Apple-Smoked Char Siu Ribs with Honey-Hoisin Glaze

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

Two racks of spare ribs get a five-spice rub, four hours over apple wood at 250°F, and a sticky hoisin-honey glaze brushed on at the end. It's char siu logic — sweet, salty, deeply savoury — applied to low-and-slow barbecue, and the smoker does every bit of the cooking. Pull them at 203°F internal and they slice clean but pull apart in your fingers.

Ingredients

• 2 racks pork spare ribs (about 5 lb / 2.3 kg total)
• 1 tbsp kosher salt
• 2 tsp Chinese five-spice powder
• 3 tbsp light brown sugar
• 4 chunks apple wood chunks (or 3 cups apple wood chips)

• 1/2 cup hoisin sauce
• 1/3 cup honey
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 3 cloves garlic, finely grated
• 1 tbsp fresh ginger, finely grated
• 3 scallions, thinly sliced

Instructions

1. Flip the racks bone-side up and peel off the thin papery membrane with a paper towel for grip. Pat the ribs dry, then mix the kosher salt, five-spice and brown sugar and rub it over both sides. Let the racks sit at room temperature for 30 minutes while the smoker comes up to heat.
2. Set up your smoker for indirect cooking at 250°F (120°C) and add the apple wood chunks once the fire is clean and the smoke runs thin and blue. Fill the water pan if your smoker has one — the ribs need a humid chamber to keep the sugar in the rub from scorching.
3. Lay the racks meat-side up on the grate, not touching, and smoke for 3 hours undisturbed. The surface should be a deep mahogany bark and the meat around 160–165°F (71–74°C) at the thickest point, where it will stall.
4. Tear off two large sheets of heavy foil. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of the honey onto each sheet, set a rack meat-side down on top, and wrap tightly. Return to the smoker and cook another 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until an instant-read thermometer slid between the bones reads 200–203°F (93–95°C) and probes with no resistance.
5. While the ribs are wrapped, whisk the hoisin, remaining honey, soy sauce, rice vinegar, garlic and ginger in a small saucepan and simmer over medium-low heat for 3 minutes, until glossy and just thick enough to coat a spoon. Take it off the heat.
6. Unwrap the racks — save the foil juices — and set them back on the grate meat-side up. Brush generously with the glaze and smoke uncovered for 20 to 30 minutes, brushing once more halfway, until the glaze is tacky and lacquered and the internal temperature holds at 203°F (95°C).
7. Rest the racks on a board for 15 minutes, then slice between the bones. Spoon over a little of the reserved foil juices, scatter with scallions and serve with the remaining glaze on the side.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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