There's really no wrong time for BBQ but cold weather just seems perfect. The chill in the air, the sweet smell of smoke filling the sky, then looking under neath the BBQ lid to see a perfect slab or ribs with a gorgeous, smoky bark on top. There's nothing like it. On the other hand, what is disappointing is when you chomp down into those gorgeous ribs to find out they're still so very tough. With this recipe, you'll never have to worry about your ribs again.
Ingredients:
- 1 rack of baby back ribs
- 1/2 c of your favorite dry rub
- 1/4 c of your favorite BBQ sauce
Sample rub:
- 2 tbsp each brown and white sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp mustard powder
- pinch of coriander (dried)
- pinch of chili powder
Start by setting your Anova to 160F, while the water heats up we can tend to our ribs. On almost every set of ribs I've ever encountered there is a thin membrane on the back of the ribs that a lot of people don't pay much attention to. If you're not taking off that fine layer, you're missing out on a lot of flavor and tenderness potential. The easiest way to remove this fine membrane is to take a dry paper towel, locate a side that looks like you can grab the membrane and start to pull back. It's easiest to try to keep the membrane from tearing so you can keep it in one solid piece. It sounds a lot more difficult than it actually is. Do it a time or two and you're already a pro.
Now that the membrane is off, let's work our rub in. Take your rub and generously coat the front and back of the ribs. You really don't want to be shy with this stuff, this is what gives you that great bark and color.
Now that our ribs are good and coated with our dry rub, let's vacuum seal it up and cook it in our water bath at 160F for 14-16 hours. After our ribs are cooked, we have a few options. If you own a smoker, fire it up and as soon as it reaches 160-180 throw your ribs on to smoke for 2 hours. If you don't have a smoker you could easily use a grill, then make a foil pouch with soaked wood chips inside and place that over your coals to get a smoke. If all of that sounds like a burden, simply coat your ribs with your BBQ sauce and throw it in the oven on broil for a minute or two until the BBQ sauce caramelizes to the ribs. Make sure you watch your heat/ribs though, with that much sugar content, it doesn't take much to burn.
If you opted for additional smoke, once you ribs have smoked for around an hour and 45 minutes, put your BBQ sauce on your ribs and allow the BBQ sauce to caramelize. This will ensure a nice crust, but also that sweet sticky texture.
