BBQ Brainstorm
BBQ’s Best Brains Share Their Advice, Skills & Stories To Help You Take Your BBQ To The Next Level
Sterling Smith
- Besides being a great guy and BBQ Legend, Sterling is the Owner and Pitmaster of Loot N’ Booty BBQ and has been competing on the professional BBQ circuit since 2009.
- Sterling has won 31 Grand and Reserve Grand Championship Awards, more than 300 top ten awards, 9 perfect “180” scores, 3 – 700+ scores and is a two-time Australian Invitational Lamb Champion.
HOT TIPS on cooking championship pork ribs
Sterling shares techniques and advice captured during his BBQ Master Class at Turn Left @ Albuquerque.
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Trimming your ribs
- Trimming off the fat exposes the proteins to allow the seasoning and smokey flavours to penetrate the meat
- When trimming don’t dig down into the meat, use gradual easy shallow cuts and save as much meat as possible
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Prepping the underside of your ribs
- It’s all about removing barriers for the seasoning and smokey flavours to penetrate the protein
- Trim off excess fat
- Remove the membrane, keep it dry and use paper towels
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Seasoning your pork ribs
- Sterling’s a big fan of layering, apply 3 layers of seasoning:
- Trim off excess fat
- Remove the membrane, keep it dry and use paper towels
- Bottom: Salt based rub
- Middle: Flavour rub
- Top: Colour / sugar rub
- Apply a medium to light coating
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How long should you season your ribs
- Once applied allow 1 to 2 hours
- Allows enough time for the salt time to pull the moisture out of the meat, the pH balance to occur and importantly the moisture and flavour be sucked back down into the meat
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Position on your BBQ, spritzing & when it’s ready to wrap
- Use upper racks – allows heat & smoke to circulates around the meat
- Ribs are ready to wrap when the rub stays on the ribs when scrapped
- Spritz with H2O, it attracts and sucks smokey flavours into the meat
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Wrapping your ribs
- This stage is about adding flavour & tenderness
- Use 2 layer of quality foil
- Add unsalted butter, maple syrup, and BBQ sauce top & bottom
- Finish off adding apple juice to create moisture (tenderness) and flavour