3 Hour St. Louis Ribs

“When I first stated cooking ribs decades ago, I fell into the easy-to-remember and fun-to-say trap of what is known as the “3-2-1 Method”. Quickly I realized there must be a better way. After years of experimentation and what I thought were good results, it wasn’t until a few years ago when I competed in Australia’s largest BBQ competition “Meat Stock” with my friend’s BadAss BBQ that I learned a smoke and glaze warp method that produced my best results to date in half the time. Enjoy!”

- Chef Eric Gephart

3 Hour St Louis Style Ribs 101

What you’ll need:

  • 1 Cheshire Pork St Louis Style Rib Rack

  • 2 Tsp Salt, Kosher

  • 2 Tbsp Lane’s BBQ Sweet Heat Rub

  • 2 Chunks Smoking Wood (I used Hickory)

  • 2 Long Sheets Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil

  • 2 Tbsp Dijon Mustard

  • 2 Tbsp Honey or Agave syrup

  • 2 Tbsp Sugar in the Raw

  • 5 Pads Unsalted Butter, Cut ⅛ Inch thick

  • 2 Tsp BBQ Rub

Method:

  1. Stabilize your grill at 300F.

  2. Peel the silver skin off the back side of the ribs and trim any meat or fat that is hanging off the rack. Season both sides, first with salt then with the Lane’s BBQ seasoning. Allow to rest for 30 minutes.

  3. Place the wood chunks in the hottest portion of the lit coal pile and wait for the wood to combust, then transition your grill to an indirect smoker by installing the 2 half-moon deflector shields or SlōRoller. Place ribs bone side down on the grill and close the dome.

  4. Smoke for 1 ½ hours, flipping the rack from the bone side to the meat side, touching the grates halfway (45 minutes) through the smoking portion of the cook.

  5. After 1 ½ hours, lay out 2 sheets of heavy-duty foil (roughly 10 inches longer than the rack of ribs). Season the center of the foil (where the top side of the rib rack will lay) with Dijon Mustard, Agave syrup, Sugar in the Raw, pads of Butter and BBQ seasoning.

  6. Lay the ribs on the foil, meat side down. Fold the double layer of foil to the center then fold the two ends in. Place the wrapped ribs back on the grill with the wrapped glaze ingredient side up.

  7. Continue to cook at 300F for 45 minutes, then flip the ribs and cook for another 30 to 45 minutes.

  8. Remove the wrapped rib rack from the grill. Carefully open the foil and check for desired tenderness using a thin point of a knife or thermometer probe (not for temp but for tenderness). If there is too much resistance, return the ribs to the grill meat side up and close the draft door as well as the Kontrol Tower. Allow to cook for 30 more minutes undisturbed and check again for doneness.