cooking). A foil-lined drip pan supported a rack on which the side and back ribs were placed. The temperature at the cooking level was in the 225-230°F range.

Cooking

After about an hour of smoking and cooking, the Dizzy Dust rub has started to form a crust on the outside of the meat. Once this has happened, I begin to occasionally spritz the surface of the ribs with a combination of apple juice and apple cider vinegar. This adds a depth of flavor to the ribs and contributes to a nice exterior color as well as introducing moisture around the ribs.

I do the spritzing about every half-hour for the remainder of the cook (which will total approximately 4 hours, but up to 7 depending on exact temps and your particular cut of ribs). The ribs are turned with every other spritzing. An additional dusting with Dizzy Dust during this period will contribute a deeper level of crusting, if desired.

RIbs after an our of smoking and cooking

Serving – Dry and Wet

Here’s our pal Dizzy offering up some of the finished product. You may see that these ribs are served ‘dry’, meaning that no sauce has been applied at, or near, the end of the cook. We do enjoy ribs sauced on the meat side lightly. Our Glazed and Infused is the perfect glaze to give the ribs a nice color and shine, and to wake up your taste buds!

Dizzy Pig style ribs

Enjoy!
Mike

Ingredients

Print Recipe

2 slabs spare ribs or babyback ribs
Dizzy Pig Dizzy Dust BBQ seasoning to coat (Raging River, Crossroads are also excellent)
Yellow mustard to coat
2 cups apple juice (for optional spritzing)
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar (for optional spritzing)

Directions

Mix together apple juice and cider vinegar and pour into spray bottle
Prepare smoker/grill for indirect cooking with a couple chunks smoking wood (pecan, hickory used here, but many good choices for ribs
Stabilize at 230°F and wait for clean smoke coming from cooker
Remove membrane from back of ribs (a paper towel helps to grab)
If desired (whole spare ribs only) remove everything to the bone. There is a section of cartilage and meat sometimes called brisket bones or rib tips that can optionally be cut off for better presentation. They can be cooked separately for “rib tips”, or used for sausage or stock.
With St. Louis style spare ribs (more and more available these days) the above step has already been done.
Optional – Coat ribs with a smear of yellow mustard
Apply generous coating of Dizzy Dust, or your favorite seasoning to the bone side first. (Raging River, Crossroads are also excellent)
Wait until rub sets up and appears to melt in (about 10-15 minutes)
Flip over and season meat side generously
When cooker is stabilized and smoke is clean, place ribs on bone side down
Once ribs have begun to form a crust after an hour or so, spritz ribs with your apple juice mixture every 30 minutes. This step is optional.
Flip ribs every hour after first spritz to ensure maximum crusting
Once you are 4 hours into the cook, begin checking for tenderness. When a toothpick can be inserted into the thickest rib with very little resistance, or the slab wants to break in half when lifted from the center, they are done.
With a sharp knife, slice between the bones and serve. If sauce is desired, our Glazed and Infused makes a great finishing glaze, either served on the side or brushed onto the finished ribs.