How Long To Cook Ribs On The Grill
Ive found that the sweet spot for cooking ribs on the grill is about one hour. Yes, many barbecue restaurants will cook for;hours;and;hours.;This is more of a slow-cooking method and theyve got pitmasters to watch those grills like a hawk for hours at a time.
I personally dont have time for that. So if you want to cook pork ribs on the grill at home, I recommend grilling them for 45 minutes with just the dry rub, then dousing them with bbq sauce, flipping them over, and grilling for an additional 15 minutes.
If youre cooking grilled beef ribs, you may need a little more time simply because beef ribs are typically bigger than pork ribs. Adjust your initial cooking time by adding about 15 minutes. If the ribs have an internal temperature of between 200 and 203 degrees F, theyre done and you can move onto the saucing step!
Tips To Remember About Your Ribs
Youve probably heard this before, but ribs should not fall off the bone.
When perfectly grilled, they should be tender and moist. You should be able to cleanly bite the meat, or pull it from the bone with your fingers, but the meat should not just fall off. When you take a bite, some meat should stay on the bone.
Ribs that fall off the bone are an indication that theyve been boiled and steamed, or way overcooked, leaving them with a mushy, flavorless texture.
Here are more pointers to make the best ribs:
- Buy Baby Backs For the novice chef, try baby backs first. They are fast and easy to cook, tender and well-marbled.
- Remove the Membrane The membrane is tough and prevents smoke and rubs from seasoning your meat.
- Maintain consistent temperature Temperature is very important and worth mentioning again. For smoking, stabilize the temperature between 225°F to 250°F and for finishing, browning and sealing in the sauce glaze increase it between 325°F to 350°F
- Add time for sauce Allow at least 30 minutes near the end of your cooking time. Start by brushing on the barbecue sauce then closing the lid to let the sauce dry. Re-apply every 5 to 8 minutes until you build up that beautiful shiny glaze that is the signature of a perfect rib.
You cant hurry ribs no matter how hungry you are. Only the ribs can tell you when theyre done. Be patient and use one of the methods weve shared above. Theyll be worth the wait.
Happy grilling!
Sweet And Spicy Barbecue Sauce
You can use any barbecue sauce you like, but for us, we like to cook up our quick sweet and spicy sauce it only takes a few minutes. It combines ketchup, brown sugar, chili sauce , and spices. Weve shared how to make it in the;recipe.
I like making a double batch of the sauce and keeping it in the refrigerator. It will last up to 5 days. The sauce is perfect with chicken, on a burger, or as a dip for fries.
We make a similar sauce to coat our brown sugar barbecue wings. Another option is our homemade bacon bourbon barbecue sauce . We use that sauce for our bacon bourbon baked ribs.
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Do You Wrap Ribs In Foil When Grilling
The foil will prevent the ribs for benefitting from any smoke which is why I recommend starting them w/o the foil AND with wood chips. Ater about two hours of sub 250 degree smoke infused indirect heat the ribs will be warm but not so hot that you cant wrap them in foil. SO get the foil out there and wrap em then.
Slow Cooking Pork Ribs On A Gas Grill
The benefit of low and slow cooking pork ribs on a gas grill is that a gas grill can monitor temperature for you. Low and slow works best for grilling pork ribs, and you can quickly turn up or turn down the burners to make adjustments. Using gas grills can be much easier compared to traditional charcoal grills.
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How To Reheat Ribs In The Oven Microwave Or On The Grill
Keep them moist and tender.
If you want leftover ribs that taste like they just came off the grill, then you need to know how to reheat ribs. And whether youre warming up a rack of ribs, BBQ ribs, spare ribs, or pork ribs, a few missteps could mean you end up with dry meat that even your dog wont want to eat. Thats why we asked a few expert chefs for their best cooking tips on how to make this favorite taste fantastic even a day or two later.
Fall Off The Bone Bbq Ribs Recipe
Grilled low and slow yields Fall off the Bone BBQ Ribs, brush with a tangy bbq sauce for lip-smacking deliciousness. Be forewarned, make a double batch of these bone tender ribs after making these dozens of times there are never any leftovers. Perfect for grilling season or any time you want easy entertaining!
These are great with honey butter corn but go equally well with Green Chili Au Gratin Potatoes for a full meal!
