Willingham’s World Champion Ribs
John Willingham’s own spare-rib recipe: W’ham® Marinade and W’ham® Original Mild worked in overnight, a long, low cook with the slabs turned every 15 minutes, and four ways to tell when they’re done. Food Network published it from the Memphis episode of FoodNation with Bobby Flay.
Ingredients
Method
- Marinate and season. Lay the slabs in a non-reactive pan. Brush both sides with the W’ham® Marinade, then sprinkle on the W’ham® Original Mild Seasoning and work it into the meat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 12 hours.
- Cook low and slow. Bring the cooker to about 250°F. Lay the slabs on the grate, or on a rotisserie or carousel if your cooker has one, and cook for roughly 4½ to 5½ hours. On a fixed grate, turn the slabs about every 15 minutes.
- Check for doneness four ways. The meat reads about 180°F inside; the slab bends easily when you lift it; a fork slides in with little resistance; and the bone ends stand out about 3/8 inch past the meat.
- Cut and serve. Cut into single bones, or into 3-, 4- or 6-bone sections. Serve right away, with sauce on the side or none at all.
Nutrition
Notes
About the cut. St. Louis-style ribs are still spare ribs — the same cut from the belly side of the hog, trimmed square. The butcher takes off the rib tips (the strip of cartilage and meat along the bottom edge) and the flap of skirt meat on the back, which leaves a flat, rectangular slab that cooks evenly. Whole spare ribs keep the tips attached. This recipe works for either: buy St. Louis-cut, or trim whole spares yourself.
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!Made with W’ham® Marinade and W’ham® Original Mild Seasoning. What else they go on — and how we layer them — is in the W’ham® Pairing Matrix.
Variations
This rib has travelled. Here is where else it has been published and adapted:
- Food Network — Willingham’s World Champion Ribs. John’s recipe as Food Network published it from the Memphis episode of FoodNation with Bobby Flay.
- Modernist Cuisine — Smoked Dry-Rub Pork Ribs (2013). The Modernist Cuisine team’s tribute to John, adapting his rib advice for a home charcoal grill with apple wood.
- Oprah.com — Steve Harvey’s ribs (2014). Asked for his best recipe, Harvey answers with ribs in the smoker and “a delicious dry rub called W’ham.”
- The Associated Press — Elizabeth Karmel’s baby back ribs (2013). A W’ham-inspired rub and the method she learned at Memphis in May, made the way John made them.