Best Smoked Baby Back Ribs Recipe - How to Smoke Back ribs on the BBQ

baby back ribs

🥗Healthier: pork loin

💰Cheaper: pork shoulder

Pork loin is leaner and more affordable than baby back ribs.

barbecue sauce

🥗Healthier: homemade sauce

💰Cheaper: ketchup with spices

Homemade sauce can be lower in sugar and preservatives.

Prepare the ribs by flipping them over meat side down and removing the membrane from the back side using a butter knife or paper towel.

Trim any extra tabs of meat and apply a liberal coating of rib rub on all sides of the ribs. Let them sit for a minimum of 20 minutes up to 2 hours.

Set up the grill for indirect cooking with a drip pan filled with hot water for humidity. Place the ribs on the grill and cook at 250 degrees for 2 to 2.5 hours, adding hardwood for smokiness.

Prepare the mopping sauce by combining apple juice, apple cider vinegar, and brown sugar, allowing the sugars to dissolve. Mop the ribs with this sauce at 45 minutes and 1.5 hours into cooking.

When the ribs have a mahogany color (after 2 to 2.5 hours), take them off the grill and place them meat side down on foil. Add butter, brown sugar, honey, and chipotle powder into the pouch.

After 1.5 hours in the foil, remove the ribs and place them back on the grill. Sauce with BBQ sauce and cook for an additional 15-20 minutes until the meat starts to pull from the bones.

Cooking Techniques

Equipment Needed

Spice Level: