Pork Saint Louis Style Ribs on the Bull

[Greg Jones]

As an introduction, for many, many years I cooked baby back ribs using the 3-2-1 method. Smoker set to 235*, I would flip them every hour, foil them at the four hour mark, then sauce them at the five hour mark. No complaints at all with the results, but then a couple of years ago I met Rodney Scott, BBQ Master. He took me on a tour of his pit room in Charleston, SC and it was amazing! I asked about his entire process, and while he would not share his rub recipe or mop sauce, he did tell me that ribs are pretty simple: spare ribs on at 275* until done (about 5 hours), no flip, no foil, just a mop of sauce about every hour.

Given that info, I changed my approach to ribs. I switched to spare ribs, but I trim them Saint Louis style. I prep them with a yellow mustard binder, and then follow that with my own rub mix which is a combo of salt, pepper, light brown sugar, dark brown sugar, ancho chilid powder, cayenne pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, etc.

I bumped the smoker temp up to 250* and cook until done, and today that was 5-/2 hours. No flip, no wrap, just spritzing them every hour with a 50-50 mix of apple cider vinegar and apple juice. About 30 minutes before done, as an estimate, I mop them with my own peach bourbon BBQ sauce.

 

[Mastertech59]

As an introduction, for many, many years I cooked baby back ribs using the 3-2-1 method. Smoker set to 235*, I would flip them every hour, foil them at the four hour mark, then sauce them at the five hour mark. No complaints at all with the results, but then a couple of years ago I met Rodney Scott, BBQ Master. He took me on a tour of his pit room in Charleston, SC and it was amazing! I asked about his entire process, and while he would not share his rub recipe or mop sauce, he did tell me that ribs are pretty simple: spare ribs on at 275* until done (about 5 hours), no flip, no foil, just a mop of sauce about every hour.

Given that info, I changed my approach to ribs. I switched to spare ribs, but I trim them Saint Louis style. I prep them with a yellow mustard binder, and then follow that with my own rub mix which is a combo of salt, pepper, light brown sugar, dark brown sugar, ancho chilid powder, chenne pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, etc.

I bumped the smoker temp up to 250* and cook until done, and today that was 5-/2 hours. No flip, no wrap, just spritzing them every hour with a 50-50 mix of apple cider vinegar and apple juice. About 30 minutes before done, as an estimate, I mop them with my own peach bourbon BBQ sauce.

I've been doing ribs no wrap for the last year and will never go back to the 3-2-1 wrap method. I only add sauce in the last 1/2 to 1 hour of the cook but will try the Rodney Scott, BBQ Master method on the next rack.

 

[charlesrshell]

As an introduction, for many, many years I cooked baby back ribs using the 3-2-1 method. Smoker set to 235*, I would flip them every hour, foil them at the four hour mark, then sauce them at the five hour mark. No complaints at all with the results, but then a couple of years ago I met Rodney Scott, BBQ Master. He took me on a tour of his pit room in Charleston, SC and it was amazing! I asked about his entire process, and while he would not share his rub recipe or mop sauce, he did tell me that ribs are pretty simple: spare ribs on at 275* until done (about 5 hours), no flip, no foil, just a mop of sauce about every hour.

Given that info, I changed my approach to ribs. I switched to spare ribs, but I trim them Saint Louis style. I prep them with a yellow mustard binder, and then follow that with my own rub mix which is a combo of salt, pepper, light brown sugar, dark brown sugar, ancho chilid powder, cayenne pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, etc.

I bumped the smoker temp up to 250* and cook until done, and today that was 5-/2 hours. No flip, no wrap, just spritzing them every hour with a 50-50 mix of apple cider vinegar and apple juice. About 30 minutes before done, as an estimate, I mop them with my own peach bourbon BBQ sauce.

Look awesome Greg. Were they any good!!! LOL I am sure they ate real good.

