How to Smoke Ribs on the Grill and Homemade Dry Rub Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How do you smoke ribs then finish on the grill? ›

A lot of BBQ enthusiasts swear by a 3-2-1 method for smoking ribs — 3 hours of smoking, followed by 2 hours of cooking the ribs wrapped in foil, and finally an hour of cooking and saucing the ribs on the grill (without smoke).

On the other hand, if you are NOT going to be using BBQ sauce, then you can let the rubbed ribs sit in the dry rub overnight (up to 12 hours). In this case, I would recommend wrapping them in plastic wrap after you rub dry rub all over, to prevent them from drying out.

You can coat the ribs with olive oil or mustard first to help it stick. Then, use your hands to spread it evenly on the surface of the ribs.

Place the uncovered ribs on the smoker rack and leave them for 2 hours. Remove them from the smoker after that and wrap them in aluminum foil. Return them to the smoker for another 2 hours. Take them out at the end of the 2 hours and remove the foil for the last hour of cooking.

Place ribs bone-side down in smoker at 225 F /110 C and cook for three hours. Remove ribs from the smoker and wrap tightly in aluminum foil to form an airtight seal. Return to the smoker bone-side up and smoke for two hours. Unwrap the ribs and return to the smoker bone-side down for one more hour.

Wrap time!

You don't want to overload your ribs with smoke so you dont have to have smoke on them the whole 5-6 hours you are smoking. After letting them smoke for a 3 solid hours you want to take them off the smoker and wrap them in foil.

This slow and low cooking method helps break down the collagen in the meat and keeps it moist. 5. Use a water pan: Placing a water pan in the smoker or grill helps create a moist cooking environment. The water evaporates slowly, adding humidity to the cooking chamber, which helps prevent the ribs from drying out.

A very popular technique in the BBQ community is to rub your ribs in mustard before applying your rub. It is said to help the rub adhere to the meat.

Anything under that temperature and your ribs will be chewy, stringy, and tough. At 195 degrees F, that tissue starts to gelatinize and turn into tasty, melty deliciousness. Most ribs hit their sweet spot for doneness around 198 degrees F, but some take until 203 degrees F to be perfectly tender.

Baste or rub just enough of the sauce or rub to enhance the flavor. Texture and moisture have a lot to do with how you cook your ribs, and very little to do with using rub. Leaving rub on your ribs overnight can allow for more penetration of flavors into the meat, but it may not even be noticeable.

Do you put mustard on before a dry rub? ›

However, mustard is a good sticky substance perfect for holding dry seasonings on meat. Hence, the method of mustard rubbing meat was invented. There are a couple of ways you can do this but the basic idea is the same. A thin layer of mustard on the surface of meats will hold dry rubs in place while the meat is smoked.

The key is to use only dry seasonings and use way more than you think you'll need. Liberally coat both sides of the ribs and pat it in. For a basic foolproof homemade rub, try sprinkling sea salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin and coriander on your ribs.

One advocates smoking ribs using the 3 2 1 method. This low-and-slow ribs method requires a smoking temperature of 225° F. The ribs are smoked at this temperature for three hours, tenderized in a wrap for two hours, and then finished, unwrapped, for one hour. Voila!

If you don't flip your ribs while smoking, you are obviously an experienced smoker. When smoking meat, you are using a very low heat and the heat, and smoke, envelopes the meat, so there really is no need to flip it. Remember, if you are looking, you aren't cooking!

Essentially, 3 2 1 ribs go like this: 3 hours of smoking the ribs directly on the pellet grill. 2 hours wrapped in foil, still cooking on the grill. 1 hour of cooking, unwrapped and slathered in barbecue sauce.

Brush the ribs with another layer of BBQ sauce and cover tightly with foil. Warm in a 250°F oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until warmed through. Remove the foil and continue cooking for 10 to 15 minutes to allow the sauce to set and the bark to crisp up.

Smoke. Get those ribs on your smoker and let them cook for at least 4 hours before you open the lid and start checking on your ribs. No spritzing, no wrapping, no saucing, NO PEEKING! Continue to smoke until they reach an internal temperature of 200-205 degrees F and are tender when you bend them.

Doneness: Smoking meat low and slow before searing cooks it more evenly, creating a consistent degree of doneness throughout the cut.