Blackberry Chipotle Smoked Ribs

Blackberry Chipotle Ribs, originally uploaded by jekemp.

Nothing is better than cooking up some ribs on the smoker to celebrate the fourth. This year was no different but something big was stumbled upon while prepping a rack for the smoker.

Blackberries are currently in season and what better way than to celebrate their sweet summer flavor than to mop it onto slow cooked pork ribs?

Here's how to do it:

Start with a few racks of pork ribs. I personally prefer the St. Louis cut but baby back or whole slabs will work great as well. If you can get your hands on some ribs from Riverview Farms, that would be even better.

Select your dry rub:

We ended up going with a blend of dry Chipotle powder, Ancho Chili, Sea Salt, White Pepper, Cumin, and granulated Garlic. We then liberally coated the suface with the mixture and then added a puree of fresh blackberries over the top while smoking the meat on applewood at around 225° for about 4 hours. This created a tender, smoky rib that you simply cannot find at your local BBQ joint.