Ronnie’s BBQ Ribbies
Ronnie loves making ribs for his people, and we love eating them. I recently learned that ribs aren’t just a Ronnie thing, they’re a Caldwell family thing. We had Ronnie’s oldest living relative, Richard, who goes by “Man” at our home for the holidays this year. After a long, storied career, working for the US Postal Service, when Man retired from the gig, he opened his very own Barbecue place in Alabama, which he ran for more than 20 years, before actually retiring. This spot had a 30 foot grill, and Man was a local legend. Great barbecue just runs in the family, I guess!
When we moved to St Charles, Ronnie was all too excited to level up his grilling, smoking, and blackstone game. Since we’ve got a pool and a backyard tailormade for fun-having, we end up hosting quite a bit. Every time we host a smoke out, I hear “these are the best effing ribs I’ve ever had!” so I thought I would document the recipe for all who want it. Enjoy!
Serves: 4
Prep time: 2 days
Downloadable recipe card: here
What you’ll Need
Ribs
2 Slabs Baby Back Ribs
Rib Rub
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup smoked paprika
4 tbs cayenne pepper
2 tbs onion powder
2 tbs garlic powder
2 tbs chili powder
2 tbs ground black pepper
2 tbs salt
Cider Soak
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup cider beer (I love Vandermill’s Totally Roasted, but we always change it up)
Sauce and Butter Bedding
1/2 cup of butter (1 stick)
2 cups of barbeque sauce (I love Sweet Baby Ray’s original, but we always change it up)
How to Make
First, prepare your rib rub
In a small bowl, mix brown sugar, white sugar, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and salt together in a bowl. Set aside.
Now, prepare your cider soak
In a small bowl, mix 1 cup of apple cider vinegar, and 1 cup of cider beer.
Next, let’s get our ribs ready for bed
Using a butter knife, peel the membrane off the back of the ribs. This step can be tough, Youtube directions if you need some extra help. Once membrane-less, rub generously with your rib rub. Put ribs in a large pan (pro-tip: we use those big, disposable aluminum ones), then with a spray bottle, soak ribs front and back in your cider soak. Transfer rubbed, soaked ribs to fridge, let sit overnight (8-12 hours).
Pre-heat smoker (or grill) to 220°F
Good morning! Time to prepare ribs for the smoker
While your smoker pre-heats, remove ribs from fridge, drain fluid, and pat dry. Let them sit out to rise to room temperature, about 1 hour.
Now, put your ribs on the smoker (first of three times)
Move ribs to pre-heated smoker, placing them meat-side up. Cook for ~3 hrs, checking them every hour. At each check, spray them with your cider soak to keep them moist.
Next, let’s get your sauce and butter bedding ready
On a large, clean, work surface, lay out aluminum foil. On top of foil, spread chunks of butter and globs of barbecue sauce, making sure you’ve created a generous bedding of butter and sauce spread down for your ribs to lay atop.
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