Apple-Smoked Miso Baby Back Ribs

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

Two racks of baby backs go low and slow over apple wood until the meat pulls back from the bone, then get lacquered in a four-ingredient white miso and mirin glaze. Sweet, salty and deeply smoky, with barely any hands-on work once the smoker is running.

Ingredients

• 2 racks baby back pork ribs (about 2 lb each)
• 1 tbsp kosher salt
• 2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp light brown sugar
• 2 tsp garlic powder

• 1/3 cup white miso paste
• 1/3 cup mirin
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 3 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar

• 3 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

Instructions

1. Pat the ribs dry. Slide a butter knife under the thin membrane on the bone side of each rack, grip it with a paper towel and peel it off. Mix the salt, pepper, brown sugar and garlic powder and rub it over both sides of both racks. Let the ribs sit at room temperature for 30 minutes while the smoker heats.
2. Set up your smoker for indirect cooking at 250°F (120°C) and add 3 or 4 fist-sized chunks of apple wood (or a foil packet of soaked apple chips over the heat source). Wait until the smoke runs thin and blue, not white and billowing.
3. Lay the racks bone side down on the grate, leaving space between them. Smoke undisturbed for 3 hours, until the surface is deep mahogany and the thickest meat between the bones reads about 165°F (74°C). Top up wood once at the 90-minute mark if the smoke has died off.
4. While the ribs smoke, whisk the miso, mirin, soy sauce, honey and rice vinegar in a bowl until smooth. Set aside half for finishing.
5. Tear two large sheets of heavy-duty foil. Brush each rack all over with the first half of the glaze, wrap tightly meat side down, and return to the smoker for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until the internal temperature reaches 203°F (95°C) and a toothpick slides into the meat with no resistance.
6. Unwrap carefully (the steam is hot), pour off the foil juices, and set the racks back on the grate meat side up. Brush with the reserved glaze and smoke uncovered for 20 to 30 minutes, until the glaze is tacky and shiny rather than wet.
7. Rest the racks on a board for 15 minutes, then slice between the bones and scatter with scallions and sesame seeds.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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