Ready to learn how to smoke pork ribs? Here’s our ultimate guide that will take you from beginner to pro!
With four kids and numerous nieces and nephews, our family celebrates a lot of birthdays. When we get together we often have 15-20 people and we eat a lot a food.
Several years ago, we began smoking meat for these gatherings as well as holidays, like Christmas and the 4th of July.
Today, my husband is going to share with you all the tips and tricks of how to smoke pork ribs that will be a hit for your family. With that said, I’m handing the keyboard over to him!
Hi there, I’m Jeremy, and I really enjoy smoking meat for gatherings. Over the past 6 years, I’ve smoked ribs, pork butt, brisket, turkeys, and chickens.
Ribs are always a hit and I have gotten accolades from my family, friends, and church congregation on these delicious pork ribs. I hope your family enjoys them as much as we do!
What Type of Smoker to Use
When smoking any meat, but especially ribs, the type of smoker you use really affects the process and outcome of the smoke.
There are several options for smokers.
Here are some pros and cons for the various types.
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My Reccomendation
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Popular Pick
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- Deep smoke flavor
- Excellent bark on meat
- Set it and forget it
- Great value
- Can smoke 8 racks of ribs at a time
- Uses charcoal
- Easy to setup and use
- Flexible for smoking and grilling
- Easy fuel source
- Mild smoke flavor
- Results can be dry
- More expensive
- No fuel to buy
- Affordable option
- Low smoke flavor
- Easy to accidentally get dry results.
- Most affordable option
- Looks like the pros
- Hard to maintain consistent temperature
- Requires active monitoring during cook
The Pit Barrel Cooker is far and away my favorite smoker.
It is easy to use, produces great results across a variety of meats, and is 100% made in the USA by a veteran owned business.
The Pit Barrel Cooker has a unique hanging method that keeps meats moist while developing a nice bark with little to no effort during the smoke.
The heavy construction is durable and keeps a consistent temperature even during a cold northern winter.
What Type of Pork Ribs Are Best?
When learning how to smoke pork ribs, you’ll want to decide which type of ribs you should smoke.
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Spare Ribs
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St Louis Style Ribs
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Babyback Ribs
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Cons:
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- Heartier cut useful for feeding a crowd
- More affordable per pound
- Tougher
- Have bigger bones which add weight
- Moderate price per pound
- Trimmed cut is more premium
- Not available at every grocery store
- Can be a tougher cut
- More tender cut
- Restaurant-style ribs
- Less connective tissue
- Smaller racks don't feed as many
- Cooks quicker
Any cut of pork ribs is fine for this recipe.
My favorite is St. Louis Style which are spare ribs that are trimmed to remove the breastbone and cartilage.
Baby back ribs are always a favorite and are generally what you find if you order ribs in a restaurant.
Our family often uses Pork Spare Ribs, because they can be bought at a low cost and can feed a crowd.
For the purposes of this blog post, we indulged in buying all 3 types so that you can see the difference!
Trimming the Ribs
Trimming the ribs looks a little different depending on which type ribs you have. These are the basic things you want to accomplish.
- Trim the length – With spare ribs, these often are cut to come to a rounded point. There are often 1-3 ribs that are cartilage. I trim these off as these ribs would reach the coals if they weren’t trimmed before placing in my Pit Barrel Cooker.
- Trim any flags – Small pieces of meat or fat that hang off the ribs should be trimmed off. These can burn and affect the surrounding meat so remove these before a smoke.
- Pull off the membrane – On the back of the ribs, there is a membrane that if left on, can make the meat feel chewy in your mouth and get stuck in your teeth. Use a butter knife to separate a piece and then use a paper towel to grip the end and pull this across the ribs. Usually, I have to repeat this process a handful of times to get all the membrane removed.
- Spare Ribs optional trimming – optionally with spare ribs you can remove the breast bone and square them up. Along with removing those cartilage “bones” this turns them into St Louis Style ribs.
Rubbing the Ribs
Before ribs are cooked, it is important to sprinkle a seasoning rub onto the exterior of the ribs. Adding a rub to the ribs serves two purposes:
- It adds seasoning to the outside of the ribs that will be part of every bite
- Sugar in the rub helps the exterior of the ribs to caramelize. This makes it form a delicious crust and also locks in moisture to keep the ribs from drying out.
Recipes for pork rubs range from sweet to savory.
To save time, you can buy rubs. You might like this sweet Weber KC Rib Rub or this savory one from Stubb’s.
As you advance in your smoking journey, you can save a lot of money by making your own. I mix ours up ahead of time and store it in shaker bottle to use later.
Rib Rub
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup paprika
- 1/4 cup garlic powder
- 2 tbsp ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp ground ginger powder
- 2 tbsp onion powder
- 2 tbsp kosher salt
- 2 tsp rosemary powder
- 1 tsp dry mustard powder
Instructions
- Mix the ingredients together and shake generously to cover the ribs.
Before rubbing the ribs, it is good to add some kind of liquid as binder.
This helps the rub stick to the ribs throughout the smoke, ensuring that the most flavor makes it to your mouth.
There are a handful of options including olive oil, hot sauce, apple cider vinegar, and my favorite: French’s Yellow Mustard.
