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Honey Peach St. Louis Style Ribs on the Traeger Ironwood 885

Name: Honey Peach St. Louis Style Ribs on the Traeger Ironwood 885
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 3 h
Total time: 3 h 20 min
Cuisine: Barbecue
Ingredients: Heath Riles BBQ Peach Rub; Heath Riles BBQ Honey Chipotle Rub; Heath Riles BBQ Sweet BBQ Sauce; Heath Riles BBQ Butter Bath and Wrap; Apple Juice; 2 slabs of Prairie Fresh Pork Ribs; Olive Oil

May 17, 2022

St. Louis style ribs are among the most popular in the BBQ world. No one can resist this juicy cut of pork. I put my own spin on St. Louis style ribs and created a honey peach flavor profile. The results were out of this world delicious.

I used my BBQ Peach and Honey Chipotle Rub as my seasonings, adding the perfect balance of sweet and savory. After these babies cooked for a couple of hours, I put them in my BBQ Butter Bath and Wrap. I let them go a little longer and finished with my Sweet BBQ Sauce. The result was a decadent slab of ribs that had me wishing Summer could last forever.

These ribs are easily one of the most unique recipes I’ve ever created. To have a great BBQ, you need good meat. Prairie Fresh’s new line of natural pork products is fit for a king and gives excellent results every time.

If you’re a fruit-infused BBQ fan, you’ll love my Honey Peach St. Louis Style Ribs. They’re seasoned with my smoky-sweet rubs and wrapped in the best butter bath around. You’ll be the talk of the town with ribs like this!

The Ingredients

These ribs go all out with a mixture of some of my best-selling rubs and sauces. This sweet and savory combination can’t be beaten, especially when you add a chipotle kick. Here’s what you need to add to your arsenal.

Heath Riles BBQ Peach Rub . My peachy-keen rub is an instant best-seller. It’s as sweet as Georgia peaches, with a little Tenessee spice. While this rub is fantastic on ribs, it also tastes great on chicken and side dishes.
Heath Riles BBQ Honey Chipotle Rub. One of my favorite parts of smoking meat is coming up with great flavor combinations. My honey chipotle rub brings out the sweetness of the apple and peach while adding mild heat. You won’t be able to get enough of this combo!
Heath Riles BBQ Sweet BBQ Sauce. This BBQ sauce took ten years to perfect. Once you try it, you’ll see it was well worth the wait. I use this sauce on everything from ribs to baked beans. It’s that versatile.
Heath Riles BBQ Butter Bath and Wrap. If you love juicy ribs as much as I do, you need to try my butter bath. Competition-worthy ribs have never been easier. Simply mix the butter bath with apple juice or water, shake, and pour over your meat. This ingredient was one of the reasons I won the 2022 Memphis in May Rib Championship.

Apple Juice. You can mix your butter bath using water, but this recipe calls for something a little fancier. Apple juice adds just the right amount of sweetness to the ribs without overpowering the other seasonings.

Prairie Fresh Pork Ribs. If you don’t want to spend much time trimming your meat, go with Prairie Fresh’s pork. I’ve tried many different meat brands, and this is by far the best.

Olive Oil. I usually use mustard as my binder, but these ribs called for something milder. Olive oil is a great binder that helps my rubs stick to the meat. I go with light olive oil to keep my flavor profile cohesive.

The Smoker Setup

Pellet Grill/Smoker. I used a Traeger Ironwood 885 for this recipe. This grill has so many awesome features, like double-walled insulation, an app that lets you control your pit from anywhere, and a pellet sensor that ensures you never run low. With this many bells and whistles, you’ll never get bored.
Royal Oak Charcoal Pellets. For this smoke, I used pecan pellets. It’s a great combination of hardwood that makes the fruit flavor notes shine.

The Process for Making Honey Peach St. Louis Style Ribs

The detailed procedure for this smoke can be found in the recipe card and video at the bottom of this post. This is a great resource for visual learners. In the meantime, check out this brief overview.

Fire up the grill. I added my pecan pellets to the Traeger and got it up to a toasty 275°F.

Remove the membrane. I took my pork out of the package and patted it with paper towels to remove a little moisture. St. Louis ribs have tougher membranes than baby back ribs, requiring extra elbow grease. I cut out the tough pockets of fat and carefully ripped the membrane off.

Trim the ribs. Even with the membrane gone, the ribs still had more fat than I wanted. So, I laid my ribs up and slid my knife between the bones removing the tough fat. I also trimmed some meat off the flap of the ribs.

Add binder and season. Once my ribs looked good, I drizzled olive oil over the meat and rubbed it in. Then, I added a good layer of my BBQ Peach Rub, followed by a layer of Honey Chipotle Rub. I let the meat sweat in for about 15 minutes, flipped the ribs, and repeated the process.

Start cooking the ribs. After I set the seasoning, I put the ribs on the Traeger, uncovered for 2 hours. I bunched them up so they would cook evenly.

Make the butter bath. I got my butter bath prepped before I took my ribs off. I mixed 1 ½ cups of apple juice and ½ cup of Butter Bath and Wrap until smooth.

Wrap the ribs. Once the ribs cooked for 2 hours, I doubled up my aluminum foil and laid it on my cooking tray. I put my ribs on the foil meat side down and poured the butter bath over the top. I wrapped the ribs up and set them back on the pit for another hour until they hit 206℉-208℉.

Glaze the ribs. To finish the ribs, I added a good coating of my Sweet BBQ Sauce to both sides and put them back on the Traeger for another 20 minutes.

Let rest and eat. Once the ribs were done cooking, I took them off the grill and let them rest for 15 minutes. Then I unwrapped them and went to town.

The Results

The end result was a rack of ribs with the perfect golden-brown crust. These ribs were caramelized to perfection and smelled like heaven. The butter bath created juicy ribs with plenty of flavor. These ribs could win any competition!

Serving Suggestions for Honey Peach St. Louis Style Ribs

These ribs steal the spotlight, but if you want to make a complete meal, try one of my excellent sides. Here are a few universal favorites.

Mississippi Coleslaw . This incredible side dish goes perfectly with my sweetly spiced ribs. A classic side dish with a Mississippi BBQ twist..what could be better?

Smoked Mac and Cheese. For a filling meal, add a bowl of this macaroni and cheese. Chances are, it’ll fit in your smoker with the ribs, killing two birds with one stone.

BBQ Charcueterie Board . Keep the main event the main event with this tasty board. This is excellent if you want an easy side with little effort.

Storing Honey Peach Ribs

You can store any leftovers in the fridge, covered for 3-4 days.

Equipment and Tools

Pellet grill, wood pellets, paper towels, cutting board, heavy-duty aluminum foil, 1 or 2 half-size deep aluminum pans, instant-read meat thermometer, large cooler, and cooking trays.