Every time I post a story or recipe for ribs it proves to me once more that ribs are one of the favorite foods for many folks to cook out doors on a grill or smoker.  And they are also one of the most frustrating foods to prepare on the grill or smoker for many of you. As I’ve said many times before – there are as many recipes and opinions about just how to “properly” cook ribs as there are people who like to eat them. In fact,there may be a few more opinions than people since some folks, like me, will prepare ribs several ways. Today I’m showing the pictures of my recent cook to give you some tips, tricks and “my opinion” on a good way to prepare ribs.  Use this information combined with other recipes, tips and your experience to develop the best method for you.

I often recommend to you that you could consider your grill to be one of the many tools you have to prepare food – and that grilling or smoking on your grill can be but just one of the steps you take in preparing delicious meals for your family and friends.  This post is about how I used my grill as one step in preparing some tasty ribs for my son.  I hope it inspires you!

First off, you’ll want to set up your grill for indirect cooking – and have a smoker box with a couple cups of dry wood chips for flavor.  The wood you use will affect the flavor of the ribs, so use what you enjoy. I like a combo of fruit wood with mesquite.  You may prefer only mesquite or hickory or oak or any combination that suits your taste.  Go for it!

If you have a smoker then you are already set to go.  This cook requires a steady heat of approximately 225F – 250F degrees for approximately 2 hours.  So you need to carve out some time to tend to the fire of your charcoal grill or smoker – and to replenish the dry wood chips or chunks in your smoker box or other apparatus several times to maintain a consistent smoke to ensure good flavor.

I found a special at the grocery store on some meaty pork ribs  – and my son had asked for ribs – “Soon dad!”

One rack of Baby Back pork ribs - cut in half to make it easier to handle

Now, generally I don’t like to add a lot of extra flavor to meat I’m going to smoke or grill – but recently I came across a collection of rubs from Chef Tom Douglas that I really like for chicken and pork.  I used his pork rub on the ribs – but only on the top (or convex arc) side – because (and this will drive the purists out there nutz-oh!) I didn’t remove the membrane from the underside (or concave) side and don’t put rub there either.  I’ll explain in a moment.

It only takes a Tbsp or so of rub on ribs to add a layer of flavor. Dry off the ribs with a paper towel prior to adding the rub. This picture shows the rub as I first place it on - then I rub it in all over the meat side of the ribs. It makes a nice layer of flavor.

Brine pork ribs for 8 hours or so to add flavor and moisture before cooking. Drying them with a paper towel prior to adding rub or cooking will help with flavor enhancement as well!

While I preheated my grill I let the ribs absorb some of the flavors of the rub – being mindful that a rub on the surface of meat will only penetrate a little bit into the meat unless there is a cause agent like vinegar or water or something to help the meat absorb it.  And this was not an overnight rest. So I expected the rub to absorb some surface moisture and create a flavorful crust.  It would be one layer of complimentary flavor on the ribs.

After being on the grill and cooking with indirect heat and smoke for about 2 hours - the ribs look done, but they aren't!

The next step is pretty simple – using indirect heat I placed the ribs meat-side up, made sure there were enough wood chips in my smoker box to last a while and closed the hood. From experience I know the setting on the grill when set up for indirect heat that will maintain a fairly consistent 225F degrees in normal weather conditions.  Went inside and set the time for 30 minutes.  When it rang I check the ribs and rotated them in location on the grates to ensure even smoke and cooking – added a few more chips and closed the hood. I repeated this 2 more times and the pulled the ribs after 2 hours on smoke.

Brush on some of your favorite sauce, apple cider, mustard, beer or other wet topping before tightly wrapping the smoked ribs in foil. This added moisture will help keep the meat moist and assist in the final stage of cooking with heat to ensure all the connective tissues break down and flavor the meat.

