Every now and then I get a wild hair and make something that's not quite in line with what is "normal". Another one of those instances came up recently when I decided I was going to make Jalapeno Popper Ribs. I love jalapeno ribs, and I love jalapeno poppers, so I felt like combining them was the next logical step.
These ribs didn't quite turn out EXACTLY how I was hoping, but they were still very good, and I will definitely make them again.
If you love getting a little crazy with your food recipes, then you'll love making these jalapeno popper ribs. Just know going in that they might not turn out how you envision... but they will still be damn good!
Jalapeno Popper Ribs
This idea all started when I was scrolling through my Instagram feed one night half asleep, and saw a picture of ribs, injected with cream cheese where the rib bones were. Of course, I didn't pay attention to who posted the picture, and when I went back to look for the recipe, I couldn't find it.
That's fine, the concept seemed simple enough, and it is!
Step One: Pick Your Rack of Ribs
I usually don't put much thought into picking my racks of ribs. They all seem the same, right?
Wrong!
Some racks have a little bit more meat on the bone side of the rack, and that is the type of rack you are looking for. A less meaty rack of baby back ribs will work, but when it's time to pull the bones, you might end up with slots in the meat, instead of holes.
Step Two: Prep Your Ribs
Prepping a rack of baby backs is a simple process, that usually involves removing the silver skin on the underside of the rack. For this recipe, leave the silverskin on! The silverskin will provide another layer of protection, allowing you to easily pull the bones and have a good hole left behind.
I DIDN'T DO THIS, AND I WISH I WOULD HAVE!!
Square up the ends of each rack of ribs - you're making more than one rack, right? - and then apply your binding agent (mustard or olive oil work great) and then apply your rub.
Step Three: Smoke Your Ribs
There are many ways to smoke a rack of ribs, but my favorite is the 321 method.
Take a look at the previous link to get the full 321 method. Here is the truncated version:
- Prep and rub ribs.
- Place in smoker meat side up for 3 hours at 225.
- Wrap each rack tightly in foil and add apple juice, brown sugar, honey, and butter.
- Cook for an additional two hours at 225.
- After two hours, remove the ribs from the smoker and carefully unwrap, and then put them back on the grill meat side up. Brush with your favorite BBQ sauce and let them cook for an additional 30-60 minutes.
The ribs are done when a meat thermometer reads 195 degrees in the meaty section between each bone on the rack.
Pull the ribs when they are at 195 and wrap them in foil again, and then put them in a cooler to rest. This is a crucial step! While the ribs rest they will continue to slowly cook, tenderizing the meat even more. You want those bones to slide right out, and this is how you achieve that.
Step Four: Time to Have Some Fun!
While the racks of ribs are resting in the cooler, start prepping your filling.
If you don't want your jalapeno ribs to be too spicy, remove the seeds from two jalapenos. If spice is life... keep the seeds in and dice two jalapenos. Put the diced jalapeno in a small bowl, and combine with 4 ounces of softened cream cheese, a ½ tsp of paprika, and a ¼ teaspoon of salt.
Mix everything up, put the cream cheese mixture in a cake frosting decorating bag or ziplock, and set aside.
Step Five: Pull the Rib Bones and Inject the Holes!
After the ribs have rested for an hour remove them from the cooler and carefully unwrap them. The ribs will be hot! Carefully grab one of the bones, and slowly twist the bone and slowly pull it out, being careful not to remove any meat along with it.
Continue this process until all of the rib bones have been removed. Some of the rib bones might not come out clean, and some of them may just leave a slot in the meat, instead of a hole. That's ok!
After you've removed all of the ribs, grab your cream cheese mixture bag, and slowly push the mixture into each of the rib holes. This might get messy...
Step Six: EAT!
At this point, you either have a rack of ribs with jalapeno popper filling in the rib holes, or a rack of ribs with jalapeno popper filling all over and around the rib holes. Either way, they're gonna be good! Slice the ribs between each hole, and eat!!
Just make sure you grab some napkins, this WILL be messy.
Jalapeno Popper Ribs
Ingredients
- 2 racks Baby Back Ribs
- 1 tbsp olive oil or yellow mustard
- 2 tbsp your favorite bbq rub
- ½ cup apple juice
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ⅓ cup honey
- 8 tbsp butter
Instructions
- For this recipe, leave the silverskin on! The silverskin will provide another layer of protection, allowing you to easily pull the bones and have a good hole left behind.
- Square up the ends of each rack of ribs
- Apply your binding agent (mustard or olive oil work great) and then apply your rub.
- Place each rack of ribs in your smoker, meat side up for 3 hours at 225.
- After three hours wrap each rack tightly in foil and add apple juice, brown sugar, honey, and butter.
- Cook for an additional two hours at 225.
- After two hours, remove the ribs from the smoker and carefully unwrap, and then put them back on the grill meat side up. Brush with your favorite BBQ sauce and let them cook for an additional 30-60 minutes.
- The ribs are done when an instant-read thermometer reads 195 degrees in the meaty section between each bone on the rack.
- Put them in a cooler to rest. This is a crucial step!
- While the racks of ribs are resting in the cooler, start prepping your filling.
- If you don't want your ribs to be too spicy, remove the seeds from two jalapenos.
- and then dice the two jalapenos.
- Put the diced jalapeno in a small bowl, and combine with 4 ounces of softened cream cheese, a ½ tsp of paprika, and a ¼ teaspoon of salt.
- Mix everything up, put the cream cheese mixture in a cake frosting decorating bag or ziplock, and set aside.
- After the ribs have rested for an hour remove them from the cooler and carefully unwrap them. The ribs will be hot! Carefully grab one of the bones, and slowly twist the bone and slowly pull it out, being careful not to remove any meat along with it.
- Continue this process until all of the rib bones have been removed. Some of the rib bones might not come out clean, and some of them may just leave a slot in the meat, instead of a hole. That's ok!
- After you've removed all of the ribs, grab your cream cheese mixture bag, and slowly push the mixture into each of the rib holes.
- Slice the ribs between each hole, and eat!!
I am a novice at this. Could you please explain "binding agent"?
A binding agent helps the rub adhere to the meat. A small amount of Yellow mustard, hot sauce, or olive oil are commonly used as binding agents.