Lemon Pepper Seasoning
There are 2 options:
- Use a pre-made, commercial rub (no salt – since we’re brining) or use 1 with salt and don’t brine.
- Make your own.
I’m personally partial to making my own lemon pepper seasoning.
If you want to make your own:
- 6 – 8 Lemons (enough for 1/2 cup of lemon zest)
- 2 tbsp Black Pepper (16 mesh black pepper or freshly cracked peppercorns).
- 2 tsp Garlic Powder
- 2 tsp Onion Powder
Dehydrate the lemon zest, or in your oven at the lowest temperature setting.
You then want to use a grinder or a pestle and mortar to crush fresh peppercorns.
Then combine all the ingredients together.
Preparing the Ribs and Brining
Take ribs out of packaging and pat dry. Remove membrane or score it.
To make the brine:
- 1 Gallon of Water
- 1 Cup of White Sugar
- 1 Cup of Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt
The next day, rinse the ribs in your sink and then liberally apply your lemon pepper dry rub:
Get Your Smoker to 225-275F
Put the ribs on the smoker and add a chunk of your favorite hardwood; I used cherry.
Adding More Wood Chunks and Water to the Water Pan
Every 45-60 minutes I added a chunk of pecan and a chunk of cherry wood to the lit coals.
Every 2 hours I refilled my water pan.
Waiting to Wrap the Ribs
All I really care about is waiting for the color to “change” on the exterior of the ribs and for the bark to be set.
With your finger, you can “dab” the surface of the ribs; If there is Lemon pepper seasoning on your finger, the bark isn’t set and needs to continue smoking unwrapped.
Here’s the ribs after 4 hours:
For the sake of this article, I took an internal temperature and it was 181F when I wrapped.
Wrapping the Ribs
Wrap the ribs in foil or butcher paper.
Return to the smoker.
Checking Ribs for Tenderness
The main thing I use to check for doneness is the feel of the ribs in the paper.
I’m bending them in the paper and if they are bending at a 45 degree angle, they’re done.
Here’s an example from my article on bend testing ribs:
If you want them to fall off the bone, leave wrapped until the internal temperature is 212F+.
Rest for 15 Minutes and then Slice
All we’re doing now is resting the ribs for 15 minutes so that you can actually pick up the bones.
After resting, flip them over so they’re meat side down and slice between the ribs.
Then enjoy!
Lemon Pepper Baby Back Ribs
Ingredients
- 1 Rack Baby Back Ribs
Lemon Pepper Seasoning
- 1/2 cup Lemon zest
- 2 tbsp Freshly cracked black peppercorns
- 2 tsp Garlic powder
- 2 tsp Onion powder
Brine
- 1 Gallon Water
- 1 cup Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt
- 1 cup White Sugar
Instructions
Brining Ribs
- I wet brined these ribs the day before. If you prefer not to, simply apply kosher salt the day before and dry brine overnight.
- To brine, add a gallon of water to a container and add 1 cup of Diamond Crystal kosher salt and 1 cup of white sugar to the container. Then mix the soluble ingredients until they're well combined.
- Submerge the ribs in this brine overnight.
Lemon Pepper Seasoning
- I make my own lemon pepper seasoning but if you prefer to use a commercial lemon pepper seasoning, by all means.
- Start by zesting 6-8 lemons until you have 1/2 of lemon zest. Then dehydrate this in a dehydrator or in your oven at the lowest temperature setting.
- With a grinder or pestle and mortar, grind up black peppercorns until you have 2 tablespoons.
- Combine the dehydrated lemon zest, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder in the specified quantities above.
Smoking the Ribs
- Get your smoker to somewhere between 225 – 275F.
- Remove membrane from the ribs.
- Apply lemon pepper rub to the ribs and then place on your smoker. Add a chunk of pecan and cherry or your preferred hardwood. I also used a water pan so I added some water to the reservoir.Add new wood chunks every 45-60 minutes and replace water in water pan every 2 hours.
- Wait for the bark to set or until you're happy with the exterior. Simply take your finger and dab the bark of the ribs. If the rub sticks to your finger, they need to go longer. For me, this took 3 hours and 37 minutes.
- Wrap the ribs in either foil or butcher paper and return to the smoker.
- I prefer to use the bend test to determine when the ribs are done (read above to see what I mean). That's usually between 195-203F internal. If you prefer fall off the bone ribs, go to around 212F internal.
- Once they're done, rest for 15 minutes.
- Once rested, flip the ribs over so that the meat side is down and then slice between the ribs and then enjoy!
2 comments
Dane M
I’ve never brined ribs before but the texture is great. The meat is salty but not too salty, and lemon pepper was the perfect compliment. If anyone’s a fan of sauce, pair this with a lemon pepper sauce and you’re in for a treat (I used Bdubs).
Dylan Clay
Happy to help Dane!