The ultimate barbecued ribs..

[Hector]

I'm trying to find the ultimate seasoning/marinade for southern style barbecued ribs. Do you have any ideas?

[chileheadmike]

I'm trying to find the ultimate seasoning/marinade for southern style barbecued ribs. Do you have any ideas?

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Barbecue has less to do with the rub/marinade than it does with the time/temp in the smoker. You want cook at 225 to 250 for a long time using charcoal and/or wood. I like hickory for ribs but apple works very well too. Spares will take about 6 hours, baby backs 4 or 5.

For my rub, I use a mixture of 1 part kosher salt to 1 part white sugar, add 1/2 part brown sugar, then add chile powder, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, red, white and black pepper, and whatever spices look good.

I peel the membrane from the concave side. Sprinkle generously with rub, wrap and let sit over night in the fridge.

Next morning I fire up the smoker and cook at 250 for about 5-6 hours. They're done when tender but not falling off the bone.

[moosnsqrl]

Mike's general recipe is classic: salt, sugar, brown sugar, a little (or alot) of heat . . .but the rest is SO up to your taste . . . paprika, cumin, black/red pepper, granulated garlic (I don't care for un-garlic but I be 90% of competition bbqers use it), perhaps dried mustard, a celery element - be it salt or seed). Finding "the ultimate" is truly a journey. But it's a fun trip.

The Smoke Ring links to a lot of other forums (fora?) and some of the "masters" have their own sites and forums off of that. It is boundless. That's why you just have to experiment and find your own nirvana.

[joiei]

I'm trying to find the ultimate seasoning/marinade for southern style barbecued ribs. Do you have any ideas?

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depends on what part of the south you are looking at. Each region does it differently. What region of the South are you thinking about? I mean East Carolina is totally different from West Carolina and Tennessee is a whole different beast. Kansas City has their way with the smoker which is different from the Epicenter of Texas bbq, Lockhart. So what is your preference? Now you have a whole new experience in front of you trying to figure out which you prefer. This means you will have to spend a lot of time smoking to different techniques. Maybe you could keep us abreast of your bbq quest.

Edited August 9, 2007 by joiei (log)

[Hector]

depends on what part of the south you are looking at.  Each region does it differently.  What region of the South are you thinking about?  I mean East Carolina is totally different from West Carolina and Tennessee is a whole different beast.  Kansas City has their way with the smoker which is different from the Epicenter of Texas bbq, Lockhart.  So what is your preference?  Now you have a whole new experience in front of you trying to figure out which you prefer.  This means you will have to spend a lot of time smoking to different techniques.  Maybe you could keep us abreast of your bbq quest.

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I'm looking for all sorts, all secret tricks and all great stuff, but I'm mostly familliar to the Tennessee and Texas varietys. So any other stuff is appruciated.