BBQ Ribs Done Chicago Style

Chicago winters are bleak, depressing and stressful. Winter means no more pool parties, no more baseball, and no more neighborhood barbecues. The word barbecue is often misused around Chicago. We refer to grilling as BBQing even though they are two very different cooking methods. In reality, we really don’t BBQ at all up here. How often do you find a real BBQ shack with a pile of wood around back? How often do you see neighbors inviting people over to check out their new open pit barbecue? It’s very rare that you will even find a smoker in a backyard. This all-American cuisine is something that is practically foreign to Chicagoins. Yes, there are some real BBQ joints in and around the city, but most places that claim to be Chicago style barbecue are really just selling oven-baked rubber strips smothered in ketchup and brown sugar that they call, “the best ribs in town”.

As crazy as it may seem, Illinois actually has the best climate for doing real barbecue. Years ago when I was living downstate, we were hit by a series of ice storms in the middle of January, knocking the power out for weeks. With all-electrical appliances, how do you survive? Luckily, I had a Brinkmann vertical charcoal water smoker at the time. I started smoking meat for every meal to keep myself warm and nourished. After all, we had no lights, no heat – no electricity at all. The twenty-below-zero temperatures made the meat cook slower than ever before, making the end product a much smokier, tender meat.

When I moved back up to the Chicago area, I had to leave my smoker behind. That first winter back in Chicagoland, I started craving real barbecue. I examined the materials I had laying around, and came up with the contraption shown below. This ghetto-rigged charcoal smoker actually works! It has the capacity and dynamics to smoke small batches of meat, but only if it’s cold outside. Here’s how to make it and how to smoke ribs on it Chicago wintertime style.

Ghetto Rigged Charcoal Smoker

The Smoker:

1. A simple square charcoal grill about 24″x24″
2. A cheap $5 charcoal camp grill from Walmart
3. Applewood smoking chips
4. 1 large bag of charcoal

Assemble the square charcoal grill. Soak the wood chips in cold water for an hour. Lay out a bed of charcoal in the center of the grill. Place a few wood chips on top of the charcoal, and squirt lighter fluid all over it. Ignite the coals with a match, and place the grilling grate on the grill. Grab the camp grill, and fill the charcoal tray with water and place the unit inside the grill as pictured to the right. Once the water is boiling, you are ready to smoke the ribs. Follow the instructions below for the Chicago style rib recipe.

The Ribs:

Rib Marinade Recipe:

• 1/8c apple cider vinegar
• 1c apple juice

Mix the vinegar and juice together, and marinade the ribs in it overnight.

Rib Dry Rub Recipe:

• 1/2 tsp. thyme
• 1/2 tsp. oregano
• 1 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 2 1/2 tbsp paprika
• 1 1/2 tbsp sea salt
• 1 tbsp black pepper
• 1 tsp. onion powder
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• Olive oil

Mix all the ingredients together. Remove the ribs from the marinade and discard the marinade. Rub the ribs with some olive oil. Sprinkle a good amount of the seasoning to coat all sides of the ribs. Gently massage the spice rub into the meat. Wrap the slabs of ribs in plastic wrap, and marinate overnight in the fridge.

Rib Mopping Sauce Recipe:

• 1 can of American style light beer
• 1/2c apple cider vinegar
• 1/3c olive oil
• 1/4c Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tsp. Louisiana hot sauce
• 2 tsp. spicy brown mustard
• 2 tsp. sea salt
• 2 shots of bourbon
• 1/4c finely chopped onion
• 4 cloves finely diced garlic

Combine all ingredients, and bring to a slow boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle a light amount of the mopping sauce onto the ribs, and place on the top rack of the camp grill inside the ghetto smoker.

Rib Meat Recipe:

• 2 large slabs of extra meaty bone-in baby back ribs

Dab the ribs on both sides with the mopping sauce about once every twenty minutes. Check the charcoal and smoking wood frequently, and add more as needed. Replenish the water as it boils down. If the weather is around zero degrees, you will be able to smoke these ribs for up to 8 hours. The temperature inside the ghetto smoker should be between 225-275 degrees at all times. You will know the ribs are done when it forms a dark, goldish-brown tint around the outside, and it will be fall-off-the-bone tender. A beautiful pink smoke ring will penetrate almost completely through the meat. If you have the wintertime blues and have a lot of time to kill, try smoking ribs in sub-zero temperatures to satisfy your summer nostalgia.