How to Smoke Ribs Like a Pro

Light a fire and spend the afternoon getting ready for smoky, tender baby back ribs, spare ribs, and St Louis-style ribs.

Not much compares to a platter of perfectly smoked pork ribs slathered in sticky, sweet and tangy barbecue sauce. Sure, you could travel to your state’s best BBQ joint and grab a couple racks and some classic sides, but it’s actually quite easy (and fun) to make smoked ribs at home. Whether you are hosting a summer cookout or planning serious game-day snacks, barbecue ribs are perfect for so many occasions.

Ask a dozen pitmasters how they smoke their ribs, and not only are you likely to get a dozen different methods, you are likely to get as many preferences for the type of ribs, dry rubs, bastes and finishing sauces. That is part of what makes barbecue so interesting: it’s personal, often defined by the region (even city), with a long and rich history of families passing down their recipes for several generations. But if you want to learn how to make ultra tender, mouthwatering flavorful ribs at home, we have you covered.

Choose the right ribs

You are likely to find three styles of pork ribs at your local grocery store: baby back ribs, spare ribs, and St. Louis-style ribs. They are cut from different parts of the hog; baby back ribs are cut off the pork loin, spare ribs are cut from the belly, and St. Louis-style ribs are trimmed from spare ribs. Here’s what you need to know about the different cuts of ribs:

Baby back ribs are the ribs you’ll often find at big name fast casual franchise restaurants or at serious barbecue competitions, and with good reason. Baby back ribs are super popular because they are delectably tender yet meaty and flavorful. As the name may imply, baby back ribs are fairly small. They are slightly curved and typically weigh two pounds or less. You’ll find eight to 13 ribs per rack, depending on how the butcher cuts them.

Spare ribs are trimmed from the belly and tend to be meatier than baby back ribs. They typically have about 13 ribs per rack and are flat and oblong. It is less common to smoke full racks of spare ribs without first trimming them, but they will work well.

St. Louis-style ribs are trimmed from spare ribs; in fact, they are a spare rib with the breastbone and extra cartilage trimmed away, creating a flat and rectangular rack. St. Louis-style ribs are meatier and flatter than baby back ribs, plus they typically have more fat. They are larger than baby back ribs and typically weigh about three pounds and have 11 to 13 ribs per rack.

You are likely to find a couple types of beef ribs, too. Beef back ribs are the ribs that remain when the prime rib roast is removed from the bones. They have less meat than beef short ribs, which are split into two categories: chuck and plate short ribs. Chuck ribs are taken from the 1st through 5th rib and are flat, short and meaty. Plate ribs are from the 6th through 10th rib, quite long with about 2-inches of meat on top (they are frequently called “brisket on a stick” given their proximity to the brisket).

Related: The Best Meats to Smoke at Home (and Where to Buy Them)

How to prepare ribs and your grill for smoking

When it comes to smoking ribs, you have plenty of options. Low and slow is the game plan when it comes to barbecue. Before those ribs hit the smoker or grill, you need to prep them first.

Start by removing the membrane from the back of the ribs (all ribs have this membrane). Slide a butter knife or your finger just under the membrane and slowly peel it off (a paper towel can help you gip the slippery membrane). Trim off any large sections of tough fat.

From here you can season your ribs. Brush the ribs with mustard or oil, then season them liberally with salt and pepper or a seasoning blend. Let them sit in the refrigerator for a few hours, or at room temperature while you get the smoker ready.

You likely don’t have a big fire pit at home for barbecuing your ribs like the one at The Rendezvous in Memphis. There, John Vergos, a second-generation owner, grills their ribs over a charcoal fire in pits. The ribs are grilled bone-side down first, then they are flipped to finish. “Since we are cooking over high heat, we baste our ribs constantly with a vinegar baste as they cook,” Vergos explains.

Get a similar flavor by cooking with charcoal in your smoker or grill. Since charcoal is made with wood, you’ll get a classic smoky barbecue flavor. You can add even more smoky flavor with wood chunks or chips (use a hardwood like hickory or pecan) added right onto the coals.

If using a gas grill, you’ll need some accessories like a smoker box to add smoky flavor. Fill the box with wood chips in the first stage of cooking. A pellet smoker, which burns small wooden pellets, is great if you want full control over the heat. Since they typically have an electric igniter with a fan, you can easily control the temperature and even smoke level, often with the push of a button.

How to smoke ribs

One of the most popular and consistent methods for smoking is the 3:2:1 method. This simply means smoking the ribs for three hours, cooking them another two hours and finally brushing them with sauce and grilling another hour.

Start by preheating your smoker (or use a two-zone grilling process with the heat source on only one area of the grill) to a moderately low temperature, typically between 200°F and 225°F. Smoke the ribs for three hours then remove from the smoker or grill. Take a tip from Vergos and baste them with a mixture of water, vinegar, or pickle juice, plus barbecue sauce and seasonings. Feel free to play with the liquid you use in your basting mixture; you can use anything from apple juice to butter or even cola.

Baste the ribs, then wrap them in aluminum foil and return them to the smoker for another two hours. Some cooks choose to not wrap the ribs, but you should still baste the ribs in the last hour or two of cooking (you can even add the basting mixture to a squirt bottle and spritz it on the ribs every 30 minutes or so). Finally, carefully remove the foil, brush the ribs with barbecue sauce, if desired, and cook for another hour.

Some pitmasters and chefs believe the 3:2:1 method produces overcooked ribs, with softer meat. If you prefer the meat to have some chew to it, cook them hotter and faster, like Heath Riles, world championship pitmaster and owner of Heath Riles BBQ. “I like it hot and fast,” he says of his cooking style, for which he smokes ribs around 275°F to 300°F. “It sets the bark faster and allows you to wrap it up faster.”

Riles recommends wrapping ribs when the internal temperature reaches about 160°F, which takes about one to one and a half hours. You can tell they are done, Riles explains, by scraping at the dry rub. If it comes off easily, the ribs need to cook longer. When they are done, wrap the ribs as you would in the 3:2:1 method and continue cooking until the internal temperature of the ribs are between 200°F to 208°F, about one hour.

How to tell when ribs are done

The ribs are essentially finished cooking after the wrapping stage. Use a good quality instant-read thermometer to check the temperature; they should be between 200°F and 208°F. There are a few other clues to doneness. If the two biggest bones are starting to pop through the skin under the rack, then they are done. You can also use tongs to pick up the rack on one end. If it bends to a 90-degree angle without completely breaking, it’s done. Riles also recommends using the “push-pull” method. Press down on a rib and pull up on the one next to it. The bone should start popping through the meat.

Pick your sauce level. You can serve the ribs “dry,” which means not finishing them with any barbecue sauce. If you prefer a sticky, saucy rib, you want “wet” ribs, which are slathered in barbecue sauce. You can go a step further, for “muddy” ribs, which are sauced and then finished with a spice mixture.

After the ribs are finished cooking in the wrap stage, remove the ribs from the grill or smoker and let them rest for 15 to 20 minutes. If you want “wet” or “muddy” ribs, add sauce and/or seasonings and return them to the smoker or grill. Cook until the sauce caramelizes slightly and becomes tacky, about 15 minutes. Rest and cool them slightly before serving them with a few sides, and plenty of napkins.

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