Amazing Baby Back Ribs {Recipe} (2024)

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I’m not gonna lie (or brag or anything), my husband made us some A-M-A-Z-I-N-G baby back ribs on his first try and is sharing his instructions below!

After scouring the internet for some great advice on how to properly cook baby back ribs on the grill, my husband and I settled on a great rub recipe that I found from allrecipes.com and cooking instructions he found from the rib master Craig at amazingribs.com. And really, if the site is named amazing ribs you figure you have a good shot at getting some fabulous ribs from following the instructions found, right?

REALLY. Because our ribs for the 4th of July turned out heavenly. Heavenly. Like melt in your mouth good.Like we loved it so much we already made this recipe again this past weekend good. Trust me. And no worries about them being spicy. The rub does not give you spicy ribs, just very flavorful! All I ask is that you promise me not to boil your ribs first. I learned that is blasphemy in the world of ribs so just don’t do it.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon cumin

1 tablespoon paprika

1 tablespoon chili powder

salt and pepper to taste

oil

water

BBQ sauce

baby back ribs

Directions

PREP THE RIBS

Mix rub ingredients using cumin, paprika, chili powder, salt and pepper. Prepare ribs by cutting off extra meat and mescentary (shiny stuff on bottom). Slice meat between the bones for easy cutting later. Rinse ribs, including any small pieces of meat included.

Rub oil (we used peanut) on both sides of ribs then sprinkle some rub on top and lightly rub it in. (Do NOT rub hard into the meat or you may end up with dark colored/spicy ribs). This makes enough for well over 3 lbs of ribs. Wrap the ribs in aluminum foil, shiny side in for Texas Crutch style. Fold foil so it will hold water but leave an opening. Add 1 tablespoon water in the foil with ribs. Seal.

PREP THE GRILL

Prepare the gas grill for dual zone cooking. If you have a grill with 3 burners, remove grill from two adjacent sets of burners and place water pan in so that it will fit below the grill. Replace grill. I used a pie pan for my water pan and it didn’t get very dirty. Start burner on the side that doesn’t have the pan. (I had to run my burner on high.) Warm grill to 225 degrees.

COOKING

Place your ribs in the foil on the side with the water pan below, bone side down. Do NOT place the ribs in direct heat. Add 2-4 oz of wood (mesquite… I used dried oak since it was what we had on hand.) on hot side. As Craig says, there is no need to soak. Close the top monitor the temp to keep it between 225 and 275 degrees. No need to open the top for an hour.

Remove the foil. (there will be lots of liquid, you might want to add it to your water pan. The foil will not be that hot. Add 2 more
oz of wood. (As Craig says, you can always add more wood next time, but you can’t unsmoke your meat if there is too much smoke) Place the ribs back bone side down (while cooking on the cool side they will always be bone side down).

Set timer for another hour.

Any smaller pieces of meat you included will be done. either eat them dry, or add barbecue sauce with silicone brush. Brush one side and place that side down over the hot part of the grill then brush other side. Wait 1 to 2 minutes and flip it, wait another 1-2 minutes and the sauce will be caramelized and yummy. Remove the small bits of meat.

Rotate the ribs and drop the lid and cook another hour.

After cooking another hour my ribs were done. You may wish to check the temp of your ribs and make sure they are cooked (170 – 175, measuring the top part of the meat.) Because I needed more room in my grill, I removed the water pan before I glazed them. I put the ribs in a jelly roll pan. (Be careful, your grate will be hot.)

Once the water pan is out, and your grill is back to normal, turn up the burners and get the grill nice and hot and you have a nice big area to work with. Add barbeque sauce to one side of the ribs and brush with your silicone brush. Put that side down on the grill and wait 1-2 minutes for it to glaze. While cooking, add barbeque sauce to the other side. Flip the ribs and cook the other side 1-2 more minutes. I cut them into thirds and enjoyed my masterpiece ribs!

For more information visit the recipe and cooking instructions courtesy of all recipes.com and amazingribs.com

FAQs

What is the 3 2 1 method for ribs? ›

Essentially, 3 2 1 ribs go like this: 3 hours of smoking the ribs directly on the pellet grill. 2 hours wrapped in foil, still cooking on the grill. 1 hour of cooking, unwrapped and slathered in barbecue sauce.

What's the best temperature to cook baby back ribs and how long? ›

Hot and Heavy or Low and Slow?

Type	Uncovered Temp	Covered Time
Small pork ribs, such baby back ribs	300-325°F	11/2 hours
Larger pork ribs, such as spare ribs	350°F	3 hours / 11/2-2 hours
Beef "dino" ribs	—	4 hours
Beef flanken ribs	broiler	—

Aug 16, 2022

Get More Info ›

What is a natural meat tenderizer for ribs? ›

Dry brining with baking soda is an ideal route for making slabs of ribs or roasts because it isn't time-sensitive! With this method, you can tenderize your cuts of meat with baking soda in the morning and have them ready to cook in for your afternoon barbecue or an appetizing feast at dinner.

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What is the best meat tenderizer for ribs? ›

Rub both sides of the ribs well with lime juice. Remember, we're not making this taste like lime, lime is a natural meat tenderizer. Lime is a natural meat tenderizer.

What is the secret ingredient to tenderize meat? ›

Less than a teaspoon of baking soda ensures that your steak remains juicy and tender—even after a speedy marinade. While other recipes demand hours of marinating, this baking soda hack makes a flank steak or any other fibrous cut of beef ready to sear after just an hour.

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How do Chinese make their meat so tender? ›

While there are several ways to velvet, a pound of meat needs about two teaspoons of cornstarch and two teaspoons of oil, says Leung. You may also include two to three tablespoons of water. For beef, add a 1/4-teaspoon of baking soda for tenderizing. Additional seasonings are optional and vary from recipe to recipe.