Pork spares or baby backs

[jake0531]

This is a horrible answer to your question because I don't buy any pre-made "rubs" or meat seasonings, but if I had a gun put to my head I think I would walk in and buy this:
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In TX it seems that adding sugar to rubs or meat seasonings is not a common thing. I've never seen anyone around here do it unless they were going after some kind of Asian flavor that has sweetness (Bulgogi, Char Sui, etc.).

Sugar seems to burn way too/more easily and get bitter where other seasonings don't seem to have the same issue. That coupled with the point where regionally I've never seen sugar used in rubs,... I simply add all the sweet I'm looking for at the end with a sauce. I usually add bbq sauce that has some sweetness to it when it's on the plate rather than while still cooking. This way everyone gets the ribs the way they like it (sauce/no sauce, sweet/no sweet, dry/wet, etc.).

My usual rib seasoning is just black Pepper, Onion (deydrated/minced/granulated), Garlic (granulated), Paprika, in even parts and then Salt in like 1/2 or less a part. Ribs are probably the easiest meat to over salt that you will smoke!!!!
It is nice to be able to control the salt by adding it separately.

Finally, I personally like a bit of heat on my ribs like you do and I will add a little Cayenne (almost equal to the amount of salt, maybe less). Cayenne will give great flavor even before it imparts heat so it is a good spice you can sprinkle a good pinch of on to any smoked or grilled meat to get the flavor and you can fine tune the amount to add basically no heat/all flavor or as much heat as you want.
When I'm making ribs for myself I have this wonderful Kashmiri Red Pepper powder which is like a combo of Paprika and Cayenne when it come to flavor and heat. I replace the Paprika and Cayenne with the Kashmiri and I'm in rib heaven!

If you get interested in getting more bang for your buck and making simple yet amazing rib rubs and seasonings really look into just buying Salt, Pepper, Onion, Garlic, Paprika, and Cayenne and shaking them on yourself. You will be amazed at the flavor they provide even when buying the $0.50 - $1 spices (5th Season) at Walmart and giving it a go. I buy those when I go on trips or when someone who doesn't cook wants to "cook/grill" for an event and I know they don't have crap for seasonings hahaha. They are a nice gift to leave behind for them to learn a play around and cost very little in the way of spices.

I hop all this info and rambling helps! :)

Ha thanks so much. I’m not much on pre made spices either as most I’ve found have a lot of salt as well. I usually make my own from a recipe on here, which it’s good, I just wanted something different this time.

 

[tallbm]

Ha thanks so much. I’m not much on pre made spices either as most I’ve found have a lot of salt as well. I usually make my own from a recipe on here, which it’s good, I just wanted something different this time.

Yeah I'm with you there.
In addition to having the individual seasonings/spices I have 4 big seasoning containers where I hold my own pre-mixed seasoning. Really I just have 2 types of my own premix but I do a salt and no salt version which turns the 2 mixes into a total of 4 lol.

What I have are:

General Purpose Meat Seasoning (works on all meats including Fish and is my go to Brisket seasoning)

• 1 part Salt
• 2 parts course Black Pepper
• 1 part Onion (dehydrated/minced - it's what Costco sells so that's what I buy)
• 1 part Garlic (granulated)

Same thing minus Salt for the salt free version for when I do thinner cuts of meat. Then I can add salt separately and avoid over salting! :)

Pork and General Purpose Meat Seasoning 2 (I use this more on pork butt and ribs but works well on non-fish meats)

• 1 part Salt
• 1 part course Black Pepper
• 1 part Onion (dehydrated/minced)
• 1 part Garlic (dehydrated)
• 1 part Paprika

Same thing minus Salt for the salt free version and the salt free version is what I use ribs since they are ridiculously easy to over salt. I add the salt separately to the ribs AFTER the no-salt version of my pork rub.

My "Part" sizes are usually 1/4 dry measuring cup. The containers I use are quite big. I reuse the containers from the Costco Kirkland brand seasonings which are pretty big containers but not exactly the super big one. They are a good big size without completely dominating the spice cabinet space.
I found a picture online showing the size difference. The Kirkland bottles are like 3/4 the overall size (considering all 3 dimensions, height/width/depth) of the really big McCormicks bottles:

 

[RickNessly]

I don't make my own rubs, so my favorite for ribs is from Germantown Commissary...google and you'll find them. I've tried a ton and this one is my families favorite. I also ate there once as well...I'm not from that area...I'm from MN, but happened to be there for work...awesome old school BBQ.

