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Irn Bru smoked spare ribs
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Irn Bru Smoked Spare Ribs

These smoked spare ribs are trimmed St Louis style & glazed with a homemade Irn Bru barbecue sauce glaze! They're tender, sticky & packed full of flavour.
Prep Time1 hour
Cook Time6 hours
Resting Time30 minutes
Total Time7 hours 30 minutes
Course: Dinner, Main Course
Cuisine: American, Scottish
Servings: 4 People
Author: Ben Racey

Equipment

  • Smoker/Barbecue (See Notes)
  • Digital Food Probe
  • Spray Bottle
  • Small Mixing Bowl
  • Foil

Ingredients

  • 2 Racks Spare Ribs (Whole - See Notes)

Rub & Slather

  • 20 g Fine Sea Salt
  • 20 g Demerara Sugar
  • 15 g Coarse Ground Black Pepper
  • 2 tsp Smoked Paprika
  • 1 tsp Mustard Powder
  • 1 tsp Garlic Granules
  • 1 tsp Onion Granules
  • French's Mustard (To Slather)

Spritz

  • 150 ml Irn Bru (See Notes)
  • 150 ml Cold Water

To Wrap & Glaze

  • 300 g Irn Bru BBQ Sauce (See Notes)
  • Irn Bru (To Thin Out)
  • 100 g Unsalted Butter (Cut Into Small Pieces)

Instructions

Trimming The Ribs

  • Place a rack of ribs on a chopping board then pat dry with kitchen paper. If there's a flap of meat running along the backside of the ribs, trim this off level with the rib bones using a sharp knife.
    This is skirt meat. Sometimes, the butcher will have removed this already.
  • Use your fingers to feel where the end of the longest rib is then insert the tip of your knife between the end of the rib & the section of cartilage above it. Now cut along this section, perpendicular to the ribs, to separate the ribs from the cartilage.
    The trimmings can be saved for stock or used for sausages! I find that a sharp boning knife works best for trimming.
  • Next, cut the flap of meat off from the narrower end of the ribs, to square up the rack. You'll need to cut off the end bone (or couple of bones), otherwise this section of meat will burn in the smoker.
  • Trim any excess fat from the top of the ribs (there should be a thin, even layer) & any small bone fragments & sinew.
  • Finally, flip the ribs over & remove the membrane. To do this, use the tip of a knife to release a corner of the membrane from the ribs then grab it with a piece of kitchen paper & pull upwards to remove. If you're lucky, the membrane will come off in one piece but if it doesn't, use a sharp knife to trim it off.
    Removing the membrane comes down to personal preference so feel free to leave it on if you like.
  • Repeat the trimming process with the other rack of ribs then set them to one side.

Rub & Slather

  • To make the rub, combine all of the ingredients in a bowl then mix together.
    Not the mustard (this is for the slather)!
  • Next, coat the ribs with a light coating of French's mustard then cover the the outside of the ribs with a fairly light but even coating of the rub. Make sure to pat the rub into the meat so that it sticks properly.
    You might not need all of the rub! The ribs don't need to be heavily seasoned like pork shoulder or brisket would be.
  • Once rubbed, let the ribs sit at room temperature whilst you preheat your smoker.
    Don't let your ribs sit for more than an hour as this can affect the texture of the meat.

Cooking

  • Light your smoker/barbecue & leave to preheat to 250°f/120°c. Make sure that your barbecue is set up for indirect cooking.
    A good quality charcoal/wood makes all the difference here! I used an ash wood charcoal & added in a chunk of apple wood just before adding in the ribs.
  • Once up to temperature, add the ribs into the smoker, so that the meat side is facing up. Let the ribs cook undisturbed for 1½ hours.
    Make sure to maintain a consistent smoker temperature at all times!
  • In the meantime, add the irn bru & water into a spray bottle then set aside. We'll be using this to spritz the ribs.
  • After 1½ hours have passed, continue cooking the ribs but spray them with the spritz every 30 minutes, until a decent bark has formed. This will roughly take another 2-4 hours.
    We'll be wrapping the ribs in foil once they've taken on enough colour.
  • Whilst the ribs are smoking, mix the bbq sauce with enough Irn Bru to make a glaze that's thin enough to evenly coat the ribs. You'll probably need a couple of tablespoons.
  • Next, lay a double layer of foil down on a work surface, drizzle a couple of tablespoons of the barbecue sauce in the middle then add half of the butter on top. Place a rack of ribs on top, facing meat side down then drizzle another tablespoon of barbecue sauce on top. Wrap the ribs up in the foil then place back into the smoker, facing meat side down. Repeat with the other rack of ribs.
    We'll be using the rest of the barbecue sauce to glaze the ribs.
  • Continue cooking the ribs at 250°f/120°c for another 1-3 hours until the ribs are tender. The best way to check this is to give the meat a poke with a skewer or food probe. If the skewer slides into the meat with little resistance, the ribs are ready - we want them to still have some bite!
    Another way to check the ribs is to lift them up. If they easily bend & crack slightly, they're ready. If you want to take the internal temperature of the meat, it should be around 190°f & 200°f (88°c & 93°c) once the ribs are cooked. We still need to glaze the ribs at this point, which will take another 30 minutes or so, so keep that in mind when checking the meat!
  • Next, take the ribs out of the foil & place onto the smoker, facing meat side up. Brush the meat with a light coating of barbecue sauce then cook for 15-20 minutes until tacky & set. Brush with another light layer of barbecue sauce then continue for another 15-20 minutes until set again.
  • Once your ribs are ready, take them off the smoker, transfer to a baking tray then cover loosely with foil. Leave to rest for 15-20 minutes then cut between the bones & serve.

Notes

1. Spare Ribs - We're trimming our spare ribs St Louis style, which means that you'll need to buy whole racks of spare ribs. Although, you could your butcher to trim your ribs for you! The rib trimmings can be used to make sausages, pork pies or stock.
2. Smoker – Any type of charcoal or wood smoker/barbecue will work for this recipe as long as you can cook on it indirectly. I'd recommend adding a water pan into your smoker.
3. Charcoal – Using a good quality charcoal & wood makes all the difference when cooking barbecue. I used an ash wood charcoal & a chunk of apple wood.
4. Rub – I made my own rub for these spare ribs but feel free to use a ready made rub if you’d prefer.
5. Irn Bru - This recipe works best with original recipe (1901) Irn Bru as this contains the most amount of sugar, so will give our ribs the best colour & bark. Regular Irn Bru will work as well though.
6. Irn Bru Barbecue Sauce - I used my Irn Bru barbecue sauce to glaze my ribs but feel free to use a different bbq sauce if you'd prefer.
7. Leftovers - Leftover spare ribs need to be stored in the fridge & are best eaten within 3 days. To reheat leftover spare ribs, cut the ribs into individual pieces then place into an ovenproof dish, add in a splash of water & cover with foil. Bake the ribs in a 160°c/320°f oven for 30-40 minutes, until piping hot.