Smoked Baby Back Ribs Recipes

Steps:

• Remove silver skin from bone side of ribs. Never used to do this, but now understand why the pros do. Using the tine of a dinner fork helps get things started, then it just peels off.
• Put a large sheet of foil on the counter and place the ribs meat side down. You want enough foil to VERY lightly wrap (or tent) the ribs for grilling.
• All the spice measurements above are estimates. We like things a bit on the zippy side, but not burning hot -- just a little bite. With that said, we season the bone side of the ribs heavy with garlic powder, medium heavy with cayenne, medium heavy with pepper, and light with salt. Really hard to over do it, as after 4+ hours on the grill, the spices seem to mellow.
• Flip the ribs and repeat the seasoning. Again, may look heavy, but the flavors kinda vanish during cooking. Why you need to try it once and adjust to taste the 2nd time. I never taste the garlic no matter how much I put on, but the cayenne does adjust the spiciness. Even when we go pretty heavy with the cayenne, it is not over-powering.
• Lightly wrap the ribs. You want to create a tent on top so the foil does not touch the meat. Pull up the ends lightly and seal. You do want to seal things so moisture does not escape. You can put these in the fridge all day, or put on the grill immediately.
• I have a Weber Genesis gas grill that has a front, center and rear burner. Don't have to pre-heat, but I only turn on the front burner to low-medium -- grill will heat to about 250 degrees. Place the ribs towards the rear of the grill (away from the burner). Leave them there for 2 hours. Nothing you need to do except make sure the temp stays around 250. 200 is fine, 300 is fine -- but lower seems to produce better results.
• After 2 hours, open the foil and coat with BBQ sauce. Should be a lot of juice in the foil at this point. If not, add some water, beer, or something. Re-seal the foil and let them go another 2 hours.
• Now the tricky part. Pull the ribs towards the front the grill. Get a couple wide spatulas, open the foil, and carefully lift the rack of ribs from the foil and place directly on the center of the grill. At this point, the ribs will be pretty much done. Remove the foil from the grill. Turn on all the burners and coat the ribs with sauce. Close the lid. Things should start smoking from the sauce dripping and burning. If things are not smoking, turn up the heat. Keep an eye on things at this point. You do want a nice char, but you don't want to overdo it. Maybe 10-20 minutes for this step.
• Get the 2 spatulas and remove to a cookie sheet or platter. Enjoy.
• If you like Sweet Baby Ray's Original, you will like these. Fall off the bone every single time, and they require very little effort or attention. You can adjust the base seasoning to your liking. I have made these with the same general recipe and process from anywhere between 3 hours and 6 hours with very little loss in outcome. Hence the reason I call it "no fail".

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C).
• Mix ancho chile powder, white sugar, brown sugar, salt, black pepper, cumin, dry mustard, cayenne pepper, and chipotle pepper in a small bowl until combined.
• Place ribs meat-side down on aluminum foil. Prick back of rib rack several times with a knife.
• Generously apply coating of dry rub to all sides of rib rack.
• With rib rack meat-side down, fold foil around it to create a tight seal. Transfer to sheet pan.
• Bake in preheated oven until tender and cooked through, about 2 hours. Remove and cool 15 minutes.
• Increase oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Open foil, drain and discard any accumulated juices and fat. Brush barbeque sauce on all sides of rack.
• Place rack meat-side up and return to oven, leaving foil open. Bake for 10 minutes, remove from oven, and brush another layer of barbeque sauce on meat-side only. Repeat baking and brushing with sauce 4 more times, for a total of 50 minutes baking time.
• Cut rack into individual rib segments and serve with more barbeque sauce.

