Memorial Day is coming up and as we honor our veterans who served in the military, many of us get together with family and cook outdoors. I love this time of year when we have cookouts and spend time together. This year I’m smoking baby back ribs out on the pellet smoker. I used to smoke ribs on my charcoal grill, but I found it time consuming and a lot of work to keep the coals hot as well as adding more briquettes when needed. A pellet smoker is so easy, just add your pellets, set the temperature and smoke. Ribs are easy in that you don’t have to read an internal temperature, they generally smoke approximately 4 hours give or take. How do you know when they are done? Do the bend test. Take your tongs and lift the ribs, if they bend they are ready, if not let them go another 30 minutes or until they bend easily and the meat begins to separate from the bone. They always turn out delicious no matter what rub you choose or what liquid you use to achieve that tasty caramelization. Once they pass the bend test, you can brush on your favorite barbeque sauce and put them back on the smoker for 30 minutes. The sauce makes a glaze that looks amazing and the aroma is out of this world! One year while I was smoking ribs in the backyard, a UPS driver delivered a package. He came to the door and instead of leaving our package at the door, he rang the doorbell just to ask “What is that amazing smell”? He could smell it from the street and said it was making him hungry!
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An Inspired Cook 