Every couple of months or so I get the hankering for some barbecue ribs. My Weber Smokey Mountain smoker has enough room to handle 6 or more racks of ribs so I usually get some friends to order a slab or two from me. They are the best ribs in San Jose after all…

Recently one of my friends had a surprise birthday party and I was asked to smoke some ribs for the party. I normally do a dry rub of salt & pepper (and other stuff) but this time I took the recipe for “Apple City Barbecue Ribs” out of the “Smoke and Spice” cookbook. It involves a wet marinade and a dry rub, followed by smoking and then served with a sauce on the side. This recipe has won several major Grand Championships for the team that created it.

Here the racks of pork spareribs are trimmed then marinated overnight in a mixture of apple juice, apple cider, Worchestershire sauce, minced onion and thyme.

About an hour before cooking, drain and apply a rub made with brown sugar, onion powder, mustard, and more thyme.

Here they are after being smoked over apple wood for 5 hours at 200-225. It is served with a sauce on the side made from tomato paste, apple juice, Worchestershire sauce, molasses, and a little chili pepper.

I’d say they came out okay. Not as popular as my salt and pepper ribs but some people liked it with the sauce. To each their own. Me, I’m not so sure I like a recipe that requires saucing at the end to complete the flavor package. Plus, it was more work to prepare than s&p.

Aloha, Nate