Sat. is Nashiitashii’s birthday, and we are having friends over to celebrate. I’ve decided to smoke two double racks of pork spareribs, (the sort that come folded over) and I need some rub and marinade suggestions. We’d like to do one set in a jerk style, and the other in a down south sweet bbq type. Don’t limit yourselves to those though, let’s hear it all! I know all about the apple juice smoking trick to make them tender, but I need some good recommendations for rubs marinades and sauces! Let’s hear it bbq aficionados.
Magic Dust
* 1/2 cup paprika
* 1/4 cup kosher salt, finely ground
* 1/4 cup sugar
* 1/4 mustard powder
* 1/4 cup chili powder
* 1/4 cup ground cumin
* 1/4 ground black pepper
* 1/4 cup granulated garlic
* 2 tablespoons cayenne
Goes on freaking everything!
Sounds good, and I have all those things on hand. 
Good. If you have those on hand you need only get fresh Scotch Bonnet peppers, Brown Sugar, fresh ground Pimento or Allspice, Vinegar, Oil, and Hot sauce added to that basic mix to make a jerk paste.
… maybe a couple of cloves of fresh crushed or chopped garlic as well. Fresh Ginger as a secret ingredient.
Sweet chipotle rub
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup paprika
2 Tbs black pepper
2 Tbs cumin
2 Tbs chipotle chili powder (crucial)
2 Tbs garlic powder
2 Tbs onion powder
1 Tbs Accent (optional)
I have some ribs to cook too. Last time, I found a great rub on alrecipes.com, too lazy to search right now, and this thread is sure to save my ass and to be tasty too!
Here’s my jerk recipe:
8-12 habaneros (or Scotch bonnets, of course. This makes for a VERY hot jerk. If you don’t like foods very spice, reduce this to 1 pepper)
1 onion
1/4 cup or so chopped chives
4 cloves garlic
1/2 cup parsley
1/2 cup cilantro
2 inches fresh ginger
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
1 tablespoon whole allspice
1 teaspoon whole black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1.2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon whole cloves
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
Pound the allspice, pepper, and cloves into a powder (how coarse you want it is up to you) in a mortar and pestle.
In a food processor, combine chiles, onion, chives, garlic, parsely, cilantro, ginger, salt, thyme, nutmeg, and your pulverized allspice/pepper/clove mixture. Process to a coarse paste. Add lime juice, oil, sugar, and soy sauce. Process some more. If the mixture is too thick, add water. I found that this amount of liquid was just right, perhaps a little on the runny side.
As for regular rib rubs, I just start simple: equal parts paprika, salt, and coarsely ground black pepper. After that, it’s however I’m feeling, but these days I like to go the aromatic spice route and add 1/2 part allspice, 1/2 part fennel, 1/2 part coriander seeds, and a little bit of cloves and red pepper to taste. If I feel like going in the more typical direction, instead I’ll add 1/2 part cumin, 1/2 part celery seeds, 1/2 part mustard seeds, 1/4 part garlic powder, 1/4 part onion powder. edit: Oh, and red (hot) pepper of whatever type you prefer, of course.
Some people also like using lemonade powder or lemon pepper in their rubs. It’s a fun thing to play around with and see if you like it. As for the apple juice trick, if you’re talking about using apple juice in the water pan instead of water, it doesn’t really seem to make any difference.
No, you use it as a secondary source of liquid for the 4th and fifth hour of smoking while wrapped in tin foil. It creates fall off the bone tenderness.
Ah. Foiling. If you like the fall of the bone tenderness, that’s fine. It’s not my preferred style of barbecue, though, as you lose your bark that way and ribs (in my opinion) should have a toothiness and not fall off the bone. But barbecue is all about personal style, so make 'em how you like 'em!