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Texas Salt and Pepper Spareribs

Counter 05 · Low & Slow BBQ

Texas Salt and Pepper Spareribs

Central Texas ribs seasoned with little more than coarse pepper and salt, smoked over oak until the bark turns nearly black and the pork pulls cleanly from the bone.

4.8 294 cooks rated this
Prep
20 min
Cook
6 hr
Serves
6
Level
Medium
Free recipe Jump to method

In Central Texas the rub is often just salt and coarse 16-mesh pepper, and ribs rarely see sauce. With so few ingredients, the smoke and render carry everything, so fire management matters more than any secret blend. Post oak gives a mellow, faintly sweet smoke, though any seasoned oak works. Wrapping in pink butcher paper at the three-hour mark protects the bark while letting steam escape, where foil would soften the crust. Slice with the bone side up so your knife finds the gaps.

Method

  1. Trim loose fat from the spareribs and square off the thin flap at the bottom so the racks cook evenly. Save the trimmings for beans or sausage.

  2. Mix the pepper, salt and granulated garlic in a shaker and season both sides in an even, speckled coat. Let the racks sit 20 minutes, until the salt draws a light sheen of moisture.

  3. Fire the offset smoker with the oak splits and hold the cook chamber at 265 F. Put the ribs on meat side up, thick end facing the heat.

  4. Combine the vinegar and water in a spray bottle. After 2 hours, mist any dry-looking edges, then repeat every 45 minutes.

  5. At about 3 hours, when the bark is set and nearly black, lay each rack on a sheet of pink butcher paper, drizzle with the melted tallow, and wrap snugly.

  6. Return the packages to the smoker for another 2 to 3 hours, until a probe meets almost no resistance and the thickest meat reads 200 F.

  7. Rest the ribs, still wrapped, for 30 minutes. Flip them bone side up and slice between each bone with a long knife.

Hands turning pieces of meat on a grill through drifting smoke
Turning meat slowly through a haze of smoke
Charcoal chimney starter with flames rising over the coals
Charcoal chimney roaring before the cook starts

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