Ingredients

Yields: 4-6

Cook: 3.5 hours

Prep: 1 hour

Equipment Needed: Jack Daniel’s Old No. 7 Pork Rub, Cowboy Charcoal, Cowboy Wood Chunks or Cowboy Wood Chips, heavy-duty aluminum foil, Cowboy BBQ Sauce, and a smoker, charcoal grill or gas grill.

2 packages of pork spare ribs
Jack Daniel’s Old No. 7 Pork Rub
Cowboy BBQ Sauce
2 TBSP brown sugar
2 TBSP unsalted butter

Preparation

About an hour before cooking, trim ribs by removing the cartilage on the long sides of the rack. Trim the short ends to square them up, removing any excess flap meat and bone fragments. Flip the rack and trim the skirt meat from the bottom. To finish, remove the shiny, thin membrane that covers most of the bottom of the ribs. You should have a clean, rectangular rack of ribs with nothing but bone and meat.
Season both sides generously with Jack Daniel's Old No. 7 Pork Rub. Set aside at room temperature for 45 minutes to an hour to let the ribs "sweat".
Heat smoker or charcoal grill for indirect cooking at 300 degrees. Add a couple of Cowboy hickory and cherry chunks. If using a gas grill, add Cowboy wood chips in a foil pouch or smoker box over the hot side of the grill.
Place ribs on the smoker or grill, meat side up. Cook for two hours or until the ribs have a dark mahogany color. The fat should also just be starting to "sizzle".
Remove ribs from grill and double-wrap each rack tightly in heavy-duty aluminum foil, meat side down. Add 2 tablespoons of your favorite Cowboy BBQ sauce, 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, and 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter before wrapping.
Return wrapped ribs to the smoker or grill and cook for 1 to 1.5 hours more, until tender. To check tenderness, insert a probe thermometer or toothpick between the bones. When done, it should feel like a stick of butter at room temperature.
Remove ribs from grill and unwrap. Brush with Cowboy BBQ sauce on both sides and return to the grill for 5 minutes.
Slice and serve ribs.

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