For the second smoke in the Pit Boss Vertical Pellet Smoker I have chosen to smoke two 6 pound pork spareribs. For this smoke we will use the 3-2-1 method to cook them. You can check out my post that was done on the 2-1-1 method for Baby Back Ribs here. These methods are very similar but generally spareribs need a longer cook time to cook due to the fact they are bigger and have more meat on them. This would mean for the first 3 hours the ribs are cooked uncovered on the rack of the smoker. For the next 2 hours the ribs are wrapped in aluminum foil. Then the final 1 hour the ribs are taken out of the aluminum foil and finished off uncovered.
Next you are going to need to get a tray or a cutting board to place the ribs on. Remove them from the package and dry them off with some paper towels. After that you will have to flip them over with the bone side facing up. Find and remove the thin membrane that runs across the back of the ribs. You can use a butter knife and a paper towel to tear off the membrane.
Once you have the membrane off the ribs you can flip them back over to the meat side up and begin putting the rub on. Sprinkle the rub on top of the ribs and pat it down into the ribs so it begins to absorb the rub.
For one of the racks of ribs I used the Pit Boss Sweet Heat Rub and the Whiskey Fruitwood Rub. For the other rack of ribs I just used the Pit Boss Sweet Rib Rub. I just wanted to try the difference in rubs and see how each would come out.
Once you have a good amount of rub on the ribs place them into the smoker for 3 hours at 250 degrees. I usually try and spritz them every hour so they will not dry out. Set a timer on your phone for 3 hours so you will not forget about them.
After the 3 hours are up remove the ribs from the smoker and wrap them in aluminum foil. Once the ribs are wrapped in aluminum foil return them back to the smoker for 2 more hours at 250 degrees.
After cooking the ribs for 2 hours wrapped in the aluminum foil remove them from the foil and then return them back to the smoker for the last and final hour. In total you will have cooked these ribs for 6 hours.
At the end of the 6th hour you should see a significant amount of pull back on the ribs like in the picture above. You want at least a 1/2 inch or more of pull back.
Check out the smoke ring on the ribs. The ribs came out perfect in the Pit Boss Vertical Smoker. These were so delicious and tender. I can hardly wait to smoke something again in the Pit Boss.
If you are interested in other Pit Boss Pellet Smoker Recipe articles please check out our Pit Boss Series.
Pit Boss Pellet Smoker Series
Pork Shoulder Burnt Ends in the Pit Boss Pellet Smoker