 

[Buckeye1]

Thanks for the info Greg

 

[TexasManInCajunLand]

As an introduction, for many, many years I cooked baby back ribs using the 3-2-1 method. Smoker set to 235*, I would flip them every hour, foil them at the four hour mark, then sauce them at the five hour mark. No complaints at all with the results, but then a couple of years ago I met Rodney Scott, BBQ Master. He took me on a tour of his pit room in Charleston, SC and it was amazing! I asked about his entire process, and while he would not share his rub recipe or mop sauce, he did tell me that ribs are pretty simple: spare ribs on at 275* until done (about 5 hours), no flip, no foil, just a mop of sauce about every hour.

Given that info, I changed my approach to ribs. I switched to spare ribs, but I trim them Saint Louis style. I prep them with a yellow mustard binder, and then follow that with my own rub mix which is a combo of salt, pepper, light brown sugar, dark brown sugar, ancho chilid powder, cayenne pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, etc.

I bumped the smoker temp up to 250* and cook until done, and today that was 5-/2 hours. No flip, no wrap, just spritzing them every hour with a 50-50 mix of apple cider vinegar and apple juice. About 30 minutes before done, as an estimate, I mop them with my own peach bourbon BBQ sauce.

SO...what's it gonna take to get that rub & sauce recipe?

 

[Greg Jones]

The rub recipe, I can give you as it pretty much never changes. I use this on everything, and the only thing that does change is if I am not cooking on a smoker, I replace regular Kosher salt with Kosher salt that has been smoked on the Bull. The BBQ sauce is always changing, so it’s rarely the same a second time. I do like to use fruit, various sugars, and heat in my BBQ sauce, so peaches, mangos, Red Clay Hot Honey sauce are a few ingredients that make an appearance in season.

 

[charlesrshell]

The rub recipe, I can give you as it pretty much never changes. I use this on everything, and the only thing that does change is if I am not cooking on a smoker, I replace regular Kosher salt with Kosher salt that has been smoked on the Bull. The BBQ sauce is always changing, so it’s rarely the same a second time. I do like to use fruit, various sugars, and heat in my BBQ sauce, so peaches, mangos, Red Clay Hot Honey sauce are a few ingredients that make an appearance in season.

Thanks @Greg Jones

 

[TexasManInCajunLand]

The rub recipe, I can give you as it pretty much never changes. I use this on everything, and the only thing that does change is if I am not cooking on a smoker, I replace regular Kosher salt with Kosher salt that has been smoked on the Bull. The BBQ sauce is always changing, so it’s rarely the same a second time. I do like to use fruit, various sugars, and heat in my BBQ sauce, so peaches, mangos, Red Clay Hot Honey sauce are a few ingredients that make an appearance in season.

Thanks brutha! I'll definitely put this to good use.

 

[Fhughes]

@Greg Jones personally I love St. Louis style ribs but my wife won’t eat the because of the grease. Does more grease render out at the 250 - 275 temps. Currently I’m cooking at 225

 

[Greg Jones]

@Greg Jones personally I love St. Louis style ribs but my wife won’t eat the because of the grease. Does more grease render out at the 250 - 275 temps. Currently I’m cooking at 225

Good question! I really don’t have an answer for you, but I’m going to speculate and say yes because these are not too fatty. My wife prefers baby backs also, but more so because she likes ribs to fall off the bone. She also dislikes excess fat, and she is fine with how I cook them with this method. Not too fatty, and a little bite (which I like) but not so much that she has to fight to eat them.

 

[Fhughes]

@Greg Jones I’ve done a 2-2-1, 3-2-1 and they always come good so I think it might be a temp issue. I will give it a go with a higher temp and no wrap to see

 

[cookingjnj]

Greg, those ribs look fantastic and I will need to try your rub recipe. I have not wrapped for years. I usually cook at 225 when making ribs. Do you still get good smoke flavor with temp up at 250?

 

[BretM]

As an introduction, for many, many years I cooked baby back ribs using the 3-2-1 method. Smoker set to 235*, I would flip them every hour, foil them at the four hour mark, then sauce them at the five hour mark. No complaints at all with the results, but then a couple of years ago I met Rodney Scott, BBQ Master. He took me on a tour of his pit room in Charleston, SC and it was amazing! I asked about his entire process, and while he would not share his rub recipe or mop sauce, he did tell me that ribs are pretty simple: spare ribs on at 275* until done (about 5 hours), no flip, no foil, just a mop of sauce about every hour.

