Grilled or Smoked, BBQ Ribs Are the Best

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BBQ Ribs Are a Great Meal in The Smoker as Well as The Grill

One of my most favorite meals is BBQ ribs. I first started cooking them on a grill with indirect heat before I learned how to barbeque ribs in a smoker.

Of all the meals that I have made on my grill and in my smoker, barbeque ribs are my most favorite. In particular the baby back ribs. I just really love that meal.

I actually have a dry rub from my grilling recipes section that I use when grilling the ribs and I have included it here along with a mop sauce if you need it. They do go fairly well together.

I think the final trick is to use the proper wood when smoking. Some of the best woods for this meal are oak, hickory and mesquite.

Again, be sure to manage your temps properly. You should be cooking your BBQ ribs around 225° F so this meal should take you about 4 to 5 hours to finish depending on outside temperature and wind conditions.

If you are using an offset dry smoker, you will want to use a mop sauce for basting to keep your ribs moist. I actually have recipes for both the rub and the sauce further down this page.

Don't forget to take the membrane off the back of the ribs like I showed you in my grilled ribs section.

The rub

This particular recipe for grilling ribs actually came from Steven Raichlen. I have altered and changed it a bit to suit my personal tastes, so I guess in some small way that makes it mine now. I can tell you this though, he has some very good recipes if you are interested.

The Ingredients

1/4 cup of paprika	1 TBL brown sugar
1 TBL granulated sugar	1 1/2 TSP cayenne pepper
1 1/2 TSP garlic powder	2 TSP sea or kosher salt
1 TSP celery salt	1 TSP black pepper (fresh ground)
1 TSP dry mustard	1 TSP onion powder

This should make enough rub for 4 to 6 racks of BBQ ribs.

I generally make up two to three times greater than what I need ahead of time and keep it in an airtight container. The longer your rub sits in the container the better because the spices have a chance to meld together.

When placed in a proper container, the rub will stay fresh for months, so you don't have to worry about it going bad.

I always put the rub on a few hours before I intend to cook the food. You can pat it on as I show you here, then place your barbeque ribs in a pan, cover with foil or clear wrap and place them in your refrigerator until you are ready to cook.

One note though, take the ribs out and get them to room temperature before cooking.

The sauce

The Ingredients

1 1/2 cups cider vinegar	2 cups apple cider
3 cloves garlic, finely minced	2 TBL hot sauce
1 TBL salt	1/2 cup of the rub.

I would mix all the ingredients together ahead of time in a glass jar and let it sit at least overnight.

If you are using a dry smoker planning on using the mop sauce, I would start to apply the sauce to your ribs about 30 minutes after you start cooking. Then every 30 minutes after that. Just to keep the meat moist.

Return from bbq ribs to barbeque recipes

Return from bbq ribs to grandpas backyard fun

SBI!