There are two cuts of spareribs: standard
and St. Louis. Standard ribs have the skirt
flap meat and cartilaginous rib tips still
attached. They are known as St. Louis-style
spareribs when they’re trimmed of the
breastbone and an adjacent gnarled strip
of meat (as shown above). This gives
them a compact shape that helps them
cook evenly.¾ lb. (2 cups) medium-grind
yellow cornmeal
2 oz. (¾ cup) dried green
peppercorns
1 oz. kosher salt (¼ cup if using
Diamond Crystal; 2 Tbs. if using
Morton)
½ cup pure maple syrup
13 cup vegetable oil or melted
bacon fat
1 Tbs. bourbon, preferably Evan
Williams Kentucky Straight
2 racks St. Louis-style pork spareribs
(5 to 6 lb. total), silverskin removed
(see Test Kitchen, p. 88)Prepare a gas or charcoal grill fire for
indirect cooking over low (300°F) heat
(see Test Kitchen, p. 87).
In a large bowl, mix the cornmeal,
peppercorns, salt, maple syrup, oil or
bacon fat, and bourbon. Coat the meat
side of the ribs with the mixture and
wrap each rack in foil.Arrange the ribs meat side up in a
single layer over the cool zone of the
grill. Close the lid and cook the ribs until
fork-tender, 3 to 3½ hours. Let cool to
room temperature and then refrigerate
for at least 2 hours but preferably
overnight. (If refrigerating overnight,
let the ribs sit at room temperature for
1 hour before continuing.)
To serve, remove the ribs from the
foil; scrape off the crust and reserve.
Reheat the ribs meat side down over
a medium-low (350°F) direct gas or
charcoal grill fire until nicely browned,
5 to 8 minutes. Flip the ribs and pat or
sprinkle with about half of the reserved
crust (discard the rest). Cook until hot,
3 to 4 minutes more. Cut between the
ribs and serve sprinkled with any of the
cornmeal crust that fell off while carving.cornmeal and green peppercorn crusted spareribs
Prepare this recipe the day before you plan to serve it; that way, the ribs will absorb more flavor from the crust as they rest
overnight. Serves 6 to 8RIBS & ROASTS
36 GRILLING 2019