Steps:

• Remove silver skin from the back of each rack. Rub each rack with 1 teaspoon salt and let sit for 20 minutes.
• Slather 3 tablespoons mustard on 1 rack, then shake 1/3 cup BBQ rub on top; rub in on all sides until evenly coated. Repeat on the second rack and refrigerate both racks, covered, 8 hours to overnight. Set aside remaining BBQ rub.
• Remove ribs from the refrigerator and bring to room temperature, 20 to 30 minutes. Spread the remaining 1/3 cup rub over the ribs.
• Meanwhile, mix dry wood chips with charcoal in a smoker and preheat, according to manufacturer's instructions, until temperature is a steady 225 degrees F (107 degrees F).
• Place a water pan on the smoker (or use the smoker's water tray, if it has one) and add water to the depth of the fill line. Place ribs in the smoker and close the lid.
• Combine apple juice and beer in a spray bottle. Spritz ribs every hour, rotating each time you spray. Cook for 3 hours, then remove ribs and check temperature. Wrap ribs in aluminum foil, and return to the smoker.
• Smoke until meat pulls away easily from the bone, 1 3/4 to 2 hours. Remove from the grill and check temperature; an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read 170 to 180 degrees F (77 to 82 degrees C). The ribs will be very juicy but the outside will not be crispy.
• Remove the foil and return ribs to the smoker. Cook until crispy, 15 to 30 minutes; an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read 190 to 195 degrees F (88 to 91 degrees C). Remove from the grill and tent with foil to allow juices to resettle into the meat before slicing and serving.

Steps:

• For the rub: The day before cooking, mix the turbinado sugar, salt, paprika, chili powder, granulated garlic, onion powder, ground cumin, ground mustard, cayenne pepper and black pepper together.
• For the ribs: Take a slab of ribs and turn over so the curved side is up. Using your fingernail or a knife, pry under the membrane until you can put your finger under it and then pull it off.
• Sprinkle this side of the ribs with about 1 tablespoon rub, and then about 1 tablespoon yellow mustard. Use the mustard to help evenly distribute the seasoning. Turn the ribs over and repeat the process. Cover and store in the refrigerator overnight.
• To cook, start a smoker and bring the temp to 200 degrees F. Use apple or cherry wood chunks to provide smoke and flavor. Place the ribs in the smoker, curved side down. Smoke for 2 hours at 200 degrees F, and then raise the temperature to 250 degrees F for about 2 1/2 hours. Check for tenderness by testing if the bones will pull apart with a slight bit of pressure. If they are still tough, allow to cook for another 30 minutes.
• Remove from the smoker. For dry-style ribs, sprinkle with about 1 tablespoon rub. For wet-style ribs, glaze with the BBQ sauce.

Steps:

• Make one recipe of Rib Sauce (above) and set aside.
• Pre-cook ribs by EITHER Baking (preferred method) OR Parboiling.
• MAKE-AHEAD TIP: After pre-cooking (baking or parboiling) ribs, they may be vacuum sealed and frozen for up to 3 months OR glazed with Rib Sauce and refrigerated or given their final baking immediately.
• ** BAKING RIBS (preferred method): Cut rack of ribs in half. Place 1 1/2 pounds ribs in each of two 9x13-inch casserole dishes.
• Add 1/4 cup vinegar to each casserole. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. Drain all liquid.
• ** PAR-BOILING RIBS: Cut rack of ribs in half. Fill large pot with water; heat to boiling. Add all ribs to boiling water (should be enough to just cover top of ribs).
• Simmer ribs about 45 minutes until just tender but meat is not falling off the bones. Remove ribs from boiling water. Rinse and drain.
• **** RIBS (Final Baking): Cut ribs in sections. In two 9x13-inch glass casserole, place ribs in SINGLE layer in casserole.
• Pour about 1/3 of Rib Sauce over one dish of ribs to glaze them.
• Repeat with second half of ribs, using another 1/3 of sauce or enough of the remaining sauce to glaze all the ribs.
• MAKE-AHEAD TIP: At this point you can cover them with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 48 hours.
• If frozen, thaw before baking.
• Place UNCOVERED ribs in preheated 350 degree oven.
• Bake for 45-60 minutes until most of sauce has been absorbed by the ribs and meat is "melt-in-your-mouth" tender.
• If you have any remaining sauce, serve it with the ribs, along with plenty of napkins.
• These are finger-licking good and messy to eat-- but is there any other way to eat ribs?.
• *** RIB SAUCE: Mix cornstarch and water together to make a slurry Set aside.
• Mix remaining dry ingredients together.
• Place in saucepan.
• Mix remaining wet ingredients together.
• Pour half of wet ingredients into dry ingredients, stirring to mix well.
• Add remaining half of wet ingredients, stir to mix well, and simmer mixture, uncovered, for about 10-20 minutes to thicken sauce a bit.
• While mixture is gently boiling, pour in slurry while stirring.
• Return mixture to a slow boil and cook until sauce thickens a little.
• Sauce should be thick enough to cling to ribs, yet pourable.
• Cool sauce and store in air-tight glass or plastic container.
• Refrigerated it keeps indefinitely.

