Servings:
1-2 racks
Cooking Time:
6 hours.
Great For:
Dinner Parties
About this Recipe
The 3-2-1 is a popular and fool-proof method for making outstanding ribs. As you probably know, it basically 3 hours of smoke, 2 hours of brining, and 1 final hour of smoke with sauce. However, step 2 of this particular method replaces the traditional Apple Juice brine with Whiskey for a more complex and sophisticated flavor.
- 1-2 baby back pork rib racks
- Dry rub of your choice
- Brown sugar
- Butter
- Your favorite whiskey
- Leon’s Good Stuff
How To Make It
As previously stated, much of this recipe doesn’t deviate too far from the tradition 3-2-1 method.
Step 1
Start by removing the ribs’ membrane and coating them in dry rub. You can make your own or use your favorite brand. Mine happens to be the All-purpose Smokey Barbecue Rub from Tom Douglas which, among other ingredients, incorporates ground ancho chili peppers and ground chipotle chili peppers for a smoky and slightly spicy flavor.
Step 2
Once your ribs are prepped, place them on your smoker and let them smoke at 250 degrees Fahrenheit for 3 hours. I happen to favor Hickory for most applications but you can go the extra mile here and use smoking chips made from whiskey barrels for an even more interesting flavor.
Step 3
Once your 3 hours have elapsed, remove ribs and place them bone-side-up on a long sheet of foil. Fold the edges of the foil up to form a kind of boat as we’re going to be adding liquid and we don’t want any to spill out. Sprinkle the ribs with brown sugar and add three small cubes of butter to the sides and center of the rack. Now, here’s where things get interesting. Pour a half cup of your favorite whiskey onto the ribs. This is where you want to be sure your foil is folded. You can use any whiskey but I prefer Blackened American Whiskey. It’s a blend of straight whiskeys finished in black brandy cask and enhanced by sound. Each barrel is blasted with 10 Metallica songs to infuse the wood flavor into the whiskey via intense vibrations for quite a unique flavor. Wrap your foil tightly around the rack, being careful not to tear it and place it back on the smoker at 250 for 2 hours.
Step 4
After your 2 hours are up, remove ribs from foil and sauce them with Leon’s Good Stuff. The Sweet Chipotle flavor meshes so well with the flavors we’ve already utilized. Once your ribs are adequately sauced, place them back on the smoker, uncovered, for the final hour. Again, remaining at 250 degrees Fahrenheit.
Of course, steps 2 and 3 can be completed in the oven if need be (maybe it’s cold outside or maybe you forgot to pick up more charcoal at the store) but doing everything on the smoker is preferred.
Now all that’s left to do is enjoy the sweet, smoky, spicy, sophisticated flavor that you’ve created.