St Louis Ribs with Kansas City Glaze

Ingredients

• 2 racks St Louis cut pork ribs (about 1.3kg each)
• 3 tbsp light brown soft sugar
• 2 tbsp smoked paprika
• 1 tbsp coarse black pepper
• 1 tbsp flaky sea salt
• 2 tsp garlic granules
• 2 tsp onion granules
• 1 tsp mustard powder
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 tbsp yellow mustard (as a binder)
• 500ml cloudy apple juice
• 2 tbsp cider vinegar
• 50g unsalted butter, sliced into thin pats
• 3 tbsp light brown soft sugar (for the wrap)
• heavy-duty foil or pink butcher paper
• smoking wood: hickory or a hickory/cherry mix (4-5 chunks)
• 300ml passata
• 3 tbsp tomato purée
• 4 tbsp dark molasses
• 4 tbsp light brown soft sugar
• 4 tbsp cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp yellow mustard
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp garlic granules
• 1 tsp onion granules
• ½ tsp ground black pepper
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
• ½ small white cabbage, finely shredded (about 400g)
• 1 large carrot, coarsely grated
• 4 spring onions, thinly sliced
• 100ml buttermilk
• 3 tbsp soured cream
• 1 tbsp cider vinegar
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• flaky sea salt and black pepper

Method

1. The night before — or at least 2 hours ahead — prep the ribs. Flip each rack bone-side up and find the thin silver membrane running across the bones. Slide a butter knife under it at one end, grip with kitchen paper, and peel it off in one sheet. Leave the membrane on and the rub never reaches the meat — the ribs eat tough and chewy.
2. Mix the brown sugar, smoked paprika, black pepper, salt, garlic and onion granules, mustard powder and cayenne in a bowl. Bloom isn't possible on a long smoke the way it is in a pan, so the rub does its work dry — toasting slowly on the bark over hours until the paprika and mustard powder go fragrant and stop tasting dusty. Smear both racks all over with a thin coat of yellow mustard — you won't taste it after the cook, it's just a tacky layer that grips the rub. Season generously, packing the rub on top and bottom, and don't be shy with the salt — this is the only seasoning the meat itself will get. Leave the ribs uncovered on a tray in the fridge for at least an hour, overnight is better. The salt draws moisture and the surface turns tacky, which is exactly what takes smoke.
3. Set your smoker or kettle BBQ for indirect cooking at 110–120°C. Add 2–3 chunks of hickory to the coals once they're ashed over — you want thin blue smoke drifting off, not thick white billows. White smoke is dirty and tastes acrid; thin blue is clean and sweet.
4. Combine the apple juice and cider vinegar in a spray bottle. Lay the ribs bone-side down on the grate, close the lid, and don't touch them for the first hour — every time you open the lid the temperature drops and the bark stalls.
5. After the first hour, spritz the ribs all over and repeat every 30–40 minutes. Smoke uncovered like this for a full 3 hours total. By the end the surface should be a deep mahogany with a dry, set bark that doesn't smudge when you touch it.
6. Now the wrap. Tear two large sheets of heavy-duty foil per rack. Lay a rack bone-side up on the foil, scatter over half the brown sugar, lay over half the butter pats, and pour in a generous splash of apple juice — about 60ml. Seal the foil tightly into a parcel and repeat with the second rack. Back on the smoker for 2 hours. This is the tenderising phase — the steam and fat break down the connective tissue.
7. While the ribs braise, make the glaze. Whisk the passata, tomato purée, molasses, brown sugar, cider vinegar, Worcestershire, mustard, smoked paprika, garlic and onion granules, pepper and cayenne in a saucepan. The passata needs the molasses and the splash of cider vinegar to break down properly — bare tinned tomato simmered briefly tastes of heated tin, not summer fruit. Bring to a gentle simmer over low heat and cook for 15–20 minutes, stirring often, until it coats the back of a spoon. Taste it — it should hit sweet, then tang from the cider vinegar, then a slow warm finish. Season again if it needs it; adjust now, not at the table. Set aside.
8. Make the slaw. Whisk the buttermilk, soured cream, cider vinegar, Dijon, sugar and a good pinch of salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add the cabbage, carrot and spring onions and toss until everything is coated. Cover and chill — the slaw improves as it sits and the cabbage softens just enough.
9. After the 2-hour wrap, carefully open a parcel — mind the steam — and check doneness. Lift a rack with tongs from the centre and it should bend into a deep arc with the bark just starting to crack on top. If it snaps stiff, give it another 20 minutes wrapped. Fall-off-the-bone is overcooked; you want clean bite that pulls away when you tug a bone.
10. Unwrap the ribs and transfer back onto the grate, bone-side down. Brush generously with the Kansas City glaze, close the lid, and cook for 15 minutes. Brush a second coat and give it another 15–20 minutes. The glaze should set into a sticky, lacquered finish that's tacky to the touch, not wet — that's the sugars caramelising onto the bark. Total final phase: about 1 hour.
11. Lift the ribs onto a board and rest for 10 minutes. Cut straight away and the juices run out onto the board instead of staying in the meat. Slice between the bones with a sharp knife, going slowly so the glaze doesn't tear.
12. Pile the sliced ribs on a board with the soft buns or thick-sliced bread alongside, a mound of cold buttermilk slaw, dill pickle spears, pickled jalapeños if you're using them, and a bowl of warmed extra glaze for dipping.