Steps:

• Combine the salt, sugar and water in a large plastic container or non-reactive stock pot.
• Place ribs in brine and refrigerate for one hour.
• Meanwhile, combine all rub ingredients except sugar and grind into a green thick liquid with a food processor, blender or immersion blender.
• Remove ribs from the brine (after the hour) and pat dry with paper towels.
• Brush or rub green liquid over both sides of the ribs, sprinkle with sugar and wrap tightly with plastic wrap.
• Place in refrigerator for a minimum of one hour, but preferably 4 hours, you can go overnight for a really flavorful treat.
• Wood/Charcoal method: Soak 2 large chunks of hickory in water. Light about 40-50 coals or you may also use an equal amount of dry hickory chunks for an intense smoke flavor.
• Do not use lighter fluid, a fire starter chimney is the best method.
• Once coals are covered with a gray ash push them over to one side put the soaked hickory chunks on the coals and replace the grate, form a pan with some heavy aluminum foil large enough for the rib, put it on the cool side of the grill, place the ribs in the"pan" add about 1 cup of water and put the cover on the grill with the holes over the meat.
• Turn the meat 180 degrees and over every 30 minutes.
• Add some more coals/wood in about 2 hours.
• Smoke ribs for a total of 4 hours.
• Gas Grill: I don't recommend this as it can leave a very slight chemical gas taste to the meat, but it does work.
• It's the same basic technique as the charcoal method, light the grill and turn off half (or 2/3rds) of the burners, use soaked hickory chips in a throw away aluminum pan on top of the hot side of the grill.
• For either method the temp inside the grill should be around 275°F with a total cooking time of 4 hours.
• Serve with your favorite bbq sauce. Se like recipe#26794, Lee Lee's Famous Barbecue Sauce for Ribs w/ Preserves.
• Brush some on the meat for the last 5-10 minutes of the cooking process if desired.

Steps:

• Take the olive oil with a basting brush and go over all sides of the ribs. After you fo this, sprinkle the rub on both sides of the pork. If you run out, just mix some more. I am a heavy rub girl so I like a lot! The sauce is last portion of the ingredients. Start with the BBQ sauce and work your way down.
• Now its time to prepare your smoker. If you do not have a smoker, you can do this with a regular grill to get the same smoke flavor. If you do not have a smoker, just go to the end of the directions for smoking and you will see how to do it with a grill.
• I have an upright, cylinder shaped, 2 tier smoker made by Brinkman. I buy hickory wood chunks from Home Depot or Walmart. I will put 4 or 5 in a pan of water to soak for about an hour. I light my coals and let them burn until the coals turn ashy of the sides. I add my soaked wood and water pan/drip pan ontop of that. I close the lid so it can get up to temperature.
• After about half an hour, I place the ribs in the smoker (bone side down)and leave them alone for atleast 2 hours. You want to maintain a constant temperature in the smoker of about 200 to 220 degrees. The secret to fall-off-the-bone ribs is cooking them low and slow. Do not even take the top off for 2 hours. After 2 hours, take them off and wrap in aluminum foil. Add more wet or dry wood chunks to the bottom bowl. Close the lid and let them cook another hour and a half. If you choose to add sauce, this is the time to do it. Open the aluminum foil and pour my sauce over them. After about 30 more minutes, you have the finest ribs that you have ever had!
• Now, if you do not have a smoker I recommend you get one. It's only $39 at Home Depot. Prepare your grill with coals and place wet hickory wood chunks all around ontop of the coals. Place ribs on the grill (bone side down) and let them cook about 30 minutes, turning them over after 15 minutes. Afterwards, wrap in aluminum foil and place back onto grill. Let them cook an additional 30 minutes. Pour my sticky sauce over them in the foil and let cook additional 15 minutes. Remove and enjoy!