 

[wbf610]

Rubs: I use Jeff’s rub, and Pitfaced regular. Not a big heat guy, so i leave the cayenne out of Jeff’s rub.

I prefer BB, as they are priced similarly here. I can only find pre trimmed spares, so that drives up the price. Plus, i have turned out pretty good BB’s, and the wife likes them.

 

[JC in GB]

What’s everyone’s favorite rub to put on ribs that you can get from Wally World or Kroger? I like sweet with some heat if that helps

First off, I like spares and baby back ribs about the same. It really comes down to the quality of the meat and quality of the cook.
That said, I usually use St. Louis cut spares as I like the extra fat in the meat it seems to be a bit more forgiving when cooking. I will pick up BBs if they are on sale. I usually am smoking whatever pork is selling for the lowest price at the store in any case.

As far as rubs go, I make my own so I am not too well versed in the commercial products that are out there. There seems to be a rub for just about every taste and opinion on BBQ. It is far too daunting to me to weigh Mike's vs Joe's vs Chuck's rubs.

I purchased the recipes for Jeff's Original rub, Texas Rub, and the BBQ sauce. I have used all three of these recipes and can attest that they are quality recipes and turn out great results.
The only special thing I use in my rubs is smoked Spanish paprika. Other paprika doesn't have near the flavor. IMHO. Once I mixed up a batch of Jeff's original and used it on my ribs, I tossed out most of my other rub recipes as they could not compare with the flavor. You will get good results with either of these rubs. I love the Texas rub on steak. Just fantastic!

If you read other forums on this page, you will quickly find out that a simple SPOG (salt, pepper, onion, garlic) rub works well on most meats you want to smoke.

Also, I have found that the 3-2-1 method of cooking ribs works the best for me. Not sure how you are doing your ribs but 3-2-1 is nearly fool proof. My $0.02....

Happy BBQ!

 

[smokinq13]

What’s everyone’s favorite rub to put on ribs that you can get from Wally World or Kroger? I like sweet with some heat if that helps

Famous Daves rib rub or everglades cactus dust... i start with a binder like mustard then a base layer of seasoning SPGP (salt, pepper, garlic, paprika) then main bbq rub

 

[Hawging It]

I’m sure the answer to this is personal preference, but some insight would be great.
I’m wanting to smoke some ribs again this weekend. Every time I’ve done ribs I’ve used spare ribs and although they have been decent, I haven’t felt they have been good. I’ve never cooked baby backs before and was wondering do people mostly use baby backs, spares, or whatever is available? And what’s the personal preference of using your choice?

 

[Hawging It]

I’m sure the answer to this is personal preference, but some insight would be great.
I’m wanting to smoke some ribs again this weekend. Every time I’ve done ribs I’ve used spare ribs and although they have been decent, I haven’t felt they have been good. I’ve never cooked baby backs before and was wondering do people mostly use baby backs, spares, or whatever is available? And what’s the personal preference of using your choice?

I have smoked both for many years. I prefer the taste of the spare rib. My family would rather my smoke spare ribs over the Baby Backs. Just my take.

 

[IH 1026]

I made 2 racks of baby back ribs last weekend, 1 with Jeff's Original Rub, and one with Lambert's Sweet Hog O' Mine. Spritzed once an hour with apple juice, apple cider vinegar, some Apple Jack spirits, and a little water.

Had to move my smoker to the shed to shield it from 30-35mph winds, but the ribs came out pretty well.

<a href=""><img src="" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>

<a href=""><img src="" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>

 

[illini40]

I made 2 racks of baby back ribs last weekend, 1 with Jeff's Original Rub, and one with Lambert's Sweet Hog O' Mine. Spritzed once an hour with apple juice, apple cider vinegar, some Apple Jack spirits, and a little water.

Had to move my smoker to the shed to shield it from 30-35mph winds, but the ribs came out pretty well.

<a href=""><img src="" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>

<a href=""><img src="" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>

Those look great! Nice cook.

 

[Bearcarver]

Looks Great IH !!
I thought about Smoking Thursday, but it was too windy.
It was good I didn't because the 50 MPH wind knocked our power off from 2 PM to 8 PM.
Nice Job!!
Like.

Bear