The Absolute Best Way To Cook Pork Spare Ribs, According To BBQ Master Aaron Franklin

Some of us are lucky enough to have close friends or family who have some experience working with a grill and can teach us a trick or two about preparing the world's various BBQ types, but not many people get the opportunity to really sit down with a pitmaster and learn the tools of the trade. Aaron Franklin, Pitmaster Extraordinaire and Owner of the famous Franklin BBQ in Austin, Texas, is putting together a master class called Smoke & Fire in Mendoza, Argentina, next February. But when it comes to pork spare ribs, we aren't the patient type.

So, we got Franklin to give us the lowdown on how to put this dish together. "I prefer to start full spare ribs, meat side up, and cook at moderate temperatures until the surface has a nice mahogany color," Franklin told Tasting Table. "Around 3 ½ hours, or when the color is about two shades darker than you prefer, wash excess smoke off with a good spritz and delicately apply your favorite (warm) BBQ sauce and let set for a few minutes."

If you're reading this and feeling a little lost, keep in mind that practice makes perfect. Spare ribs are an underrated cut of meat, which means they're more affordable than other similar cuts that are in high demand, such as the ever-popular baby back ribs. Great flavor at a great price means pork spare ribs are a good way to practice and cut your teeth grill-side. But let's get back to the recipe.

So, we've cooked the spare ribs for the roughly 3 ½ hours that Aaron Franklin recommended and set them aside to rest. Franklin continued by saying, "When the ribs are just a little tacky, wrap tightly, meat side down, in foil with a bit of warm BBQ sauce and a splash of apple cider vinegar and place back on the cooker. Let them cook for about two more hours or until you can feel them getting almost tender through the foil. This part is very tricky and really takes some practice."

All in all, the entire cook should last just under six hours, which means this method is great for a long, relaxing weekend. If you don't have that kind of time, you can always make our spicy oven-baked pork spare ribs, which come together in under an hour. But as much as we like our oven-baked version, you just can't beat good old-fashioned low and slow grilling.