Spread the binder over the ribs and lightly sprinkle the rib rub all over your pork ribs to coat them on each side.
The Smoke
Now that the ribs are prepared it’s time to smoke them. The process for smoking ribs will vary quite a bit depending on the smoker you use to smoke them.
Some people swear by the 3-2-1 method for smoking ribs where you smoke them unwrapped for 3 hours, 2 hours wrapped, and sauced for the final hour. Done properly, this can result in fall off the bone ribs.
My preferred method is smoke them in the Pit Barrel Cooker for 3-4 hours for St. Louis style ribs and Spare Ribs (or 2-3 hours for Baby backs).
The Pit Barrel Cooker does a good job retaining moisture without wrapping them.
By this point, they have great smoky flavor, the meat will have pulled back 1/4-1/2 inch from the ends of the ribs and the temperature in meatiest sections will be in the 185-195 degree range.
Smoking is Time & Temperature
There is much debate on how hot to smoke the ribs.
Opinions on temperatures range from 200-350 degrees.
Choosing a low temperature extends the cook time and makes it more likely that the ribs dry out before they fully cook and get up to a 185-195 temperature, so extra measures to keep moisture high may be required.
Smoking at a higher temperature builds a great bark on the ribs, but they may cook too fast and not take on a full smoky flavor as well as reduce the time that collagen can break down which results in the ribs being “done” and still tough.
For me, I try to split the difference with hot early temperature to build a bark on the ribs and then lower the temperature as the ribs cook to ensure the proteins are broken down resulting in a tender, moist, smoky product.
In order to assist in this, I use a couple of great thermometer products that help keep me in line:
- The first is this Inkbird Bluetooth wireless thermometer that connects to a great mobile app on my phone. This stays connected anywhere in my house and I can check both the smoker and meat temperatures on my phone as well.
- The second is this Thermopro probe thermometer. I use this to check the internal temperature of all kinds of meats whether I am smoking, grilling, or roasting. It delivers quick, reliable temperatures. It’s also magnetic so it can stick to the refrigerator for easy access and safe-keeping.
Saucing the Ribs
Your pork ribs will be fully cooked when they reach the 185-195 temperature range. There are a few options to “finish” the ribs at this point.
- You can brush them with your favorite bbq sauce on both sides of the ribs and leave them on the smoker for about 30-45 minutes. This can be done with a commercial barbeque sauce (Sweet Baby Rays and KC Masterpiece are good choices) or the mustard sauce recipe below.
- You can transfer them to your grill on medium-low heat and sauce them. This will quickly carmelize the sauce onto the meat. Since the ribs are cooked through, start with the meaty side up and brush sauce on them, flip them twice after 3-4 minutes each time.
- You can refrigerate them overnight or up to 24 hours and then warm them up on the grill over medium-low heat while adding sauce. Again, start with the meaty side up and brush on sauce. Flip them 2-3 times brushing them with fresh sauce after each flip leaving them on each side for 5-7 minutes.
- Alternatively, you can skip the sauce and enjoy them as Memphis-style dry rub ribs
Mustard Rib Sauce
This sweet sauce caramelizes the ribs perfectly and is a perfect accent to the dry rub above and the deep smoke flavor your ribs.
Despite the name, these ribs don’t have a strong mustard flavor, but instead are sweet and addictively delicious.
Mustard Sauce
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup brown sugar packed
- 1/2 cup Dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp cider vinegar yes, one more tbsp
- 2 tbsp molasses
- 1 tbsp dry mustard
Instructions
- Whisk all ingredients together in a medium saucepan and simmer 3-4 minutes until thickens a bit. Cool to warm before using.
How to serve Ribs
After the ribs are sauced, allow them to rest for around 10 minutes and then cut them and serve.
- Babybacks can be served as whole racks or sliced into groups of around 3 ribs or half-racks
- Spare ribs and St. Louis Style Ribs can be sliced into singles or doubles as most people won’t eat more than 2-4 ribs.
In order to slice the ribs, I like to place them on a cutting board with the bone side of the ribs facing up. Using a sharp knife slice between the ribs.
If the ribs are done early, you can put them in a glass pan, cover them with heavy duty aluminum foil, and place in the oven on warm.
We like to serve pork ribs with Green Beans and Twice Baked Potatoes, along with this delicious Restaurant Style Salsa and chips as an appetizer.
Final Notes
With all this information, you now know how to smoke pork ribs. Here are few bonus tips as you start your smoking journey.
- The type of smoker you choose makes a big difference in the amount of effort and final result. For a balance of ease and deep smoke flavor, the Pit Barrel Cooker is unmatched. We love it!
- Fall off the bone ribs isn’t actually the perfect result. If ribs reach an internal temperature of 205-210 degrees Fahrenheit, this results in ribs that don’t maintain their shape and become a pile of meat and bones. We want tender ribs, so your best result is tender meat that just separates from the bone when gently pulled.
- It may take a few times to get good results. Don’t give up if your first rack of ribs doesn’t match up to your favorite barbeque restaurant.
- You can get a really good result even if everything isn’t perfect.
- Smoking meat isn’t just about the final result. It’s the fun of the journey as you experiment with different meats, techniques, and flavors. Keep working at it and adjusting until you get your own amazing results.
