Italian Sausage X Smoked Ribs? Yes, please! This recipe for Italian Sausage Spiced Ribs popped up in my YouTube feed and immediately piqued my interest. It sounded delicious, so I gave it a go.
Gather the ingredients.
- 1 Rack of Spareribs
- 1 tbsp. Cherry Smoked Sea Salt
- ½ tsp. Pink Curing Salt
- 1½ tsp. Fennel Seeds
- 1½ tsp. Black Pepper
- 1½ tsp. Garlic Salt
- 1½ tsp. Sugar
- ½ tsp. Cayenne Pepper
- 4 tbsp. Texas Honey
- 4 tbsp. Pecan Liquid Smoke
- 3 tbsp. Brown Sugar
- 3 tbsp. Orange Juice
- 3 tbsp. Rice Wine Vinegar
- 1 tsp. Red Pepper Flakes
- Joule Sous Vide Cooker
- Sous Vide Container
- Ninja Foodi Grill or Oven
- Spice Grinder
Let’s go to work.
- Preheat Joule to 167 °F.
- Mix salt and pink salt and make sure they are combined.
- Cut the rack in half and season each half evenly. The pink salt is optional but is essential to creating a “smoke ring.”
- Let the ribs rest in the salt brine for about 10 minutes.
- Combine honey and liquid smoke in a bowl or cup, mix well, then add 2 tbsp. to each bag.
- Place the ribs in Ziplock-style bags and cook for four hours at 167 °F.
- Remove the sous vide ribs from the bags, and mop again with more of that smokey honey glaze.
- Use a spice grinder or mortar and pestle to reduce the fennel seeds to a fine grind and combine with other spices in a shake, mix well, then dust the ribs all over, being sure to get it in all the cracks and crevices.
- Combine the brown sugar, orange juice, vinegar, and pepper flakes in a saucepan on medium heat, reduce by half and set aside.
- Preheat the Ninja Foodi Grill to “Air Fry” at 400 °F; however, you can also do this in the oven under the broiler.
- Set the ribs in the air fry basket and let them crisp up until they develop a beautiful bark, about 5–10 minutes.
- Remove the ribs, slice them up, then toss in the brown sugar / orange juice glaze.
- Air-fry the ribs one more time for 3-5 minutes to set the glaze.
- ‘Nuff said! Pull those Italian Sausage Spiced Ribs out of the Foodi/oven, let them rest for a few minutes, then enjoy!
