Best for: A slow afternoon of ribs with a deep-red adobo glaze.
Costillas — pork ribs — get a Mexican treatment here: a chile-forward rub, low indirect cooking, and a glossy guajillo adobo glaze brushed on at the end. The result is smoky, gently spicy, and made for eating with your hands.
Grill: Indirect heat; 275°F, then direct medium heat for glazing. Equipment: Covered grill, small saucepan, brush, thermometer.
Ingredients
40 minutes Chill: 1 hour. Rest: 15 minutes. Total: 4 hours 15 minutes.
Ribs and rub
- 2 racks pork spare ribs, about 5 lb total, membrane removed
- 2 tablespoons ancho chile powder
- 1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons fine table salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
Adobo glaze
- 4 dried guajillo chiles, stemmed and seeded
- 1 cup hot water
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 garlic clove
- 1/2 teaspoon fine table salt
Directions
Stir together the ancho powder, brown sugar, garlic powder, cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper. Rub the mixture over both sides of the ribs, cover, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Meanwhile, make the glaze: soak the guajillo chiles in the hot water for 15 minutes, then blend with the vinegar, honey, garlic, and salt until smooth. Simmer in a small saucepan for 5 minutes, until slightly thickened.
Heat the grill for indirect cooking at 275°F. Set the ribs bone-side down over indirect heat, close the lid, and cook for 2 hours.
Continue cooking until the ribs are probe-tender, about 195°F and the meat pulls back from the bone ends, about 30 minutes more. Brush generously with the adobo glaze.
Move the ribs over direct medium heat and cook for 3–4 minutes per side, glazing once more, until the sauce lacquers and the edges char lightly.
Rest for 15 minutes, then slice between the bones and serve with the remaining warm glaze.
Grilling tip: Add the honeyed glaze only in the last minutes over direct heat so the sugars lacquer instead of scorching.
