Ingredients
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Main
This is a full backyard BBQ experience in one cook. A trimmed slab of spare ribs squared up St. Louis style with the rib tips prepped and smoked right alongside them — nothing wasted, everything flavored. Smoked over lump charcoal and apple wood at 350°F, spritzed with apple juice throughout, wrapped with butter, brown sugar, and BBQ sauce at the 2.5 hour mark, and finished with a sticky house BBQ glaze that caramelizes in the final minutes. Rich, sweet, smoky, and fall-off-the-bone tender. This is the cook that defines a great backyard BBQ pitmaster.
Instructions
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01
Start by squaring up the spare ribs — remove the side breast bone, trim the back flap, and square off the edges to create a clean, even slab. Reserve all of the trimmings for your rib tips — nothing gets wasted in this cook. Flip the slab over and remove the membrane from the bone side using a double layer of paper towel for grip. Discard the membrane.
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02
Lather both sides of the ribs generously with yellow mustard as a binder. Season both sides evenly with your BBQ rub and sazon seasoning blend. Prep and season the rib tips exactly the same way — same mustard binder, same seasoning blend — so they cook and develop flavor on the same timeline as the ribs.
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03
Load your grill with lump charcoal and add apple wood for smoke. Preheat to 350°F and allow it to fully stabilize before adding the meat. Apple wood is a mild, slightly sweet wood that complements pork without overpowering it — a natural pairing for this cook.
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04
Place the ribs and rib tips in the smoker. Close the lid and begin the cook. Spritz both the ribs and tips periodically with apple juice throughout the cook to keep the surface moist and help build the bark. Move them around as needed to ensure even cooking and refuel the charcoal when necessary to maintain a steady 350°F. Smoke for 2.5 hours.
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05
After 2.5 hours, transfer the ribs and tips into an aluminum foil pan. Add butter, brown sugar, a pour of BBQ sauce, a splash of apple juice, and an additional dusting of your rub and seasoning blend. Cover the pan tightly with foil. Return to the grill and cook covered for 60 minutes. The butter, sugar, and liquid inside the pan create a braising environment that pushes the ribs through the final stage of tenderness and builds the sticky, sweet interior glaze that makes this recipe.
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06
Remove the foil from the pan and drain or discard the excess liquid. Brush the ribs and tips generously with your house BBQ sauce. Return to the grill uncovered for the final 15 minutes to allow the sauce to caramelize, tighten, and set into a sticky, glossy glaze over the surface of the meat.
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07
Remove the ribs and tips from the grill and allow them to rest before slicing. Slice the ribs between the bones and serve the tips alongside. The result is sweet, sticky, smoky, and fall-off-the-bone tender throughout.
