How to Make McPoppa Spare Ribs — Big Poppa's Pulled Rib Sandwich Recipe
Competition BBQ says ribs should never fall off the bone. Big Poppa says: rules are for judges. The McPoppa is a rib sandwich built on the exact opposite of competition logic — Sweet Money rubbed spare ribs smoked at 250°F, intentionally cooked past done, foiled with brown sugar, honey, and butter until the bones pull free without any resistance, then loaded onto a butter-toasted bun with sweet onion and dill relish. It's messy, it's unapologetic, and it's the rib sandwich you didn't know you needed.
Why Overcooking Is the Technique Here
Every rib cook Big Poppa runs for competition targets a specific bite-through — not fall-off-the-bone, not dry. The McPoppa throws that playbook out entirely. This rib is going on a sandwich. The meat needs to portion easily, stay on the bun, and eat without needing a knife. That requires bones that pull completely free and meat that shreds rather than slices. You get that by going past done on purpose.
The foil phase is where the intentional overcook happens: brown sugar, honey, and butter go in the foil under and over the rib, and two hours at 250°F in that sealed environment does the work. The meat braises in its own juices plus the sweet-butter mixture, which keeps it from drying out while rendering it to exactly the right texture for a sandwich.
Why Sweet Money for a rib sandwich?
Sweet Money is Big Poppa's sweet-heat championship rub with sea salt. In a sandwich context, the sweetness from the rub complements the brown sugar and honey in the foil without making the whole thing one-dimensional. The heat from Sweet Money adds a background note that keeps the sandwich interesting and prevents it from going cloyingly sweet. The dill relish on top adds the acid and crunch that balances everything out.
Full Recipe: McPoppa Spare Ribs
Ingredients:
- 1 rack spare ribs
- Big Poppa Smokers Sweet Money Rub
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- Honey (to drizzle)
- Butter (several slices)
- Buns (2–4)
- Sweet onion, thinly sliced
- Dill relish or dill pickles
- Season the ribs. Apply a generous, even coat of Sweet Money Rub to all sides of the spare ribs.
- Smoke at 250°F for 1.5–2 hours. Place ribs in smoker. Cook until internal temperature reaches 165°F.
- Prepare the foil. Lay a large sheet of heavy-duty foil. Sprinkle brown sugar and drizzle honey across the foil. Add butter slices.
- Foil the ribs. Lay ribs meat-side down on the foil mixture. Add more brown sugar, honey, and butter on the bone side. Seal the foil tightly.
- Cook foiled for 2 more hours at 250°F. Return to smoker. Cook until bones pull free cleanly with no resistance — these are meant to be overcooked.
- Pull the bones. Open foil and pull each bone free. Portion the rib meat for sandwiches.
- Toast the buns. Butter the cut side of each bun and toast in a pan or on the griddle until golden.
- Assemble. Load toasted bun with rib meat, thin-sliced sweet onion, and dill relish. Serve immediately.
Frequently Asked Questions: McPoppa Spare Ribs
Sweet Money rubbed spare ribs smoked at 250°F until intentionally overcooked, bones pulled clean, loaded onto a butter-toasted bun with sweet onion and dill relish. It's a Big Mac-inspired BBQ sandwich built from a full rack of spare ribs. The ribs are supposed to be fall-off-the-bone — that's not a mistake, that's the design.
A rib sandwich needs meat that portions easily and stays on the bun. That means bones that pull completely free and meat that shreds rather than slices. The foil phase with brown sugar, honey, and butter braises the ribs to that texture while keeping the meat moist and adding a caramelized layer. Overcooking is the technique here — not a problem to avoid.
250°F throughout. Phase one is 1.5–2 hours unwrapped to 165°F internal. Phase two is 2 more hours in foil with brown sugar, honey, and butter. Total cook time is approximately 3.5–4 hours.
Sweet Money Rub — Big Poppa Smokers' sweet-heat championship rub with sea salt. The sweetness complements the brown sugar and honey in the foil phase, and the heat keeps the sandwich from going flat-sweet. Apply generously to all sides before the smoke phase.
Toast butter-coated buns until golden. Pull bones from the overcooked ribs and portion the meat. Load onto the bottom bun, top with thin-sliced sweet onion and dill relish. Serve immediately. Don't skip the relish or pickles — the acid and crunch are what make the sandwich work against the richness of the rib meat and the sweet foil coating.
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Make the McPoppa. Start with Sweet Money.
Sweet Money Rub is the seasoning that built this sandwich. Pick up a bottle at Big Poppa Smokers and watch this cook on the Big Poppa Smokers YouTube channel.
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McPoppa Spare Rib Sandwich
2-4
15 minutes
4 hours
1691
American
Main Dish, Sandwich, Party Food
Big Poppa's take on a rib sandwich — and it's exactly what it sounds like. Sweet Money rubbed spare ribs smoked at 250°F until they hit 165°F, then foiled meat-side down in brown sugar, honey, and butter for 2 more hours of intentional overcooking. The bones pull free with zero resistance. Load the meat onto a butter-toasted bun with thin-sliced sweet onion and dill relish. It's messy, unapologetic, and the best rib sandwich you've ever had. Who's hungry? Big Poppa is.
Ingredients
1 rack spare ribs
1/3 cup brown sugar
Honey (to drizzle)
Butter (several slices)
2–4 sandwich buns
1 sweet onion, thinly sliced
Dill relish or dill pickles
Directions
Apply a generous, even coat of Sweet Money Rub to all sides of the spare ribs.
Place ribs in smoker at 250°F. Cook until internal temperature reaches 165°F — approximately 1.5–2 hours.
Lay a large sheet of heavy-duty foil. Spread 1/3 cup brown sugar and a drizzle of honey across the foil. Add several slices of butter.
Lay ribs meat-side down on the foil mixture. Add more brown sugar, honey, and butter slices on the bone side. Seal tightly — no holes.
Return foiled ribs to the 250°F smoker. Cook approximately 2 more hours until the bones pull free cleanly with no resistance.
Open foil. Pull each bone free — they should slide out clean. Portion the rib meat for sandwiches.
Butter the cut side of each bun and toast in a pan or on the griddle until golden.
Load the toasted bun with rib meat, thin-sliced sweet onion, and dill relish. Serve immediately.
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