Yep, you are reading correctly. Delicious smoked pork ribs cook low n slow on my Barbeques Galore Masterbuilt BBQ, glazed with a simple bourbon peach sauce and a fresh peach slaw makes for the PERFECT backyard BBQ or get together with family/friends
sponsored by Thistledown Wines, Mclaren Vale
Inspiration For This Recipe
Living in NYC for a number of years, hitting many BBQ joints there and in other parts of America, I became way more interested and marginally more knowledgable than my days burning sausages back in Ireland! Having moved to Australia 5 years ago and now owning 5 BBQ's I would say more than 50% of what we eat is off the BBQ.
Peaches are in season now but truthfully you don't need fresh peaches to make the main component of the dish! But, with that being said summertime just screams out low n slow cooks as the kid plays in the pool and you want to do nothing more than open your favourite bottle of wine and kick back and relax. What better way to do that than a low n slow smoked pork ribs cook?
Bourbon Peach Glaze
It doesn't get any easier or tastier than a bourbon peach sauce! These smoked short ribs are glazed throughout the cook with this beauty and then hit again at the end. Heck, there will prob be enough that you could dunk the ribs into this epic and simple sauce.
Using easy to find ingredients such as tinned peaches (and syrup), honey, ketchup, vinegar, some spices and a bit of bourbon - let's face it every household has a bottle stashed somewhere 😉
Simply blend all the ingredients together and heat in a pan for about 5 minutes until thickened and coats the back of a spoon. Once cooked, leave to cool to room temperature and then store in the fridge.
How To Smoke Pork Ribs
The main part of the dish! Smoking food or looking food low n slow can seem daunting at first but it's surprisingly simple to do (as are most things once you know how!). Follow these simple steps and you will be on your way to nailing some smoked pork ribs.
Setting Up Your BBQ
This is where it starts! Best get this BBQ going so that once you have done the next 2 steps you are on a roll.
Typically you want to smoke food at a temperature of 110-130c. You can run a little hotter if you are in a rush but you won't get the same smoke penetration and the fat won't melt down as quick. The slower you go typically the better it'll be.
Whatever BBQ you use (I'm using my Masterbuilt from Barbeques Galore) you need to smoke on indirect heat. This means not cooking the meat above the coals. Pick your wood that you like to use - for me I'm a cherry or apple fan for pork. Once you are at the correct temperature and your wood is starting to smoke then add the meat (once prepped).
Prepping The Ribs
It starts here! Grab your ribs and tear that membrane off. The membrane is a piece of tissue connected to the pork ribs. You want/need to remove this before smoking pork ribs. It doesn't break down when cooking the ribs and will leave them tough and chewy to eat. Imagine trying to chew on a piece of plastic! More to the point when the membrane is still attached the smoke won't penetrate the meat so you are going to a load of effort to smoke them for nothing!
Do this by sticking a dinner knife/small sharp knife under the membrane (located on the bone side of the ribs) and loosening it. My advice is to grab a piece of kitchen towel and gently pull it all back. If it comes off in one go, pat yourself on the back and crack a beer in celebration 😉
Add Your Favourite Rub
This is really a personal choice. You may have created your won rub using things like garlic powder, paprika, salt/sugar etc or have found your favourite rub from a local butcher/BBQ store.
Recently, I just discovered Teds Dry Rubs - Ted aka Jacob is a Perth based BBQ specialist who, like me is a blow in. Jacob hails from the "great" state of Kentucky where smoking meat is LIFE. The rubs are named after their firstborn Theodore. It's been a 15-year process of trial/error for him to get it to where he is happy and I reckon he is onto a good thing. For this cook I used the original rub as I like the extra sweetness in the peach would shine through so I wanted a little kick of spice.
Read on and make em yourself to see how they turned out!
Cooking The Ribs
You have set up the BBQ, it's smoking away nicely and your meat is looking EPIC. Add the ribs to the BBQ on indirect heat (away from the coals). The next step is kinda simple but hard. Leave it alone! When you are looking you ain't cooking!
Other than spritzing it a couple times - which helps the smoke penetrate the meat you just want to leave it to do its thing. The more you open it you cool the BBQ down but also lose all that smoke.
After 30 minutes then spritz the meat with water, apple juice, a mixture of both or heck maybe even a beer 😉 The spritzing helps the smoke penetrate the meat more. Do this 2 or 3 times and you will build up a nice layer of smoke to your meat.
Wrapping & Glazing
Typically it will take 2-3 hours to smoke pork ribs (depending upon the size) and then you want to wrap them and pop them back on for another hour. Some people don't like to wrap meats as they say it lowers the "bark" the dark rough exterior. If you are in a hurry I wouldn't recommend wrapping your meat but in my opinion, you get a better cook once wrapped. It slows the process down and allows for a perfectly even cook.
