Favorite rib sauces/glazes and methods?

[Bunji]

I picked up a pack of 3 racks of pork spare ribs at Costco today with the intention of doing them up tomorrow on the 32. I haven’t made ribs before, and since it’ll just be me eating these (and then packing/freezing the leftovers for later) if love to try a few different glazes on them. If you’ve got a go-to or recommendation, put it here!

Method-wise I was thinking of doing around 250 and skipping the foil-wrap so often used with other cookers, as I believe I have read here that that step isn’t needed due to the moist environment in a KK. I may spritz with cider vinegar and water if they look like they’re drying out, but otherwise would probably just apply some sauce near the end of the cook to tack up a bit. Certainly open to the wisdom of experience from the smart folks here though if that method needs to change in any major way.

[5698k]

I just do mine at 250° all the way through, no peeking, no spritz. If you want sauce, I like putting sauce on a piece of foil, and wrapping the ribs, once they’re done, meat side down in the sauce and resting that way for an hour ish. St. Louis ribs take 4-5 hrs this way, it depends on how meaty they are, and how you like your ribs.


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[C6Bill]

I go around 250 and will spritz two or three hours in and rearrange them to make sure they are cooking even. And i do wrap for the last hour in foil with honey, butter, brown sugar and a little spritz of red wine vinegar. I've switched from apple cider to red wine vinegar. The length of the cook depends on the size of the racks, i like to cook 3 pound + racks of baby backs so it can take me up to 6 hours.

[Bunji]

Thanks gentlemen! I just got three racks on, right around 250 with aluminum foil along the lower rack with apple pellets in the cold smoker. Praying the last of my charcoal bag burns long enough to cook these guys.

Because I started so late (couldn’t find a parking spot at the hardware store to buy more coal, then decided my cold smoker needed a clean before using again) I didn’t make my rubs, instead just using some premade things I had on hand. On the right in the photo is a jerk seasoning with olive oil, in the middle is some Meat Church Texas Sugar also with olive oil, and then on the left is some Japanese curry powder with Kewpie mayo as the binder. That one I’ll probably mop some bachan’s sauce on at the end. 

[Bunji]

A little over 2 hours in, ribs are sitting around 165-170. Just cracked the lid to rearrange them a little bit. I’m starting to get a little bit of pullback in a couple places, but they still look very moist, without much of a bark forming.

 

[tony b]

Will be interested to hear how you liked them afterwards. 

I'm a dry rub only guy for ribs. Yellow mustard slather. I like Dizzy Pig Dizzy Dust. No foil, no spritz.

Are you familiar with the "bend test " to check for doneness on ribs? Pick up the rack with tongs perpendicular to the bones about 1/2 way in the rack. If the meat cracks slightly at the end of the tongs, they're done.

[Bunji]

11 minutes ago, tony b said:

Will be interested to hear how you liked them afterwards. 

I'm a dry rub only guy for ribs. Yellow mustard slather. I like Dizzy Pig Dizzy Dust. No foil, no spritz.

Are you familiar with the "bend test " to check for doneness on ribs? Pick up the rack with tongs perpendicular to the bones about 1/2 way in the rack. If the meat cracks slightly at the end of the tongs, they're done.

I had picked that test up from a previous thread here, definitely planning to use that to decide when they’re ready to pull. 
 

I think I’m going to compromise slightly and go no spritz but a light baste with sauce near the end of the cook to give a little bit of a glaze. Mainly because I found some sauces I forgot I had that will hopefully go well with the jerk and the curry powder slabs once mixed with a bit of butter and sugar

 

edit: I really need to make it over to Dizzy Pig HQ, it’s pretty close to me. I haven’t heard a bad word about their products yet.

Edited July 4, 2023 by Bunji

[tony b]

I seem to recall them closing their brick & mortar store. Check before traveling. 

Big fan of their rubs! I have a bunch in my pantry.

[MacKenzie]

I always do a dry rub, no spritzing, no foil. and no peeking until about the 5 hour mark and then it's just a quick peek to check the pull back. KK is at 250F.

[BARDSLJR]

I would second Tony B on the DIzzy Pig Dizzy Dust. I lay my ribs out after unpacking them, pat them dry with a paper towel, and season evenly and generously with Dizzy Dust. I used to give the Dizzy Dust about an hour before cooking to really sink into the meat, and this is probably preferred, but you can also spritz the ribs with a spray of liquid over the dry rub and achieve the same effect.