Steps:

• Make the sauce--in a saucepan over medium heat, warm the oil.
• Add in garlic, chile powder, and cumin; cook for 30 seconds, stirring occasionally.
• Add in the remaining sauce ingredients, whisk them together, and allow the sauce to simmer for about 5 minutes.
• The ribs--remove the thin membrane from the back of each rack of ribs; allow the ribs to stand at room temperature for 20-30 minutes before grilling.
• The rub--in a small bowl, mix the rub ingredients; season the ribs all over with the rub, pressing the spices into the meat.
• Drain the mesquite chips and toss them onto the burning coals or into the smoking box of a gas grill; grill the ribs over Indirect Low heat (grill temperature should be about 300°) until the meat is very tender and has shrunk back from the ends of the bones, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• About 15 minutes before the ribs are done, start brushing occasionally with the sauce on both sides.
• Transfer the ribs to a baking sheet and tightly cover with foil; let rest for 30 minutes before serving.
• Serve warm.

Steps:

• Place 3 fist-sized chunks of wood in a smoker and heat to 250 degrees F (121 degrees C).
• While the wood burns down, mix salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, and cumin together. Apply the rub to both sides of the ribs.
• Add ribs to the smoker, bone-side down, once a thin blue smoke appears. Smoke for 2 hours. Wrap ribs lightly in aluminum foil to retain juices. Continue smoking for 1 1/2 hours at 225 to 250 degrees F (107 to 121 degrees C).
• Remove foil and continue to smoke until meat is tender but still stays on the bone, about 1 hour more, brushing lightly with barbeque sauce in the last 15 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read 145 degrees F (63 degrees C).

Steps:

• Skin ribs by peeling the skin of the back side. Place ribs in a large pot big enough to submerge them. Add 1 gallon water, the liquid smoke, 1/8 cup BBQ seasoning, mesquite butter, and salt. Bring to a boil and boil for 45 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Remove ribs from pot and place ribs face up in oven, uncovered. Sprinkle remaining 1/8 cup BBQ seasoning over the ribs. Cook for 45 minutes or until tender. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Steps:

• Working with one rack of ribs at a time, slip a knife between the bones and thin membrane to loosen, then grab the membrane with a paper towel and pull it off. Put the ribs on a baking sheet and rub the spice rub on both sides. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 6 hours or overnight.
• Prepare a grill for indirect grilling: For a gas grill, preheat to medium high; after about 10 minutes, turn off one or two of the middle burners and turn the remaining burners down to medium low. For a charcoal grill, light the charcoal; once the coals have just ashed over, carefully push them to opposite sides of the grill and set a drip pan in the middle to avoid flare-ups.
• Place the ribs bone-side down on the cooler part of the grill (overlap the rib racks slightly to fit, if necessary). Cover and cook, rotating the position of the rib racks once halfway through, until the meat is tender and pulls back from the ends of the bones, 2 hours to 2 hours 15 minutes. Flip and move to direct heat and cook, uncovered, until charred in spots, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and cut into pieces.

Steps:

• Prepare the ribs (see below). Combine the brown sugar, chili powder, paprika, cumin, mustard powder and 2 tablespoons salt in a small bowl. Rub the ribs all over with the cut sides of the lemon and then the spice mixture and place in a large roasting pan or resealable plastic bag. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.
• Meanwhile, soak the wood chips in water 1 hour, then prepare your grill for smoking, filling the smoker box with one-quarter each of the wood chips and apple.
• About 30 minutes before smoking, remove the ribs from the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature. Meanwhile, combine the apple juice, Worcestershire sauce and vinegar in a small spray bottle. Shake to mix.
• Once the grill reaches 250 degrees F, lightly brush the grates with vegetable oil and place the ribs on the cooler side of the grill, meat-side up. Spray with the apple juice mixture. Close the grill and let smoke 1 hour.
• Replenish the smoker box with another one-quarter each of the wood chips and apple. Flip the ribs so they're meat-side down with the opposite edge of the racks closer to the smoker box. Spray with the apple juice mixture; close the grill and let smoke 1 more hour. Repeat this process every hour until the ribs are dark brown and tender and the meat starts to shrink away from the bones, about 2 more hours. Remove the ribs from the grill and let rest 5 minutes before slicing.
• How to prep your ribs:
• Position the ribs meat-side down. Insert a paring knife under the membrane that covers the back of the rack. Loosen the membrane with the knife. Grab the membrane with your fingers and peel off completely.

