Meathead’s Last Meal Ribs Recipe

About the ribs. The jargon butchers use to name different rib cuts can be confusing. Baby backs lie near the spine. Spareribs attach to them and run all the way down to the chest. St. Louis Cut Ribs are the meatiest and most flavorful ribs. They are spareribs with the tips removed so they form a nice rectangular rack. I sometimes call the “center cut ribs”. You can use Baby Back Ribs for this recipe if you prefer. They are a bit leaner, smaller, and cook faster. Country ribs are really not ribs, they are chops and should be cooked very differently, so don’t use them for this recipe. For more on the different cuts of ribs, click here.

About the salt: Remember, kosher salt is half the concentration of table salt so if you use table salt, use half as much. Click here to read more about salt and how it works.

Also. 8 ounces by weight of hardwood chunks, chips, or pellets. It doesn’t matter how many slabs you are cooking, 8 ounces should be enough. You don’t have to be precise, just measure it in some fashion so you have a baseline for your next cook. Then you can add or subtract if you wish. I prefer chunks of apple, oak, or hickory for pork. Never use any kind of pine unless you want meat that tastes like turpentine. Never use construction lumber because it is often treated with poisonous chemicals to discourage rot and termites. You do not need to soak the wood because wood does not absorb much water. That’s why they make boats with it. Click the link to read more about wood and the myth of soaking wood.