Given that info, I changed my approach to ribs. I switched to spare ribs, but I trim them Saint Louis style. I prep them with a yellow mustard binder, and then follow that with my own rub mix which is a combo of salt, pepper, light brown sugar, dark brown sugar, ancho chilid powder, cayenne pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, etc.

I bumped the smoker temp up to 250* and cook until done, and today that was 5-/2 hours. No flip, no wrap, just spritzing them every hour with a 50-50 mix of apple cider vinegar and apple juice. About 30 minutes before done, as an estimate, I mop them with my own peach bourbon BBQ sauce.

Rodney's mop is a vinegar base...


His rub
1⁄2 cup Kosher salt
1⁄4 cup MSG
1⁄4 cup ground black pepper
1⁄4 cup sweet paprika
1⁄4 cup chili powder
1⁄4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper

His mop

2 cups distilled white vinegar
1/2 lemon, thinly sliced
1½ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup sugar

https://www.today.com/recipes/rodney-scott-s-famous-carolina-style-ribs-recipe-t188969


** I'm pretty sure he also adds a little ketchup to his mop, so I'm not sure how accurate the one in this link is. I've seen knock-offs elsewhere that add 1/2 cup of ketchup to this.

 

[BethV]

I learned to do ribs the 3-2-1 method and think that they are very good and extremely reliable. No surprises. Friends love them. However, I am feeling like I want to forgo the foil and ride it out naked. In my experience, the lower and slower you cook meats, the more grease will render out. I will try this at 225 and let it go until they pass the bend test. Sauce lightly the last 1/2 hour.

 

[charlesrshell]

I learned to do ribs the 3-2-1 method and think that they are very good and extremely reliable. No surprises. Friends love them. However, I am feeling like I want to forgo the foil and ride it out naked. In my experience, the lower and slower you cook meats, the more grease will render out. I will try this at 225 and let it go until they pass the bend test. Sauce lightly the last 1/2 hour.

How do you perform your rib bend test? Grab the middle or end of the rib rack? How far should the rack bend?

 

[sweetride95]

I have tried the no wrap method, but always fall back into the 3-2-1 method. Wrapping them seems to help me dial in on a finish time.
Unwrapped, I seem to always "need a few more minutes.." when the wife is hungry and getting T-rex on me. lol
I will say, the texture of no wrap ribs are a little bit better, the few times I nailed them.

 

[Greg Jones]

Greg, those ribs look fantastic and I will need to try your rub recipe. I have not wrapped for years. I usually cook at 225 when making ribs. Do you still get good smoke flavor with temp up at 250?

I’m using a smoke tube and yesterday I also tried the trick of putting some wood on top of the diffuser, so yes, I’m happy with the amount of smoke flavor I get. I was surprised that the wood on the diffuser was really not effective. The wood was scorched, but still intact, so after nearly 6 hours I don’t know that it added much smoke to the cook.

 

[BethV]

How do you perform your rib bend test? Grab the middle or end of the rib rack? How far should the rack bend?

Middle. I do it before saucing. The ribs should bend evenly on both sides. The top of the ribs should look like it's slightly splitting (you will see it in on the meat). It won't split through...just starting. Then it's done and ready to sauce if you want. I never go by temps on ribs. I don't use a probe on ribs either (unless they are beef).

 

[charlesrshell]

Middle. I do it before saucing. The ribs should bend evenly on both sides. The top of the ribs should look like it's slightly splitting (you will see it in on the meat). It won't split through...just starting. Then it's done and ready to sauce if you want. I never go by temps on ribs. I don't use a probe on ribs either (unless they are beef).

Thanks @BethV.

 

[dreammachine]

I do the "3-2-1" Johnny Triggs Method, except I do them naked for 3 hours, then wrap them after 2 hours and then after they cook for the two hours and I take them off the Bull and allow them to rest for the last hour and they are delicious and so tender. They are also rich and sweet, due to the honey, brown sugar, and butter, but they are by far the Best St. Louis Style Ribs I have ever cooked before.