Brine, baby, Brine

Smoked Ribs make my top five list of favorite things.  This isn’t the first time I’ve done them on my smoker either.  The butcher I go to always has really meaty loin back ribs.  They are essentially the same cut as baby back ribs just all grown up (literally).  More meat, not quite as tender.  The ones I get typically weight about 2-2.5 pounds per rack. 

I’m a big fan of Memphis style BBQ so the first couple of times I used a dry rub.  What I have discovered though is that my smoker won’t do Memphis style right.  I can’t keep opening the smoker to baste and do a wet style, and it’s a wet smoker, so I can’t do a straight dry rub because the humidity is too high.

Besides I like the taste of the pork and all that spice rub and sauce tend to overpower the yummy “porkness” of the ribs.  Maybe if you’re a pro you can balance all three, but I’m not a pro, oh and I like the way the pork tastes on its own.

So instead of a dry rub I though I’d try a seasoning method that works with my cooker.

Brining.

I soaked the ribs in a mixture of salt, brown sugar, and sliced apples for about 6 hours.  I then rinsed them off, patted them dry and smoked them with apple wood chucks for just under 3 hours at 225.

I almost got too much salt in the brine, but they were still the best ribs I’ve ever had.  Next time I’ll use less salt and maybe even apple juice instead of water…