I haven't made Baby Back ribs in a long time. Knee replacement and the virus scare kept me from doing a lot of BBQ. But we needed a change from the same things we have been eating for months now... so it was time for a competition of ribs!
One rack of ribs had my fishing buddy Jim's secret "Chinese Ribs" sauce on it and the other two racks had Costco's Flavor Connection rub that was modified with added Cayenne Pepper for a bit of kick to it.
(The photo of the ribs on the smoker is just as I put it on there... it's not cooked yet.)
I will say that my buddy's secret sauce once again wins! Every time we do this challenge, his ribs always wins! It is more sweet than the rub (to be expected) but it has a flavor that just works. Others who have tried this with us in the past always say they like his better too. Sorry, can't share his recipe with you as I'm sworn to secrecy, but it's really easy.
Smoked on the Weber Smokey Mountain smoker (22.5" version this time), all three racks fit on the top grate of the smoker. Smoked at 240 degree for 2.5 hours and then placed in a disposable aluminum pan with a little bit of apple juice to help steam it a bit and covered with aluminum foil. I added Pappy's Smokehouse (from St. Louis) - Jane's Sweet BBQ Sauce to the rubbed ribs and a bit more of Jim's secret sauce to his ribs. I cooked them for another 1.5 hours at 285 degrees.
Overall, both ribs came out great, but Jim's still wins. The ribs were not fall off the bone, but still retained a "bite" to them... this is how I like them. Total disintegration is never my goal for BBQ. Often, you need to put the ribs back on the grate for a short time to "tighten" them up, but it didn't need it this time.
Congrats once again to my buddy Jim for having a sauce and always winning our taste competition!
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