How To Smoke Baby Back Ribs

For an exquisite dinner/lunch, nothing beats the legendary Smokey and juicy baby rips racked together in a serving plate. Ribs are perfect in every way simply because of the taste and smell they produce when you put them on your favorite grill. During the summers, this smell and taste is even more enjoyable with your friends or family.

But not everyone can get the best taste, texture and smell of the baby back ribs. Only experts know the secret to the perfectly grilled and smoked ribs.

And today we are going to share some expert tips on how to smoke baby back ribs that taste better than big name restaurants. All you need is a smoker or a grill and a little patience.

Read How To Season A Brisket

Smoking baby back ribs is a popular way to cook them because it imparts a rich, smoky flavor and results in tender, juicy meat. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to smoke baby back ribs:

Ingredients:

• 2 racks of baby back ribs
• Dry rub seasoning
• BBQ sauce

Equipment:

• Smoker (electric, charcoal or gas)
• Wood chips (hickory, apple, or mesquite)

Instructions:

• Remove the silver membrane from the back of the ribs. This will make the ribs more tender and allow the rub and smoke to penetrate better.
• Season the ribs with dry rub seasoning, covering both sides generously. You can use a pre made seasoning blend or make your own using salt, black pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and any other desired spices.
• Let the ribs sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to allow the seasoning to penetrate the meat.
• While the ribs are resting, preheat your smoker to 225°F. Add your preferred wood chips to the smoker box or directly onto the coals.
• Place the ribs on the smoker, bone side down. Close the lid and let them smoke for 3 hours.
• After 3 hours, wrap the ribs tightly in aluminum foil. This will help to keep them moist and tender.
• Place the wrapped ribs back in the smoker and continue cooking for another 2-3 hours or until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 195°F.
• Remove the ribs from the smoker and let them rest for 10-15 minutes before slicing.
• Brush the ribs with BBQ sauce and serve hot.

Tips:

• Use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of the ribs.
• You can adjust the cooking time and temperature depending on the type and size of your smoker and the thickness of the ribs.
• Experiment with different wood chips to achieve different flavors.

Smoke Baby Back Ribs Secret Rules:

First of all, remove the underbelly membrane – This is extremely important and needs to be done before you do anything else with the ribs. The underbelly membrane doesn’t allow the smoke to penetrate the meat effectively on the bottom sides. Also if you don’t take down the membrane, it will likely get stuck in your teeth while eating.

Don’t use a sauce – Instead of using a sauce, something we all love doing, use rub. To bring out the ultimate crust, you need a savory rub with plenty of flavor added. If you are aiming for a sweet meal, add granulated white sugar instead of usually used brown sugar. White sugar gets caramelized better and hence produces a great crust in return.

Do not open the smoker when your ribs are being cooked – No matter what happens, do not open the door of your smoker once you set the ribs inside. On an average, baby back ribs take around 3 hours to cook properly. Set this time aside and let it cook completely without changing temperatures or opening the door.

Do not boil the ribs – One of the biggest mistakes people make when smoking ribs is that they boil the ribs before putting inside a smoker. This makes them dry and tender. If you want a juicy stack of ribs, do not boil them.

Have patience – Like I said in the beginning, you need a lot of patience when smoking meat. With baby back ribs, you need to set them in the smoker for at least 3 hours. During this time do not open the door and keep the temperature maintained at 225 degrees.

If you are short on time, you can use an oven back and try to bake them instead. But remember, this will not result in a perfect stack of baby back ribs. With this technique, it will take less than an hour for the ribs to become fully cooked with plenty of flavor that is still enjoyable.

You can use sauce – If you really can’t survive without using sauce, you can use it but it is not required. Sauce will definitely produce good results but not as good as with the savory rub.

Anyone can easily learn how to smoke baby back ribs, but to bring out an ultimate combination of succulent and crispy crust baby back ribs, you need to follow certain rules.