The grilling season has begun as the summer sun begins to climb in the sky. You may just have grilled baby back ribs on your mind sometimes during that season. But, smoking pork ribs in electric smoker will be your fist choice. In terms of difficulty, cooking pork ribs comes between pork butt and brisket. They spend the least time in the smoker and cook at a steady temperature in the smoker. It is a fact that it will most likely lead to juicy, tender, and mouthwatering pork that would melt in no time in the mouth.
By using an oven and a slow cooker, you can cook pork ribs. But it’s too easy to cook pork ribs using the electric smoker, similar to the stove and the slow smoker. I mean, who’s going to want to fight too hard to set up a slow cooker and that sort of stuff? But if you do, there is no doubt that the struggle is worth the effort.
You will read more in the article about all the methods that will result in flavorful smoked ribs of pork.
How to Cook Pork Ribs in Electric Smoker
1. Pre-Requisites
- An Electric Smoker
- A Cutting Board
- A Wood Chunk
- Plastic or Latex Gloves
- Mop
- Spray Bottle
- Thermometer
- Disposable Aluminium Pans
- Carving Knife
- Paper Towel
- Aluminium Foil
2. Choosing the Right Pork Ribs
Without looking at the pig’s anatomy, we can’t talk about the various pork ribs’ cuts. There are 14 rib bones in each pig connected to the spine and break into the four most common parts.
- Spare Ribs
- Baby Back Ribs
- St. Louis Ribs
- Rib Tips
It will depend on the type of rib that has been trimmed and the portion of the rib-cage from which it has been removed. Every kind of rib has its distinct features and preparation techniques.
Spare Ribs
Spare ribs originate from the pig’s underside or abdomen, which is the fatty portion where we get bacon. A decent amount of meat has spare ribs.
BABY BACK RIBS
Its usual favorite cut of meat is baby back ribs. To either side of the neck, baby back ribs come from the pig’s back and are lower than spare ribs. More lean meat has baby back ribs.
St.LOUIS RIBS
St. Louis ribs are shaped more broadly and are narrower and flatter. The beef appears to be fatter than the back ribs of babies.
RIB TIPS
Rib tips with many fats and marble are considered by many to be the most tender component of the pig. Despite their substantial similarity to the belly, aka the bacon, this makes sense. However, there are a lot of thin bones and cartilage along with this fat and marbling. These might make it a task to eat the rib tips.
4. Storing the Ribs Pre-Marination
You have bought your favorite Rib Rack in the week-end and you plan to cook them at the gathering after few days. So, here comes the question for how to store the beef ribs in refrigerator and for how long. Ideally, it is recommended to store the ribs at normal refrigerator temperature of 4C or 40F and not to freeze it completely. If that happens you will have to face problems in applying a rub and marination.
5. Preparing the Ribs
Before exposing the pork ribs the stuff needs some treatment. The night before you decide to smoke, you’ll need to clean the ribs under cold water, pack them dry thoroughly with paper towels, scrub the membrane out, and use the dry rub. The layer on the backside (bone side) of the ribs is the membrane. The removal of the membrane makes for more uniform smoking and optimal tenderness. This method may be a little repetitive, so do not miss it.
Removing the membrane
Do not give up quickly if you have no idea how to cut the pork ribs’ membrane. We will help you step-by-step through the process.
- To help you to get a better grip on the rack, wear rubber gloves.
- Identify the rack’s center and cut just deep enough between the rib bones to break the membrane. You’ll find the ribs surrounded by a fine thin layer of tissue. This is the membrane of the pork rib that you’re going to cut.
- Lose enough membrane (it will be very slippery) to grip a paper towel and start to push it away from the bones until it is removed.
- Do not get annoyed; this method needs practice and will help you boost your reputation for smoking.
