Description
Baby back ribs seasoned with salt, herbes de Provence and smoked paprika, woven onto the spit and rotisserie-roasted until crispy outside and juicy inside.
Ingredients
- 1 slab baby back ribs
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon herbes de Provence
- 1 teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika (or sweet paprika)
Instructions
- Prep the ribs: Remove the membrane from the bone side of the ribs: loosen it by running a butter knife between the membrane and one of the end bones, then pull it off. Sprinkle each side of the rack with 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon herbes de Provence, and 1/2 teaspoon paprika. Let rest for at least 1 hour, or up to 48 hours (refrigerate if resting more than a couple of hours).
- Skewer the ribs: Every three bones, poke a hole through the middle of the meat between the bones with a paring knife. Weave the ribs onto the spit through the holes.
- Prepare the grill: Set up your grill for rotisserie cooking at indirect medium heat, about 325°F to 350°F, with a drip pan in the middle, under where the ribs will turn. (If your rub has sugar in it, use medium-low heat, about 300°F, so the sugar doesn't burn.)
- Cook the ribs: Put the spit on the grill, start it spinning, and cook with the lid closed until the ribs are nicely browned and the meat has pulled back from the end bones by 1/2 inch, about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours.
- Rest and serve: Remove the ribs from the spit, and let rest for 10 to 15 minutes. Cut into portions (I cut between every second bone), and serve.
Notes
Equipment: A grill with a rotisserie attachment (I use a Weber Summit 650 with an infrared rotisserie burner) and an aluminum foil drip pan. On my Weber Summit, I set the two outer burners and the infrared burner to medium. See my rotisserie basic technique for setup details.
Memphis style dry ribs: Use barbecue rub instead of the herbes de Provence and paprika, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Wet ribs: Make the Memphis style ribs, then brush the cooked ribs with your favorite barbecue sauce and cook for another 5 minutes, until the sauce browns into a sticky glaze. Watch closely - the sauce can go from glazed to burnt very quickly. Brush with more sauce, then rest before cutting. (Or see my Rotisserie BBQ Baby Back Ribs.)
Provençal ribs: Skip the paprika. After salting, rub the ribs with a very thin coating of Dijon mustard (about 1 teaspoon), then sprinkle on the herbes de Provence.
You can cook 1 or 2 slabs at a time, depending on the size of your spit. Two fit easily on my Weber Summit's spit.
Weaving the ribs onto the spit is the hard part - the thicker the spit, the harder it is. But it's not THAT hard, and the results are worth it.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Rest after seasoning: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes