Missouri-Style Dry Rub Ribs

Yield 2-3
RECIPE Ingredients
  • 1 package Berkshire Pork Baby Back Ribs, cut into 4 portions
  • 2 cups rich ham-hock stock or chicken stock, preferably homemade
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • 3 tablespoons lemon zest, freshly grated
  • 3 tablespoons fresh chives, sliced
Recipe notes
This delectable baby back pork ribs recipe is great on the grill. Chef Michel Nischan learned to cook ribs from his mother, who basted ribs with ham-hock stock.
RECIPE Preparation
  1. Prepare a gas or charcoal grill for indirect cooking. For a gas grill, this means turning one side of the burners on high and the other on medium. For a charcoal grill, mound all the hardwood charcoal on one side of the grill so that the ribs can be cooked over both hotter and cooler parts of the grill. Light the coals. Allow them to become white-hot.
  2. Let the ribs sit on the counter until they reach room temperature. Baste them with the stock and put them on the hot side of the grill. Sear for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, or until they begin to turn brown.
  3. Move the ribs to the cooler side of the grill. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Turn, baste with more stock, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Repeat this turning, basting, and seasoning for about 1 hour to 1 hour 20 minutes, or until the meat begins to sag off of the ribs when you pick them up to turn. At this point you will have to treat them more carefully because of the softening meat. The goal is to glaze the ribs with the ham-hock stock while equalizing the smokiness from the coals with the saltiness of the ribs.
  4. Garnish with the lemon zest and chives.