Cherry Wood
intro
Fall-off-the-bone pork ribs smoked with fragrant cherry wood, coated in a sweet-savory rub and sticky tangy glaze, a classic American BBQ staple.
Ingredients
Steps
Prep the rib racks
Remove the thin silver skin from the bone side of each 900g St. Louis cut spare rib rack by sliding a butter knife under the membrane, gripping with a paper towel, and pulling it off in one piece. Pat ribs completely dry with paper towels on all sides, then set on a baking sheet to rest at room temperature for 20 minutes.
Apply the dry rub
Mix 6 tbsp light brown sugar, 2 tbsp kosher salt, 1.5 tbsp smoked paprika, 1 tbsp garlic powder, 1 tbsp onion powder, 1 tsp ground black pepper, and 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper in a small bowl until evenly combined. Sprinkle the rub evenly over every surface of the ribs, pressing gently to adhere so no bare meat is visible, then let the rubbed ribs rest for 15 minutes.
Preheat cherry wood smoker
Drain 3 cups of cherry wood chips (pre-soaked 30 minutes in cold water), then add them to your smoker’s wood chip tray. Preheat the smoker to 110°C / 225°F for 10 minutes, until a thin, steady stream of light blue, sweet-smelling cherry wood smoke flows from the top vent.
Smoke ribs low and slow
Place ribs bone-side down on the middle smoker rack, close the lid, and maintain a consistent internal smoker temperature of 107–121°C / 225–250°F for 2 hours. Every 45 minutes, spritz the rib surface lightly with 120ml apple cider vinegar to keep meat moist and help smoke adhere; avoid frequent lid openings to prevent heat and smoke loss.
Wrap ribs to tenderize
After 2 hours of open smoking, remove ribs from the grates and wrap each rack tightly in a double layer of heavy-duty aluminum foil, adding 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar inside each foil packet before sealing. Return foil-wrapped ribs to the smoker bone-side down, and cook for 1 additional hour at 110°C / 225°F, until meat pulls back 1cm from the ends of the rib bones.
Glaze and finish cooking
Carefully unwrap ribs to avoid hot steam burns, then brush all surfaces with the smooth, stirred glaze made from 80ml honey, 4 tbsp apple butter, and 1 tbsp Dijon mustard. Return unwrapped glazed ribs to the smoker grates for 15 final minutes at 110°C / 225°F, until the glaze sets to a sticky, shiny coating and internal meat temperature reaches 95°C / 203°F.
Rest and serve ribs
Transfer finished ribs to a clean cutting board, tent loosely with a single sheet of aluminum foil, and let rest for 10 minutes to allow juices to redistribute. Slice between bones into individual rib portions, and serve with extra BBQ sauce on the side if desired.
Tips
2.Resist the urge to crank the smoker temperature above 135°C / 275°F; high heat will cause rib meat to seize and turn tough, rather than becoming fall-off-the-bone tender during low-and-slow cooking.
3.You can confirm ribs are perfectly done without a thermometer: twist an exposed end bone, and it should pull cleanly out of the meat with minimal resistance when ready.
OMG these cherry wood smoked spare ribs were an absolute game changer for our weekend cookout! The smoke flavor was so perfectly balanced, not overpowering at all, and the meat pulled right off the bone. My kids begged for seconds before they even finished their first serving. 10/10 will make again for our Fourth of July potluck!
I was super nervous to try smoking ribs for the first time since I’ve only ever done them in the oven, but this recipe was so straightforward to follow! The 3.5 hour cook time was totally doable for a lazy Sunday, and the cherry wood gave it that subtle sweet smoke I’ve been chasing from restaurant ribs. SO good.
Pretty solid rib recipe! I’ve been smoking ribs for 40+ years so I tweaked the rub a little to add a pinch more cayenne for some heat, but the cherry wood smoke recommendation was spot on. Only reason it’s not 5 stars is I thought the cook time ran a little long on my old offset smoker, ended up pulling them 20 minutes early. Would still make again for family dinner.
Made these for my husband’s Father’s Day dinner and he said they’re better than the ribs we get at our favorite BBQ joint down the street! I didn’t have a fancy smoker so I used the smoke box on my gas grill with cherry wood chips and it worked perfectly. My picky 7 year old ate two full ribs without complaining—total mom win!
Meal prepped a big batch of these on Sunday and they reheated amazing all week for lunches! The flavor held up so well even after a couple minutes in the microwave. Will absolutely be adding this to my regular meal prep rotation, way better than sad desk salads.
Really good ribs! I used a little too much wood the first time so the smoke was a touch bitter, but that was totally my mistake, not the recipe’s. Next time I’ll stick to the 4 ounces of cherry wood the recipe recommends instead of overdoing it.
Wait, quick question—do I need to remove the membrane from the back of the ribs before smoking? I’m picking up a rack of spare ribs from the butcher on my way home from work to make these for tonight’s dinner, all the reviews are so good I know it’s gonna be a 5 star meal!
Taste was great, but I struggled to get my charcoal grill to hold a steady 225 degrees the whole cook time. Ended up having to add charcoal twice which made the cook run almost 5 hours total. Flavor was on point but it was way more hands on than I expected for a medium difficulty recipe.
Brought these ribs to our neighborhood block party last weekend and they were the first thing gone off the potluck table! So many neighbors stopped by to ask for the recipe, I must have shared the link 12 times. The cherry wood gives it such a unique, sweet depth that regular hickory smoked ribs just don’t have.
I paired these ribs with the coleslaw and cornbread recipes linked on the site and it was the perfect summer dinner plate! The tang of the coleslaw cut through the rich, smoky ribs so well. My whole family was raving, even my teen who never compliments my cooking.
Game changer tip: save the leftover rib meat to make smoked rib breakfast hash the next morning! Chop it up with potatoes, peppers, onions, and top with a fried egg—chef’s kiss. Don’t let any of that delicious smoky meat go to waste!
Really tasty ribs! My only note is that I wish the recipe had a recommended sauce to pair with it. I used a standard store bought BBQ sauce but I bet a homemade cherry BBQ sauce would be insane with the cherry wood smoke. 4 stars just because I had to hunt for a sauce recipe separately.
Just pulled these off the smoker and snuck a bite before my partner gets home from work—OH MY GOODNESS. The bark is perfectly crispy, the meat is juicy, and that cherry smoke is *chef’s kiss*. I know he’s going to lose his mind when he tries these for our anniversary dinner.
As someone who’s tried probably a dozen different smoked rib recipes online, this is easily top tier. The rub ratio is perfect, not too salty not too sweet, and the cherry wood doesn’t overpower the natural pork flavor. Cook time was spot on for my pellet grill, no adjustments needed.
Made these for a small dinner party last night and everyone loved the flavor! I will say, I made the mistake of buying baby back ribs instead of spare ribs and they cooked almost an hour faster, so I had to pivot last minute to make sure everything else was done at the same time. Don’t be like me, double check what rib cut you’re grabbing at the store!
First time using cherry wood for smoking and I’ll never go back to hickory for ribs! It’s so much smoother and sweeter, no harsh aftertaste at all. This recipe is going to be my go-to for every summer cookout from now on.
SO good! I was worried medium difficulty meant I’d be stressed the whole cook, but the step by step instructions made it totally foolproof. Even my roommate who swears he hates BBQ had three ribs. Total win!