Last-Meal Ribs

This recipe needed a name when I first published it on AmazingRibs.com, and Doug and Trudy Calvin of Palm Springs, California, provided it. Doug wrote, “I fixed ribs yesterday by following your recipe. My girlfriend made me promise that, for her last meal on this planet, I would fix the same ribs.”

Makes 2 servings

Takes 15 minutes for trimming, about 2 hours for dry brining, about 5 minutes for rubbing; cooking time is 5 to 6 hours for spareribs or center-cut ribs, 3 to 4 hours for back ribs; if you use rib holders so they are crammed close to each other, add another hour

1. Prep. Remove the membrane (see page 208). Rinse the ribs in cool water to remove any bone bits from butchering. Salt the meat, using ½ teaspoon per pound. If time permits, get the salt on 1 to 2 hours before cooking.

2. Sprinkle the Meathead’s Memphis Dust right on the meat, or help it stick by first moistening the meat with a little water or a slather of mustard, ketchup, or cooking oil. Sprinkle enough rub to coat all surfaces but not so much that the meat doesn’t show through—about 2 tablespoons per side, depending on the size of the slab. Rub it in.

3. Fire up. Set up the grill for two-zone smoking or fire up the smoker and preheat to about 225°F.

4. Cook. Add 4 ounces of wood, add the meat, and close the lid. When the smoke dwindles after 20 to 30 minutes, add a little more wood. That’s it. Leave the slab meat side up. There is no need to flip it. If you have more than one slab on the grill, halfway through cooking, move the ribs that are closest to the fire away from the heat, and the slabs that are farthest from the fire closer to it.

5. This is one of the few meats for which using a digital instant-read thermometer is not very helpful. The bones and the thin meat make it hard to get an accurate reading. Instead, use the bend test to see if they are ready. Pick up the slab with tongs in the center and bounce it gently. If the surface cracks, the ribs are ready.

6. Now it is sauce time. Or not. Taste them without. Sauceless ribs, with rub only, are a thing in Memphis, Tennessee. It shows you have confidence in the meat. But let’s be honest: A glistening coat of sweet and tart sauce is mighty nice. But not too much. Here’s a rule of thumb: A full slab of spareribs with the tips still on will need at least ¾ cup of a thick sauce for both sides, a slab of St. Louis–cut ribs will need ½ cup, and a slab of baby back ribs will need ⅓ cup. But don’t forget that you will want to have another ½ cup or so in a bowl on the table for folks who want more.

7. Finally, sizzle the sauce by heating the sauced ribs on a hot grill or under the indoor broiler for just a few minutes. This caramelizes the sugars and alters the chemistry for the better. Watch the sauce very carefully because it can go from caramelized to carbonized in a hurry.

8. Serve. Be ready to take a bow when the applause swells from the audience.