A taste of Kansas City in San Diego
For those of you that don’t know, my hubby and I lived in Kansas City for a few years (well a few years for me – hubs was born there). We both went to college at Kansas State University and lived in Overland Park for about a year after graduation. Kansas is known for a lot of things – great beef, soulful jazz, and, most famously, BBQ. I think it suffices to say that BBQ is an institution, nearly a religion actually, in Kansas. While living there we had our share of the good stuff; whether we were invited for smoked ribs at friends’ homes, enjoying and eating our way through BBQ competitions, or simply hitting up many of the BBQ restaurants in KC.
When we moved to San Diego we tried our best to find good BBQ. Unfortunately we failed and nothing seemed to live up to those ribs or burnt ends we remembered from KC. I mean there is good BBQ in SD, but no one’s praying for those ribs, that’s for sure.
Instead of accepting defeat and realizing that we’d only eat great BBQ while in KC we decided to take matters into our own hands. We knew if we wanted the good stuff we’d have to pull out the big guns, and by big guns I mean the cooking mechanism…. let me introduce to you The Traeger Smoker!
https://www.traegergrills.com/
This smoker is hands down the reason we can make KC BBQ literally in our backyard. Just some background on this beast, the smoker is fueled by hardwood pellets and there is an auger at the bottom of the hopper that pulls the pellets into the fire pot where they contact the hot rod and ignite the grill keeping the heat and smoke constant. The beauty of this type of smoker is that you set the temperature, make sure the hopper is full, and walk away. There is no constant checking on the temperature or making sure more wood is needed for the fire; you simply set it and go. Now, just because it’s easy doesn’t mean it doesn’t work, it works, it works really really well. The only other thing you need for success is good cuts of ribs, brisket, pork shoulder, chicken, prime rib, and some time as this is an all-day event.
This particular recipe is for pork ribs because we love them best and they come out so tender and delicious on the smoker. We usually keep the seasonings to a minimum and do a drier rub instead of a really wet sauce and then add BBQ sauce if needed. Also we always buy our ribs from a local meat market, Siesel’s Meats; they are hands down the best meat market for prime cuts of ribs, steaks, and anything else a carnivore’s heart desires. I’ve added the link below so if you’re local and haven’t heard of them definitely check them out!
https://www.bestmeatssandiego.com/
So let’s get down to business!
Two racks of baby back pork ribs lightly seasoned with Butt Rub from Siesels (sprinkle to cover back and front of ribs). Make sure you ask the butcher to take off the silver skin; it’s not hard to do at home, but it makes for an easier preparation. Take a 1/4 cup of apple juice, 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire Sauce, 1/4 cup of yellow mustard and mix in a bowl. Take a brush and coat the ribs with the mix. Place ribs on smoker at 170-180 degrees and let smoke for three hours. Pull the ribs off the smoker and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of brown sugar per rack, 1/4 cup of honey, and 1/4 cup of apple juice. Seal the ribs in foil and place back on the smoker for another 2 hours. Once done let the ribs sit for about 10-15 minutes then plate up and dig in!
Wine to pair? There are so many choices when it comes to wine, but I really like a good Syrah with pork ribs. Of course a Pinot Noir is ALWAYS an option, but I think Syrah picks up the smoky notes and brings out the flavors of the smoke, pork, and marinade. Cheers!
