Char Siu Ribs Blasphemy Style. While it doesn’t literally translate, we have come to think of Char Siu as the style of BBQ Pork you get at a Chinese Restaurant. These are ribs done in that style, which are often served as appetizers in the same restaurants.
My wife likes this style of rib much better than traditional BBQ style (but I love her anyway), so often when I make Blasphemy ribs, I will separately marinate a few in this style and cook them at the same time. Only real difference is the rub, and basting with honey instead of BBQ sauce.
If your grill has an accurate probe-based thermometer, you are golden. DO NOT trust the dial thermometer built into the lid. They are notoriously inaccurate. Otherwise, get yourself a good, remote reading thermometer. I recommend products from Thermoworks. For this recipe, a single probe is fine, like the BlueDOT, but I’d spend a little extra and get a multi-probe unit, like the Smoke, Smoke-X (extended range) or Signals. They will let you monitor the grill temp and one or more meat temperatures. See our Other Cool Stuff page for more info or click on the product links above.
Char Siu Blasphemy Ribs Recipe
Course: Main, AppetizersCuisine: American, BBQDifficulty: Easy30
minutes2
hours30
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hoursThis recipe uses the same basic technique as Blasphemy Ribs, but substitutes char siu mix for the bbq style rub.
Ingredients
1 Rack 1 Baby Back Pork Ribs
4 tbs 4 Honey
1/2 pkg 1/2 NOH Brand Char Siu Seasoning Mix (see notes)
1 tbs 1 roasted sesame seeds (optional)
Directions
- Rinse the rack of ribs and then remove the membrane.
- Cut the ribs into singles. This is much easier to do from the back as you can see the bones.
- Put the ribs into a gallon zip lock bag. Add about 1/2 of the packet of Char Siu powder to bag. Close the bag and toss them well to coat. If they are not well coated, add more powder and repeat tossing until they are well coated. Put them in the refrigerator for 6 hours (or longer). I try to do mine the day before. Every few hours, turn the bag over to make sure the ribs get an even coating of the rub.
- Get your smoker going with indirect heat and try to get it to hold a steady temperature at 225F. Since this is a timed cook, keeping this temperature steady is important. Go to our Other Cool Stuff section for links to info on how to set up your grill properly.
- When you are ready to cook, put them on a grill pan with holes. They really don’t want to stand up, so I gave up trying and now just lay them on their side. (See the picture below but this is a picture of regular Blasphemy Ribs.) If you use a stainless steel pan, prep the pan with a light coating of oil to make cleanup easier and to make sure the ribs can be removed as easily and cleanly as possible.
- Smoke them at 225F for 2.5 hours. Apply the honey at 2 hours in, so it bakes on for half an hour. Baste the honey on getting it on the edge facing up and on the top (which will be facing sideways). Note that heating the honey for about 10 seconds in the microwave before basting makes it much easier to brush on. I have experimented with coating the top and side, then turning the rib over to baste the side that is down. I didn’t find that it was worth the effort.
- At the 2.5 hour mark, remove from the smoker, sprinkle with the sesame seeds and serve. The total time here is 2.5 hours. The timing and temperatures are critical to success. Let them go longer and you will overcook them. Since they are individual, the margin for error is much smaller than for a whole rack.
Recipe Video
Notes
- I have only made this recipe with baby back ribs, and the timings and temperature are tested for that. It took me many tries to get the timing right and it gives proven results, so please make it my way before you try anything else. Having said, that, others have found this also works for St. Louis cut ribs with the same temp and timings. I suspect full spares would behave the same.
- If you have trouble keeping 225F, but can hit 275F, others have reported that this works if you shave 1/2 hour off the timing, so smoke at 275F for 1.5 hours, baste and smoke another 1/2 hour.
- Since this recipe doesn’t really rely on smoke flavor, you can certainly make these in the oven if you have one that can be set to 225F. (I always smoke them because I am generally making regular Blasphemy Ribs at the same time, but the seasoning tends to overpower the smoke.)
- This marinade packet is available at most Asian markets and well-stocked regular grocery stores. Look for it in the Asian foods section. See the picture below. If you can’t find it locally, order from Amazon here.
I first read about these at the Pitmaster Club, and gave them a try last night. Amazing! Will definitely try the Blasphemy Ribs (sans Char Siu) next. Thanks for being an innovator!
I follow the recipe but my ribs always turned out kinda of tough after I smoke my temperature reads 200-250 do I need to boil the ribs first?
Your temperature is likely too high. Make sure you are measuring with a good digital thermometer and at the grate. If you can’t get an accurate reading or control it lower, try shortening the cook time. Whatever you do, do not boil the ribs!!