Pork ribs are the holy grail, the recipe that all backyarders want to master. Here’s how.
The ribs that win championships are a mélange of flavors: a complex spice rub, roast porcine richness, silky mouthfeel, firm bark, springy texture, succulent juiciness, and tangy sweet sauce, all underpinned by elegant hardwood smoke. Their scent clings to your fingers for hours.
With this recipe, you will make ribs good enough to bring home a trophy in a cook-off. In fact, many of my readers have done exactly that.
Below the sauce, the surface of the meat should have a crusty bark, a little crunchy and a little chewy. The meat in the center should be tender, yet still retain resistance when you bite into it, like a steak. It should pull off the bone cleanly and with little effort, leaving behind bare bone, but it should not fall off the bone. If it does, chances are it has been boiled or steamed, and that robs the meat of the natural pork essence.