Wrap your meat in butcher paper or heavy-duty foil and add any/all combos of brown sugar, honey, butter and/or your favourite BBQ sauce.
After about an hour (slow cooking is never 100% exact on timing) unwrap the meat and start the glazing process. Brush the meat in your favourite BBQ sauce and allow to cook for a further 15 minutes. This allows the glaze to set and become glossy/sticky. You can do it again for another 15 minutes if your ribs aren't cooked and then once again before serving is best.
How Do I Know When My Ribs Are Done
The easiest way to check for doneness on your smoked pork ribs is by using a meat thermometer. Guidelines are 90-93c for doneness but the truth is when slow cooking it comes down to practice and as some say "listening to the meat". This comes with time and practice - knowing when the meat is done by looking and touching. When you see the bones sticking out about 1/4 of the way out you know you are just about done.
Aside from using a meat thermometer you can also try sliding a probe/skewer. If it slides in with no resistance then you are good to go. Another way is to pick the ribs up and as they bend into a U shape they start to tear then you are also ready.
Mythbreaker - the old saying fall off the bone doesn't work here. If they fall off the bone it means you have cooked them too much and they will be mushier.
The best way, to begin with, is to use a probe and then touch/feel the ribs and learn from the correct temperature.
Smoked Pork Ribs Wine Pairing
The best part of the meal! What wine do I crack whilst making the meal and to drink with the meal. For this, I can't recommend the Thistledown Gorgeous range enough. I would crack open the Gorgeous white, to begin with before finishing with the Gorgeous red with the food.
Thistledown wines are a Mclaren based winery, small-batch wines, no cellar door with a great bunch of people involved in the process. From sourcing their grapes from top Mclaren sites to having Giles, a Master of Wine, making their wines to Paddy & Laura in the sales and marketing department it's one winery that I love to work with as the wines are also something else!
100% grenache coming in at just $25 a bottle this is a great expression of Aussie grenache. For me, it's fruit-forward and even though it's 14.5% it's soft and smooth. Red fruits, strawberries, cranberry, some woody notes, vanilla and candied fruit. There are good tannins and a nice length to the wine.
Simply, it's one you need a case fo kicking around the house as it's both a great midweek quaffer but won't let you down poured at the weekend with your wine snob mate from work 😉
Alternative Pork Recipes
Inspired by my smoked pork ribs and want some more pork on your fork? Check out these other recipes on my site to scratch that itch 😉
Happy Cooking & Happy Eating Friends!!
Ingredients
- 2 kg spare ribs 2 x 1kg ribs
- BBQ rub
Glaze
- 400 g tinned peaches
- 150 ml tinned peach liquid
- 100 ml bourbon
- 2 tbsp honey
- 4 tbsp ketchup
- ¼ tsp cayenne
- 100 ml vinegar
Slaw
- 3 carrots
- 150 g red cabbage
- 150 g white cabbage
- 3 peaches
- 2 spring onions
Slaw Dressing
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 3 tbsp lime juice
- 1 tbsp honey
- ½ tsp salt
Essential Tools
- Chef Knives
- Chopping board
- Blender
- saucepan
- BBQ
- basting brush/mop
- measuring/weighing utensils
Instructions
Ribs
- Set your BBQ/smoker to 120c and add your favourite wood chunks – I like peach, cherry or apple
- Remove the membrane from along the back of the spare ribs
- Add your favourite rub to the ribs
- Smoke the ribs for 2 hours (spritzing with water every 30 minutes)
- Remove the ribs from the smoker and wrap in foil adding butter, brown sugar & honey
- Smoke for a further hour
- Remove from the foil and glaze with the bourbon peach glaze every 15 minutes and once again before serving
Glaze
- Blend the peaches with the liquid and place all ingredients into a saucepan
- Cook on low-medium heat for approx. 5 mins or until the glaze has thickened and coats the back of a spoon
- Allow to cool
Slaw
- Whisk all slaw ingredients together and set aside
- Slice the vegetables thinly and place in a bowl
- Once ready to serve drizzle in the dressing and serve (I also like to add a little of the glaze to mine at the end too!)
Notes
Tips/Tricks
- times above are based upon 1kg ribs
- smoking ribs doesn’t always go to exact times. Some people like a little bite to the ribs and others want them to fall off the bone – these were a little in between
- the method is known as 2-2-1 which goes for 2 hours smoked, 2 hours wrapped and 1 hour glazed. I went with 1 hour wrapped as the ribs were a little smaller
- you can choose not to wrap the ribs if you want more bark on the ribs but this typically slows the process down
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