[Tucker]

I enjoy using just olive oil, salt & pepper on spareribs.
250f, bone side down for 2 hours w/ smoke.
wrap in foil, meat side down, back on for 2.5 hours.

the porky goodness shines and the meat is very tender.

[EGGARY]

MAPLE BOURBON GLAZE

 

Susie Bulloch (heygrillhey.com)

 

This Maple Bourbon Glaze is a sweet and sticky glaze that is perfect on ribs, chicken, and so much more. It's a delicious and beautiful way to finish up any of your BBQ.

 

5 from 8 votes

 

PREP TIME : 5 mins

COOK TIME : 30 mins

TOTAL TIME : 35 mins

SERVINGS : 8

CALORIES : 124kcal

 

Print RecipeSave to Pinterest

 

 

 

Tropicana® Zero Sugar

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INGREDIENTS

 

 

• ▢ ½ cup maple syrup
• ▢ ½ cup bourbon
• ▢ ¼ cup ketchup
• ▢ ¼ cup brown sugar
• ▢ 4 teaspoons Hey Grill Hey Sweet Rub
• ▢ 4 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

 

 

INSTRUCTIONS

 

• Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. 
• Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15-20 mins until the glaze reaches a syrupy consistency.
• Use right away or store in a glass jar. Will last at least 2 weeks tightly sealed in the refrigerator. 

 

 

[Tyrus]

Great sauce Eggary, only thing I would add to the ingredients might be some butter, it has a sweet complexion but the butter adds a bit of richness to it. Thanks

[djami]

Bunji,  per your initial July 3d posting, you mentioned you bought a big 3-pack of Costco ribs ... and mentioned you would freeze the left over ribs.  In my opinion ... only my opinion, you might as well feed the left overs to your parakeet than freeze them🙂 Just kidding.  Seriously, many people freeze a lot of cooked food, but that stuff never tastes good after freezing.  We occasionally have leftovers and put them in either glass or plastic storage bowls and place them in the refrigerator. 

In fact, many times the refrigerated BBQ takes on a more enhanced taste after sitting in the frig for a day or two.  Then we nuk 'em for 30-45 seconds just to warm things up and get the juices flowing again.  Guess the flavors permeate somewhat in the frig which adds another level of flavor to your BBQ.  Guessing this is like a post-BBQ marinade. 

Costco sells smaller packs of ribs ya know.  I usually buy the two-pack.

          djami

 

 

 

 

[jeffshoaf]

1 hour ago, djami said:

.  Seriously, many people freeze a lot of cooked food, but that stuff never tastes good after freezing.

I think the issue with frozen cooked food is that you muck the flavor up by cooking it more while reheating. I've not done it with ribs, but I've found using sous vide to reheat chicken, pulled pork, and brisket works well since you can keep the temperature low enough to not overcook the meat and the sealed environment in the bag helps retain moisture - plus you can thaw at the same time, especially if vacuum packed for freezing. Works for grilled hamburgers too.

Reheating frozen cooked meat is one of the few things I've done via sous vide that I liked. I have three devices that can do sous vide; I'm glad two of them ( Instant Pot and Vermicular Musui-Kamada) are multinational of they'd never get used!

[Tyrus]

How about opening the frig door and grabbing a couple of ribs and eating them cold. Nothing like a sweet cold rib or wing for that matter. Saves time and electricity. 

[djami]

jefshoaf & Tyrus -- thanks for your comments   -- djami

[C6Bill]

I'm with @jeffshoaf on this one, while i do like a cold rib or chicken i do vac seal and reheat chicken, pork and brisket. I don't have any sous vide devices but i do take a pot of water and get it to 135 degrees and just sit the bags in there until it is ready to eat again. So to sum it up, i don't care of it is hot, cold or frozen, i'll still eat it and like it lol

 

Except the last brisket i cooked, that wasn't good no matter what temp 👹 The guests thought it was good but i know better.

[Bunji]

Yep, vac seal, freeze, and sous vide is what I did. Makes for a great and super convenient lunch. I’m not sure what the reason was but I ate the first of the frozen portions last week and I think I might have even preferred it to the fresh ones! The meat had a bit more “bite” to it that I really enjoyed.

[Tyrus]

On 7/31/2023 at 11:28 AM, C6Bill said:

Except the last brisket i cooked, that wasn't good no matter what temp 

Recently I finished a brisket on my offset, a 13lber with a rack of ribs. The remnants or at least a good portion went into a chilli, just saying there may be an afterlife for a brisket that got away. It blended in well with all the hamburg, boy that was a lot of chilli 1 1/2 gal.