Memorial Day Ribs

Happy Memorial Day! Thank you to those who have guarded my freedoms and peace of mind in this wonderful country!

I decided to smoke ribs. I love doing the 3-2-1 method because it is an easy method to remember. I can't even remember what we did before this method, because it is that easy. Fool proof, fall off the bone ribs, nearly every time!

Here is how I did it:

Rib Prep:

• Make sure that you remove the membrane from the back of your ribs. I love that when I get my ribs from Costco, this has already been done.

• Dry the ribs using a paper towel

• Apply mustard or oil to act as a binder for the seasoning. Don't worry, you don’t taste the mustard when we are done.

• This week, I used my LIVE viewers to help me pick the three different seasonings for the ribs. We decided on Lemon Pepper, Tequila Lime, and Big Bob Gibson. We also used normal yellow mustard for two racks of ribs (Lemon Pepper and Tequila Lime) and ChickFilA sauce for the third (Big Bob Gibson)! The sauce from ChickFilA is kind of a mustard and barbecue sauce mixed together, we thought it would be fun.

• Once the ribs have been seasoned on both sides, we are ready to smoke them on the smoker.

Start with Three Hours of Smoke for the Ribs!

I set my Traeger smoker to smoke setting and put the ribs, bone side down, directly on the smoker. I let the ribs smoke for three hours on the smoke setting.

After three hours, I removed the ribs from the smoker. I set the smoker to 225 degrees. While the smoker is increasing it's temperature, I prepared my ribs with liquid and wrapped in aluminum foil.

Wrap the ribs in foil and add liquid. Two hours at 225 degrees.

I added 1/4 cup of of apple juice to the ribs, a small amount of brown sugar and a shot of Patron tequila to the tequila lime rack. (BECAUSE WHY NOT!)

I double wrap the ribs in aluminum foil, making sure to seal them to make sure the moisture stays in the aluminum pouch. You don't want any leaks. The moisture helps to steam the ribs and render your fat.

Once they are wrapped and ready to go, I put them back on the smoker at 225 degrees for two hours.

After two hours, I remove the aluminum foil pouches. Often by the time I remove the ribs from the foil pouch, the bones are already falling out.

One more hour at 225.

Place the ribs back onto the grill. Don't skip this step, even if you are not saucing them. This time helps the outside of the ribs tighten up to make them easier to eat. Feel free to apply the barbecue sauce of your choice. If I am saucing them, I do this about every 20 minutes. Remove the ribs from the smoker, let them rest for about 5-10 minutes before eating!

3-2-1 Ribs. Three different ways on the Traeger smoker.