The final stage is often called “The Texas Crutch” method – I think it got that name because some good ol’boys in Texas figured out how to ensure tasty moist ribs when cooking on dry wood & smoke heat.  The meat can only absorb so much smoke and at a certain point it begins to dry out from the hot, dry and smoky air. 1.5 – 2 hours is about the standard time for smoke on most meats cooked this way.  Take the ribs off of the smoke and place them on foil.  Moisten the ribs with a bit of apple juice or beer or sauce or and elixir of sorts that will add a complimentary layer of flavor to the meat and that suits what you’ve already added by virtue of the rub seasonings and wood smoke. And seal them in the foil by folding it over and creasing the edge. No need to leave an opening. This tight seal will pretty much “steam” the ribs in their own juices and whatever additional elixir you’ve added – so much for folks who say not to boil the ribs before cooking. Steaming after smoking is a way to ensure the meat is moist and the connective tissues break down to both flavor the meat as well as making it tender to chew.

Continue to cook for about another hour or so at low heat – usually in the range of 225F – 250F degrees.  And speaking of range – I finished mine in the oven, inside in the oven. There I said it. (Will someone pick up that boy over there who fainted when I confessed to not finishing these on the grill or in the smoker?)  You see – at this point in the cook all you want is consistency of heat.  The ribs are sealed in foil with some sauce or other elixir  – and there is no way the smoke from a fire, aroma from charcoal or such will penetrate or affect their taste. I choose to finish them where it’s  most convenient for me and that means in the oven.

Ribs are done "to my taste and preference" after 2 hours of smoke and 1 hour of Texas Crutch in the oven at 250F Degrees - the bones wiggle just a tad.

At about an hour I remove one of the foil packets, open it up and check the doneness of the tasty smelling and looking ribs by giving the bones a little wiggle. If they wiggle pretty freely – to my taste they are done and ready to “set” and rest. Sometimes I’ll place them in an insulated bag or cooler (no ice) or sometimes just lay a couple of towels over them and leave on the counter.  I like my ribs a bit messy and serve them at this point. But if you prefer crispy surface, you can toss them back on the grill to add a layer of texture – be mindful that you aren’t grilling to cook, just crisp up the surface so Hot & Fast would be the cautionary advice for this stage.

I like to let the ribs rest for about 45 minutes to an hour on the kitchen counter, still wrapped in the foil with a towel over them. Then I slice individual ribs and serve. In this photo you can see the slight smoke ring, the rub and sauce glaze on the surface and how the meat has pulled back just a bit from the ends of the ribs. Done to my taste - but your taste may be different!

I enjoy seeing a plate of ribs stacked on a plate and served in front of me.  Sometimes I’ll add a side dish with some sauce or vinegar mix, but generally I’m happy with the flavors I’ve added to the meat and will simply dive in.  As I stated at the beginning of this post – my son had requested the ribs so I sliced them all and let him pick as many as he wanted. Thankfully he hasn’t learned that the smaller end often has more meat on it and he left those two ribs on the platter! I can say without reservation these ribs were DEE-LISH-US!

At the top you can see a bit of the membrane - I pull that off after smoking and enjoy it as 'cracklins!'

OH – and about that whole “I didn’t remove the membrane on the underside.” statement.  General practice is to remove this. And that’s fine.

Because I like to cook the ribs without flipping them I find the membrane holds in moisture from the ribs above (or at least I imagine that!) and by the end of the cooking time on the grill or in the smoker the membrane has cooked, shrunk and most often crisped up to the point that, when I bring them into the kitchen and before I baste with sauce and seal them in the foil,  I can pick off nice crispy pieces of membrane and………..eat ‘em.  Kinda like cracklins, not exactly – but tasty. (Psst…don’t tell my son I do this, cause then he’ll want some and I consider them my treat for doing most of the cook’n!)

So there you have it – or at least one version of “it.” I hope you find this post useful and inspiring. And most of all I hope it helps you to feel absolutely OK if you like to prepare food on your grill in combination with other cooking methods and techniques. Because if you like it and your family and friends like it – then it’s good!

For rib recipes as well as recipes for grilling, smoking or barbequing just about any meat just use the Search Recipes link at the top of this page.  It takes you to the Char-Broil web site where you can use the pull-down menu on that page under Recipes to use the ‘Search’ at the bottom of the pull-down list to find a recipe to try this weekend!

Happy Grilling!