Kansas City Sticky Ribs

 

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons paprika   2 tablespoons light brown sugar   1 tablespoon ground black pepper   1 tablespoon table salt   1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper   2 full racks pork spareribs , preferably St. Louis cut, trimmed of any large pieces of excess fat, membrane removed, and patted dry  2 cups wood chips   2 cups barbecue sauce (see recipe below or bottled BBQ sauce may be used)

Directions:

Combine paprika, sugar, pepper, salt, and cayenne in small bowl. Massage spice rub into both sides of rib racks.

Soak wood chips in bowl of water for 15 minutes; place in small disposable aluminum pan. Place pan directly on primary burner of gas grill, turn all burners to high, and preheat with lid down until chips are smoking heavily, about 15 minutes. Turn primary burner to medium and shut off other burners, adjusting temperature of primary burner as needed to maintain average temperature of 275 degrees. Position ribs over cool part of grill.

Place sheet of aluminum foil directly on top of ribs (see photo 2) and cover grill. Barbecue 3 hours, turning and rotating ribs after each hour.

Brush ribs liberally on both sides with sauce, wrap tightly with foil (see photo 3), and barbecue until very tender, about 1 hour longer.

Transfer ribs (still in foil) to cutting board and rest 30 minutes. Unwrap ribs and brush with additional barbecue sauce. Slice ribs between bones and serve with remaining sauce.

To Finish in the Oven:In step 3, after two hours, wrap ribs tightly in foil, place on baking sheet, and bake in 250-degree oven for 1 hour. Remove from oven, brush both sides with barbecue sauce, rewrap with foil, and bake until very tender, about 1 hour longer. Proceed as directed in step 5

 

Yields

6-8

Kansas City BBQ Sauce Makes about 4 cups 2 teaspoons vegetable oil 1 onion, minced 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth 1 cup root beer 1 cup cider vinegar 1 cup dark corn syrup 1/2 cup molasses 1/2 cup tomato paste 1/2 cup ketchup 2 tablespoons brown mustard 1 tablespoon hot sauce 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 1/4 teaspoon liquid smoke (optional) Heat oil in saucepan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Whisk in remaining ingredients, except for liquid smoke, and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until mixture is thick and has reduced to 4 cups, about 1 hour. Stir in liquid smoke, if using. (Sauce can be refrigerated in airtight container for up to 1 week.)