When COVID first hit, we purchased a large deep freezer in preparation for supermarkets being hit hard by people buying everything in sight. We made a huge purchase at that time from a commercial meat purveyor that supplies restaurants and other food services with meat. Some of what we purchased was a bunch of racks of St. Louis Ribs.

Right around the same time, I purchased an immersion circulator to cook food. One of the first meat dishes I made with the circulator was these ribs. My wife was skeptical of cooking sous vide, but after making these ribs the first time, she was convinced that the purchase of the circulator was worth it.

This method of cooking can really make cooking some items well so simple. I still like smoked ribs, but if I don’t have the time to smoke them or if they are frozen and we decide that we want them the next day, this is the best method I have found. I know many people are skeptical of cooking sous vide, but it really does make some things so easy.

Sous Vide St. Louis Ribs

Cooking these ribs sous vide leaves them moist and tender and the method, although it requires some specialized equipment, could not be easier.

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Cook Time 1 d

Course Main Course

Cuisine BBQ, Grilled, Sous Vide

Equipment

• Immersion Circulator
• Vacuum Sealer (This is optional, large ziplock bags can be used)

Ingredients

  

• 1 rack St. Louis Ribs
• Salt and Pepper or BBQ Rub
• BBQ Sauce

Instructions

 

• Fill container with water and set immersion circulator to 152°F/67°C
• Fill a large pot with water and bring it to a boil.
• If the ribs are not frozen, peel off the membrane from the back of the ribs.
• Season the ribs with either salt and pepper or the BBQ rub of your choice. The recipe for my BBQ rub is here.
• Vacuum seal the ribs or place in a large ziplock bag.
• Place the bag or bags into the pot of boiling water for 1 minute to kill any bacteria which may be on the outside of the ribs.
• Place the bags into the container with the immersion circulator.
• Once the immersion circulator is up to temp, cook for 24 hours.
• Remove the bags from the water bath after 24 hours and place in a container with ice cold water. The ribs can either be refrigerated or even frozen at this point for use at another time or they can be used right away.
• Take the ribs out of the bag(s).
• Place on a preheated grill and cook dry for approximately 1 minute on each side.
• Begin to baste the ribs with the BBQ sauce of your choice. Flip the ribs and put BBQ sauce on both sides.
• Once the ribs are back up to temperature, remove them from the grill, cut and serve.

Video

Keyword BBQ, BBQ Rub, Grill, Sous Vide, Sous Vide Ribs, St. Louis Ribs