Low and slow St. Louis style ribs, rubbed with brown sugar and spice, then finished with a sticky honey bourbon glaze. This is the kind of recipe that turns a long weekend into an event. Simple ingredients, big payoff.
Servings: 4
Smoker Temp: 225°F
Smoke Time: about 6 hours total (3 hours unwrapped, 1.5 hours wrapped, 30 minutes glazing)
Ingredients
- 2 racks St. Louis style pork ribs
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp kosher salt
- 1 tbsp black pepper, freshly ground
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 2 tbsp yellow mustard, for binder
- 1 cup apple juice, for spritzing
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/4 cup bourbon
- 4 tbsp butter
- 1 cup your favorite BBQ sauce
- Apple or cherry wood chunks
Instructions
- Prep the ribs. Remove the membrane from the back of each rack. Pat dry, then rub a thin layer of mustard all over both sides as a binder.
- Season generously. Mix the brown sugar, paprika, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and cayenne in a bowl. Coat the ribs heavily on all sides, pressing it in. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes while you fire up the smoker.
- Get the smoker ready. Load your wood chunks into the smoker and preheat to 225°F.
- Smoke, phase one. Place ribs bone side down. Smoke undisturbed for 3 hours, letting the bark set.
- Spritz and continue. Spritz the ribs with apple juice every 45 minutes to keep them moist. Keep smoking until they hit a deep mahogany color and pull back from the bone about a quarter inch, roughly 2 more hours.
- Wrap with the sweet stuff. Lay out foil, add the butter and 2 tbsp honey. Place ribs meat side down, wrap tightly, and return to the smoker for about 1.5 hours to braise in their own steam.
- Make the glaze. While the ribs braise, simmer the remaining honey, bourbon, and BBQ sauce in a small pot until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.
- Unwrap and glaze. Carefully unwrap the ribs, brush generously with the glaze, and return to the smoker unwrapped for 30 minutes to set the glaze.
- Rest and slice. Pull the ribs, tent loosely with foil, and let rest 10 minutes before slicing between the bones.
Notes: For a hotter, stickier glaze finish, uncover the last 20 minutes on a slightly higher rack. Wood choice matters here: apple and cherry both play nicely with the brown sugar rub.
