Direct Heat BBQ Spare Ribs Recipe

Prepping the Spare Ribs

All I did was removed the chine bone and large pockets of fat.

You could opt to trim to a St. Louis cut but that’s totally optional.

Membrane removal also isn’t necessary with direct heat BBQ as it will crisp up nicely.

Brine the Ribs a Day in Advance

Since we’re cooking directly over fire, the extra water will further help keep these moist; Wet brining also just perfectly seasons meat.

The technical way to do this is weigh your water and then multiply that by 0.05 to get your salt – this would get you a 5% salt solution.

INSTEAD: Take 1 gallon of water – 16 cups (3785 grams) and add it to a non-reactive container – this should be tall enough to submerge your Ribs.

Then add 3/4 cup of Diamond crystal kosher salt (this is ~189.25g or 5% salinity).

If all you have is Morton’s Kosher salt, use 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp because the density is double that of Diamond Crystal.

Dry Rub for Ribs

The next day, combine:

• 1 tbsp 16 mesh black pepper
• 1 tsp granulated garlic

Use this on both the meat and bone side of the ribs.

Remember, we don’t need salt.

Adding salt now will over-season the ribs and make them quite salty.

Setup Grill for Direct Heat BBQ (~300-325F)

I used roughly 1/5 chimney of lit charcoal, spread out below the ribs for 300-325F.

The idea here is to elevate the meat above the hot coals so that the meat doesn’t burn. The meat drippings then hit the coals, which creates a vapor that condenses on the meat.

Once at temperature, put ribs on the grill, meat side down.

If the temperature spikes above 325F, spray the fire with some water or pat it down or remove some of the lit coals.

Flipping Every Hour

Your cook will look like this:

• Meat side down 1 hour (like above)
• Flip, bone side down 1 hour
• Flip, meat side down 1 hour (see note below)
• Flip, Bone side down till done

Note: After the third flip, if you see any spots on the meat side that need more love, angle the ribs so that this spot is directly over the hottest spot on the fire.

Check every ~10 minutes for color. The crust should look similar to how a steak looks when you sear it – a darker brown hue.

Once you’re happy, cook bone side down until they’re done.

Tenderness Checking Ribs

Do a few checks:

• Bend the ribs at about the 5th rib, if they bend at a 45 degree angle, they’re done.
• Tear a rib near a bone, if the bone is white and the meat pulls cleanly away, they’re done.
• Ribs should be 195-205F internal when tender.
• Push your finger between a bone and into the meat. If you can push cleanly through, they’re done.

Glaze with a Simple Syrup and then Wrap to Rest

In a pot over medium-low heat combine:

• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2-3 tbsp of fruit preserves or jam (I used apricot)

Do not bring this mixture to a boil.

Use a whisk to ensure the sugar dissolves and the fruit preserves are well combined.

Once combined, strain pulp with a mesh sieve.

Squirt a liberal amount of this onto the meat side of the ribs. Then wrap in aluminum foil to rest for ~30 minutes.

Then take out of the wrap and slice between the bones and enjoy!