Brined & Smoked Baby Back Ribs Smoked on a Gas Grill, Recipe

 

Ingredients:

1 Rack Baby Back Ribs

 

Brine:

6 cups warm water
3/4 cup salt
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup Apple Cider
4 Tbs. Black Pepper

2 Trays of ice, for cooling the brine

 

Wood for Smoking: Hickory Wood Chunks, soaked 1 or 2 hours in advance.

 

Instructions:

  1. Heat all brine ingredients except ice in a pot and mix thoroughly.
  2. Remove from heat and add ice to start cooling the brine.
  3. Remove any major top side fat or silver skin from the ribs, cut off with a filet knife.
  4. Remove membrane from the back of the ribs, by getting a knife under the fat layer and pulling with a paper towel, to improve grip.
  5. Once brine is at room temperature.  Place the ribs into a brining bag.
  6. Carefully add the brine solution into the bag and fully cover the ribs, then remove excess air and seal the bag.
  7. Place the brining bag into a pan and place in the refrigerator and allow the ribs to brine for about 4 hours.
  8. Remove the ribs from the brine and pat exterior dry with paper towels, but don’t squeeze the moisture out of them while drying the exterior.
  9. Cover ribs with a light coat of yellow mustard.
  10. Cover with Rub of choice.
  11. Cook in grill with soaked Hickory Wood Chunks, at 225° F. for 3 hours.
  12. Wrap in foil and add 1 cup apple juice to each slab, and cook still at 225° F for 2 hours.  (Adding apple juice is optional, since the ribs will still be moist from brining.)
  13. Remove from foil and cook for 1 hour, still at 225° F. (Anyone wanting sauce cooked in, would apply sauce here.)
  14. If the meat is not at or over 160° F internal meat temp.  Cook for 30 additional minutes at 300° F.
  15. Ensure the meat temperature is at least 160° F.  If still not at or above 160° meat temp, cook at a higher temp of between 325° – 375° F., to reach 160° F internal meat temperature.
  16. Visually, the meat should have pulled back from the bone some, check the underside of the ribs.  But testing the meat temperature is the safest method.
  17. Enjoy!