Smoked gochujang spare ribs prepared with a classic BBQ dry rub and spicy-sweet glaze. Using classic Korean ingredients like gochugaru flakes and gochujang, and combining them with honey and a slow cook over smoke, this simple pork rib recipe delivers big, bold flavors.
I’m always looking for ways to mix up my approach to barbecue classics, and I couldn’t resist the opportunity to create a gochujang glaze for smoked spare ribs.
This classic Korean paste goes perfectly with sticky and sweet, and is a great base ingredient for those of us who like a little kick of heat to our meat.
And spare ribs, with their delicious amount of meat, marbling and fat provided on each bone are the perfect meat to try this glaze on.
This recipe takes a classic approach to smoking spare ribs, using a fairly basic dry rub, but is transformed in the last hour of the cook where we start applying our homemade glaze, letting it set between each application in order to really let that flavor build up.
Gochujang Glaze
Central to this recipe is its gochujang glaze which, you guessed it, features the brilliant Korean fermented paste, gochujang. Unlike other types of chili sauces or pastes, this has a really deep punch that’s almost like miso paste but with a nice spicy kick. It’s also great for barbecue because it naturally clings to meat, coating it in flavor, and helps build a sticky-sweet savory glaze that tastes incredible.
This glaze has the right balance of sweet, savory, and acid that we need for smoke. The sugars caramelize to bolster the bark, while the soy sauce amplifies the meat’s flavor, and the acid in the rice vinegar cuts through the richness of the fat so they taste bright and not too heavy.
Quick Tips
- Use a Water Pan: Place a disposable aluminum pan filled with cold water on your smoker grates. Known as a water pan, this helps to regulate temperature and humidity in your smoker.
- Spritz, Spritz, Spritz: Give the ribs a quick spray every 30-40 minutes during the smoke to help build up that smoky flavor and bark, as well as keep the surface moist.
- Go Thin on the Glaze: Brushing on the glaze too thick will wash off the rub and soften the bark that you’ve worked so hard on. Try to apply it just on the thin side and layer it up from there every 10 minutes.
Smoked Gochujang Spare Ribs
Ingredients
- 2 racks pork spare ribs
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Dry Rub
- 2 tbsp coarse salt
- 2 tsp 16 mesh black pepper
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp white pepper
Spritz
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup apple juice
Gochujang Glaze
- ½ cup gochujang
- ½ cup soy sauce
- ½ cup honey
- ¼ cup rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp mirin
- 2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 3 cloves garlic grated
- 1 tsp fresh ginger grated
- 2 tsp gochugaru flakes
Garnish
- 2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
- 3 scallions thinly sliced
Instructions
- With a boning knife, trim the four last bones off the thin end of each rib rack. Then, square off the long sides of the racks to form a neat-ish rectangle.
- Remove the membrane on the bone side of the rib racks by using a blunt knife and a sheet of kitchen paper to peel it away from one end of the rack to the other. Pat the racks dry with kitchen paper.
- Apply a thin layer of oil all over each rack to act as a binder. Combine the rub ingredients and coat both sides of the ribs evenly. Leave the racks to sit at room temperature for 30-60 minutes.
- Fire up your smoker to 250-275°F (121-135°C)
- Lay each rack meat-side up on the smoker grates and cook for 1 hour.
- Shake together the spritz ingredients in a spray bottle and lightly spritz the top side of the ribs. Repeat every 30-40 minutes.
- In a small saucepan, warm the glaze ingredients over medium-low heat. Simmer for 8-10 minutes until reduced slightly. The glaze should have thickened slightly and have a glossy texture.
- When the ribs are about 190°F (88°C) internal temperature and close to tender, brush a thin coat of the glaze onto the ribs. Cook for 10 minutes to let the glaze set, then brush another layer on. Repeat until the thickest part of the ribs reads 195-203°F (90-95°C) and passes the toothpick test (see notes).
- Once the ribs are at target temperature, remove them from the smoker. Wrap them in foil and let them rest for 10-15 minutes before serving, either as the whole rack or sliced into individual bone pieces. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and sliced scallions.
Notes
- Slide a toothpick in between the bones into the thickest part of the meat. If it slides in with little resistance, the ribs are tender and good to serve.
