Smoked Pork Country Style Ribs

Step 1

Remove the country style ribs from the package and rinse them under cold water.

Step 2

Pat them dry with a paper towel and lay them on the cutting board or in a large pan to contain the mess you’ll make by seasoning them ?

Step 3

It’s pork.. very good pork, I might add and as most of you know, that calls for a nice sticky base of yellow mustard to help the rub to stick to the meat.

Step 4

Go ahead and be generous.. it won’t taste like mustard and it won’t be yellow when it’s all said and done.

Step 5

Rub it all over with you hands or if you’re squeamish, I suppose you could use a basting brush.

Step 6

As long as the mustard is completely covering the meat, doesn’t matter how it gets there (within reason of course).

Step 7

Sprinkle my Jeff's original rub (purchase recipes here) onto the meat and make sure you have full coverage on all sides.

Step 8

I like to rub it in a little so it turns into a paste with the mustard.

Step 9

If you have Bradley racks like I do, lay them on the rack with just a slight bit of space between each one to allow the smoke to get in there a little bit. Cooling racks also work well.

Step 10

I usually leave as much room as possible but I had other things to cook and so I had to give them a little less breathing room than usual.

Step 11

Light up your smoker whether that means actually lighting the fire or just plugging it in and dialing in some settings. Do what it takes to get your smoker going at about 225°F.

Step 12

Make sure the heat is indirect and use the water pan if your smoker has one.

Step 13

I recommend a mix of mesquite and cherry wood for smoke if you can find it. If not, just use one of your other favorites that you have available.

Step 14

Once the smoker is ready, place the pork country style ribs directly on the grate or use the Bradley rack (described above) directly on the smoker grate.

Step 15

Keep the heat at about 225°F if possible.

Step 16

Keep the smoke going for at least 2 hours but longer is fine and even recommended as long as the smoke is nice and thin.

Step 17

If you have a digital meat thermometer such as the Maverick ET-733 or the Maverick ET-735 (new bluetooth model), place the probe so that the end is about in the center of one of the ribs.

Step 18

You can also use the super fast Thermapen to get a quick check on the temperature when you are adding wood or some other task that requires you to have the door open.

Step 19

Temperature of the meat when it goes into the smoker

Step 20

How often you open the smoker door

Step 21

How well you or the smoker maintains the set temperature

Step 22

Wind, rain, ambient temperature, etc.

Step 23

When the meat gets about 30 minutes away from being done, you can sauce them up if you want. I like sauce on these but they are also very good with just the dry rub.

Step 24

Another option is to put them into a foil pan, covered with foil once they reach about 150-160°F to help them get done faster and to help them end up more tender.

Step 25

They are done and tender at 180-185°F.

Step 26

You do not have to let these rest for a few minutes but in my opinion, about 10 minutes of rest time before serving does them good.