Baby's Got Back: Dub Shack BBQ Presents Baby Back Ribs

Hot take time:  I’m getting out of the barbecue game.

Just kidding – or am I?

It doesn’t mean that I am selling the grills or smoker or the new bag of B&B cherrywood splits will be sitting on the curb for giveaway as much as implies that one of the ways I maintained my own sanity over the past several years has slowed down considerably. I am also transitioning to the barbecue sauce arena as a more efficient way of managing my time – childhood happens only once, and before I blinked an eye, my daughter is six years old. In the midst of being the dude paying bills around here, she has grown up so quickly that I want to slow down the days and enjoy them with her before she gets too cool for Daddy and only sees me as her personal ATM.

Wait, Caeli may already be too cool for me.

You’re not here to read a Dad Chronicles post – this is a barbecue post. However, this is a parallel to my very first barbecue post:  ribs. I’ve made some unreal ribs and I’ve really screwed up some racks, yet I shall persevere to continue making some of the best product around these parts. If I won’t eat it, what makes me think anyone else would?

One rack of baby back ribs, Touch of Cherry rub, and Pop Da Cherry sauce are all it takes

Six years after the original post, I’m giving the people baby back ribs with a cherry flavor profile:  cherry rub, cherrywood splits, and Pop Da Cherry sauce as a finishing glaze. I don’t feel that I have any secrets to withhold but I still won’t give out the recipe for the cherry sauce. However, I'll gladly accept a $10 donation in exchange for a bottle. 

Cherry Baby Back Ribs

1 rack of baby back ribs

Cherry-flavored pork rub

Apple cider vinegar

Dub Shack BBQ’s Pop Da Cherry barbecue sauce

STEP ONE. This is from smoking ribs at least once a month for the past six years and my methods at this point are proven on the offset smoker yet make your methods your own. Using a butter knife, peel back the membrane on the bone side and give it a nice tug. Hopefully you are able to get it all in one swoop, but if not, don’t despair; try again until the entire thing is off the rack of ribs. Once completed, use a binder such as mustard to make the rub stick to the protein and go outside to light up the cooking vessel. If you have one, fill your water pan with the liquid of your choice (I still use water; some of you may prefer apple juice or beer, among other things).

New weapon of choice:  Weber kettle grill

STEP TWO. As the weapon of choice reaches 250 degrees, bring the ribs outside and lay them down on the grates. A true statement:  Meat cooks how it is laid, so be mindful of positioning. Close the smoker and enjoy a cold beverage of your choice – remember the adage “if you’re lookin’, you ain’t cookin’” – and go do something useful, like tell tall tales or watch the neighborhood kids play freely. At one hour, spritz the ribs with apple cider vinegar, turn them for even cooking, and close the smoker.

STEP THREE. Once the ribs get the desired color, briefly take them off the smoker and wrap them with aluminum foil. It is during this time that they get introduced to Pop Da Cherry as well as a couple pats of butter, honey, and brown sugar. Return to the smoker as soon as possible and resume 🧢capping🧢 (lying) all the while keep paying attention to the temperature. Try to keep a steady 250 throughout the cook; if it drops below 225, add another cherrywood split or a chimney full of hot coals and get it back in range.

STEP FOUR. Most bone-in meats will let you know when they are finished cooking. Therefore, when the rib bones begin to poke out (this requires looking at a rack), you can either take them out of the foil, run one more application of Pop Da Cherry, and let it set for five-to-ten minutes. The trick is to make the ribs glisten like Christmas presents under the tree without having too dark of a rib; people do eat with their eyes first and no matter how good they taste appearance is still everything.

STEP FIVE. At 190 degrees, bring the ribs inside to rest for about 30 minutes before slicing between the bones. If your bones f**k around and fall off, then congratulations; you just overcooked ribs. Save face and turn them into rib sandwiches far better than anything McDonald’s offers. Serve them with a big grin and enjoy the fruits of your hard work!

As my neighbors, friends, coworkers, and really, the general public has found out over the past several years - wherever there is smoke, there is a combination of fire and meat cooking. I felt a need to revisit the very first barbecue-related post on AD&AD not only to see how far I have come as a pit master but also to test the limits of my creativity and experiment with different sauces – living in a Hunts or Sweet Baby Ray's kind of world gets to be a bit boring, and being the one to introduce you to an expansive range either leads to something extraordinary or a dud that should have never left the testing bottle. Yeah, I’ve had some bombs [ask me about Candy Licker] and the most notable successes [The Ancestors, Get Honey, and Dang! Oh, Mango among others]; everyone’s taste buds are varied. It is my sincere desire to spread the idea that every day is a great day for barbecue and as a sauce connoisseur, it would be remiss on my part to pass around the same old stuff. Any count, stay safe and be blessed!