Is 3 1 1 Ribs the new way?
I love ribs. 3 2 1 Ribs are amazing most of the time, but are 3 1 1 Ribs better?
Up until this point, whenever we fired up the smoker for ribs, we have used the traditional 3 2 1 Rib Method. In talking to some pitmasters, especially Chris Apple from White Bulls BBQ, they persuaded us to try something a little different — 3 1 1 Ribs.
Ok — I’ll bite. Let’s give it a shot and see if there is a big difference (other than saving an hour.)
3 1 1 Ribs
Ingredients
- Pork Spare Ribs
- BBQ Sauce
- BBQ Seasoning
- Butter
- Maple Syrup (or Honey)
Directions
- Prep your ribs as you would for any rib cook. Clean them up, shape up, take off excess fat and remove back membrane.
- Season the ribs liberally with your favorite BBQ Rub and let them sweat for 15 minutes
- Set up your smoker and get the temperature up to 250°
- Place ribs in smoker for 3 hours spritzing with water or apple cider vinegar every 30 minutes
- At the three hour mark remove ribs – lay face down in foil and add two-three pats of butter to the ribs along with a drizzle of maple syrup. Wrap TIGHT.
- Place foil wrapped ribs in smoker for one hour.
- When the hour is up, remove ribs from smoker, remove foil and sauce with the sauce of your choice.
- Place sauced ribs back in the smoker for one more hour.
- After the total of five hours ( 3 1 1 Ribs) is up remove, re-sauce and let rest for 30 min and serve.
Let me tell you, these ribs are delicious and cooked to exactly how I like them. I love a good tug off the bone rib, where 3 2 1 ribs tend to be a little overcooked and fall off the bone.
The one thing I was disappointed in was the fact that the bone pullback was less with the 3 1 1 Ribs method. But, aside from that these ribs are amazing and saving an hour in some situations can be huge.
Give this method a shout and let us know what you think. Cheers!
