Pork Ribs à la Buckmasters
By Tim H. Martin
Recipe Courtesy of Buckmasters’ Big Mike Foster
The Buckmasters family knows him affectionately as Big Mike. He’s the grillmaster for our company gatherings and the guy with the closely guarded method of cooking pork ribs that puts restaurants to shame.
Mike Fosters’s ribs are so tender you can slide one in your mouth, pull out a bare bone and practically inhale the succulent meat without chewing. They are sublime.
These are the only ribs I know where using a BBQ sauce would be a crime. The pork is permeated with Big Mike’s homemade rub combo, so sauce would only hide perfection.
You can’t buy them, and his recipe has never been shared — until now.
Thank you, Big Mike, for sharing your Buckmasters tradition with our fans, and for all you do in keeping Buckmasters warehouse operations running smoothly. Did I mention he also oversees the world’s largest 3D archery tournament, the Buckmasters Top Bow Indoor World Championship? A man of many talents.
Big Mike Foster Shares His Secrets
Foster begins, “It’s nothing fancy, really, just the way I cook them and the rub I’ve come up with. First, you’ll want a great slab of pork ribs. I prefer St. Louis style — one with good symmetry from end to end, not too much fat, but with nice marbling.
“Make sure the ribs have thawed completely, then season 2 to 4 hours before grilling. Here’s my rub mix, but you can improvise.”
Big Mike’s Rub Mix
*See links below if you can’t find these in a store.
(Approximate per slab, making sure ribs are thoroughly coated)
• 2 tablespoons Southern Flavor Charbroil Seasoning
• 1 tablespoon Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning
• 1 tablespoon Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
How the Magic Happens Big Mike explains the cooking method, “Place the seasoned ribs in the fridge, then bring them out 30 minutes before cooking. I use charcoal heated with a chimney starter (no lighter fluid), but this method works on gas grills, too.
“Heat a good stack of briquettes white hot and leave them on one side of the grill. Cook the slabs fairly close to the coals for about an hour or until the meat pulls from the bone about 1/4 inch. Turn every 10 minutes to brown on both sides.
“Although they’re edible at this point, now is the time I remove the slabs and wrap them in 3 or 4 layers of aluminum foil. Place them back on the grill as far away from the heat source as possible. This acts as an oven. Leave wrapped slabs on the grill another 35 minutes to an hour. When you remove, they will be tender and barely holding on to the bone.”
Editor’s Note by Tim H. Martin: Southern Flavoring Charbroil Seasoning is one of Alabama’s best-kept secrets — a Bama favorite locals call Selma Dirt. You can use other brands, but this one’s better. When I visit Yankee friends, I arrive bearing bottles as gifts. They always ask for refills.
*Southern Flavor Charbroil Seasoning: southernflavor.com
*Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning: www.tonychachere.com
*Lawry’s Seasoned Salt: www.mccormick.com/lawrys
Print The Recipe!