Trimming the Ribs
Generally, trimming means cutting any stray meat flaps that you spot falling off your ribs. They are all going to smoke, and they won’t taste healthy on the ribs, you might also look for overly fatty bits and slice them off. Get your ribs square out. Break the ends off to use ribs that are of the same length and size. Not only can these ribs taste better, but they’ll also even cook perfectly. Trim the tops and the bottoms of the ribs so that they fit in the box nicely.
Apply the Dry Rub
On both sides of the rack, add a thin coat of dry rub, softly pressing it in. On a baking sheet or aluminum pan, place the rib racks and cover them with plastic wrap.
After the marination
- Place the ribs and refrigerate them for 2-24 hours in a sealed bag.
- Enable the marinade to be absorbed into the meat for at least 2 hours, or offer the most flavor for up to 24 hours.
- Keep the ribs moist, about every 3 hours, by adding more marinade.
- Marinate meat in the refrigerator at all times, and do not reuse any leftover marinade.
Preparing the Electric Smoker
Preheating
Preheat up to 275 degrees Fahrenheit your electric smoker. To avoid a soggy mess and prevent your ribs from sticking, spray your vegetable oil on your grill. Place your ribs in the smoker once your grill has reached the desired temperature. You should adjust your electric smoker to the correct temperature, just like you would preheat a grill before starting smoking ribs. You can set some units to a preset temperature, so for the right temperature level, always refer to your recipe or a meat cooking guide.
Generally, cooked at 225 degrees, though, the electric smoked ribs initially preheat the smoker to 250 degrees to improve the initial cooking process. That is because when opening the door to load the ribs. Any heat is lost. After the ribs are filled, and the door is locked, please remember to set the temperature back to 225 degrees. If you open the smoker, again and again, it will affect the taste of meat. And if you open the smoker as per guidance. It will make a significant difference in the taste as compared to the previous one.
Add Wood Chips
To preserve moisture in the ribs, adding wood chips to produce the smoky flavors and water to the drip pan. Usually, add half water and half-apple juice to it.
To soak or not to soak?
Before using your electric smoker, whether or not you can soak wood chips mainly falls to what varieties you’re looking for. It can be a perfect solution to take if you want to tweak your wood chips by soaking them in a liquid-like apple juice, soda, or wine. Electric smokers can easily adjust the temperature, so attempting to dampen the wood chips’ heat effect is not necessary. A decent opinion is that some wood chips are still soaked. Since the guidelines said to do so. The outcomes were perfect without soaking wood chips.
6. Smoke the Pork Ribs
Place the ribs racks in the smoker, close the lock, and make sure the temperature is set to 225 degrees. For 4 hours, do not open the door or recheck the ribs. The initial cooking time and the brown sugar in the rub will produce healthy bark on the ribs. For the next 2 hours, baste the ribs every 30 minutes after four hours of smoking. This keeps the ribs wet and improves the bark.
After 6 hours of smoking:
- Remove the ribs and place them in a deep aluminum pan and cover them tightly with aluminum foil.
- For two additional hours, place the pan of ribs in the smoker. When the ribs pull away from the bone easily, they are done.
- Use an instant digital reading thermometer to ensure that the meat’s internal temperature is above 145 degrees to be extra securing (preferably 165 degrees).
7. Don’t skip the mop sauce
After a strong bark has formed, mopping the ribs can ensure that the ribs stay moist and tender throughout the remaining cooking time. You’ll love the outcome! Don’t miss this stage!
8. Carve and Serve
Take the ribs out after 15 minutes of getting up. To cut them up, flip them bone side up and use a long-bladed knife. Try and make smooth, even cuts.
Coat the cut edge with a light sauce brush to add an extra touch to your ribs if you decide to sauce them. Barbecue sauce has a lot of sugar and can burn easily. To each rack of ribs, apply a tablespoon or two, close the lid, and let the sauce set.
Either through the rack or half rack, you can choose to serve your ribs, or you can cut them into individual bones. There is no wrong way for ribs to be served or eaten.