Steps:

• Make the rub: Whisk the turbinado sugar, brown sugar, salt, paprika, ancho powder, granulated garlic, onion powder, mustard powder, cayenne, cumin and 1 teaspoon black pepper in a medium bowl.
• Preheat a grill to medium low and prepare for indirect cooking: On a gas grill, preheat the grill, then turn off half the burners. On a charcoal grill, light the coals, then bank to one side; put a disposable aluminum drip pan on the unlit side of the grill under the grates. Meanwhile, soak the wood chips in water, 30 minutes; drain.
• Make the ribs: Turn the ribs bone-side up. Slip a paring knife between the thin membrane and the bone to loosen, then pull off the membrane; trim any excess fat. Season both sides of the racks with the rub (about 1/2 tablespoon per side). Transfer to a roasting pan, bone-side down, and let sit 30 minutes.
• When the grill registers 250˚ F, add the wood chips: On a gas grill, fill a smoker box with the chips and use according to the manufacturer's instructions; on a charcoal grill, sprinkle the chips over the coals. Place the ribs bone-side down on the cooler side of the grill. Cover the grill and smoke the ribs for 2 hours (if using charcoal, adjust the air vents and add more coals as needed so the temperature stays around 250˚ F).
• While the ribs are smoking, lay out 2 long sheets of heavy-duty aluminum foil (or double pieces of regular foil). Spread 1/2 tablespoon each of the rub, brown sugar and maple syrup down the center of each piece of foil.
• Place the ribs, meat-side down, on the prepared foil, then top each rack with another 1/2 tablespoon each of the rub, brown sugar and maple syrup. Fold the foil over the ribs and crimp the edges, leaving one side open; pour 2 tablespoons apple juice into each packet and crimp the final edge to seal. Return to the grill and cook until the meat is tender, 2 to 2 1/2 more hours.
• Meanwhile, make the barbecue sauce: Heat the canola oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until golden, about 2 minutes. Add the ketchup, 1/2 cup honey, the tomato paste, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, mustard powder, cayenne and 1 teaspoon black pepper. Bring to a low boil, whisking, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Whisk in 1/2 cup water and simmer 5 minutes. Stir in 1/4 cup of the rub until dissolved; season with more of the rub, 1 tablespoon at a time, if needed. Let cool.
• Make the glaze: Whisk 3/4 cup of the barbecue sauce with the remaining 1/4 cup honey. Set aside the rest of the barbecue sauce for serving.
• Carefully remove the ribs from the foil; return to the grill, meat-side up. Brush with the glaze and continue to cook for 5 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and slice. For "muddy style," sprinkle with more of the rub. Serve with the remaining barbecue sauce.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C). In a small bowl, mix together the paprika, garlic powder, mustard, pepper, and bay. Place the rib racks in a roasting pan and coat them generously with the spice mix, then shake off the excess. Pour the beer between the ribs. Cover with aluminum foil.
• Roast for 2 1/2 hours. During the last 30 minutes, remove the foil and coat the racks with the BBQ sauce so the surface is well glazed.
• To smoke the ribs, the first thing to do is to find out if your BBQ can maintain the target temperature. Get an oven thermometer and test it; if it holds a temperature between 210° and 230°F (100° and 110°C) for a good 20 minutes, you're fine. Also, because the racks require a 4-hour smoke time, it's clever to check for a good supply of gas. The ingredients are the same for smoking as for roasting except for the beer. In other words, you mix the spices together and coat the racks with the mixture. Next, fill the smoker can (or any 1-quart/ 1-liter tin can) to the top with the wood chips. Cover the entire can with aluminum foil and poke 3 or 4 holes in the top.
• Nowadays, most BBQs have 3 burners: light only the left one, turning it to low-medium; your ribs will cook on the right. You may want to put an aluminum cake pan filled with water under the grill rack, to prevent flare-ups and to provide moisture. Place the ribs on the right side, place the can on the opposite side, and close the lid. Check now and again to make sure the temperature does not go above 240°F (115°C), adjusting the flame as needed. After 2 hours, check the ribs. Are they too soft or too hard on the edges? Listen to the force and adjust. They should be ready in 4 hours. When I smoke ribs, I like to keep the BBQ sauce on the side and dip the ribs.