This Fall off the Bone BBQ Ribs Recipe;will amaze you at how simple and how little time it will actually take you to make them. Seasoned with just a few ingredients These grilled baby back pork ribs work with or without barbecue sauce!
This easy BBQ ribs recipe is ideal for entertaining you can spend about 15 minutes prepping the ribs, then put them on the grill to cook.
More time with your family and very little clean-up. Sounds like a win/win in my book.
After reading this youll have the tips to know how to make ribs tender and guaranteed way for fall off the bone baby back ribs!
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Should I Wrap My Ribs In Foil When Grilling
Wrapping the meat in foil will limit the amount of smoke on the surface of the meat thus yielding a better color and flavor on the final product. It also adds moisture and speeds up cooking time. Wrapping should be done about half way through the cooking process or when internal meat temp is 150-160 degrees.
Choosing The Best Ribs
Baby back rib is the best pick for grilling. Just like the name suggests, it is cut from the top-back portion of the ribs.
This part is meatier because it has an even layer of tender flesh across the ribs.
Check to see that there fat is spread evenly on the whole chunk and that the meat is light pale white.
The piece should not be frozen.
Place the meat on the chopping board, with the meat side up.
Then, use a sharp knife to remove the excess fat and white marbling.
Once youre done, turn it over to expose the rib side.
You are now ready to remove the membrane.
Using your fingers, feel the membrane that covers the rib and hold on to it.
Then, slide a butter knife, pull it out from the membrane at an angle. The membrane should come off completely from the rack.
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Remove The Membrane From The Back Of The Rack Of Ribs
The ribs I purchased already had the membrane removed from the back of the racks so I didnt have to do this before coating with my dry rub. Its important to remove this part of the ribs before cooking.
- At one end of the rack, slide a dinner knife under the;membrane;and over a bone.
- Lift and loosen the;membrane;until it tears.
- Grab the edge of the;membrane;with a paper towel and pull it off.
- The;membrane;may come off in one whole piece, or you may need to;remove;it in smaller pieces.
How To Choose The Best Ribs
The first step to perfectly cooked ribs in the oven is buying the best ribs possible. Not all ribs are created equal and knowing what to look for when youre at the butcher is key. Heres what to look for:
Meaty Ribs
When shopping for ribs, pay attention to their meat coverage. Avoid choosing ribs with thin patches of meat or completely exposed rib bones without any meat coverage. Ribs should be plump with an even thickness of meat from rib to rib. This ensures the ribs cook evenly in the oven.
Fat
Regardless of the type of ribs you buy, you want to see some fat. However, avoid ribs with large concentrations of fat in one area of the rack. Look for racks with fat that is evenly spaced and well-marbled throughout.
Color and Texture
Ribs that are fresh and not previously frozen are always the best route to go. If youre unsure if the ribs youre considering were frozen, check for any discoloration or rough, dry edges. This can indicate freezer burn from prolonged storage in the freezer.
Size
If youre buying multiple racks to serve a family, look for racks that are similar in size. This ensures each slab will cook evenly and limit the chance for smaller racks of ribs to dry out before the larger racks come to temperature.
Shape
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How Long Do You Cook Pork Ribs On The Grill
Normally I would recommend using an instant read thermometer to gauge the doneness of meat on the grill; however, that method can be a little tricky with this method.; Its recommended that pork is done around 145°F, but you need to cook pork ribs to around 190°F to 200°F to really break down fat and collagen, resulting in a tender finished texture.; Also, given that the ribs are wrapped in foil, its hard to figure out where to put the thermometer without unwrapping the ribs.
Ive tested this recipe several times and have found that 1 hour over direct medium heat will give you tender ribs that dont fall off the bone .; Just make sure youre maintaining 350°F 400°F within the covered grill, and the ribs will turn out great every time.
In this recipe, the ribs go back on the grill uncovered for 10 to 12 minutes longer to allow them to soak up hickory smoke and a barbecue sauce baste.; Youre not really cooking the ribs during this phase just infusing them with flavor.
Which Type Of Grills Are Best For Grilling Ribs
When it comes to how long to grill ribs, the type of grill doesnt make a huge difference.; In other words, you can expect your cooking time to remain the same whether youre using a charcoal grill, gas grill, kamado grill, or pellet grill.
That being said though, its more ideal to use grills that use charcoal or wood pellets as a fuel source.; Wood pellets and charcoal both smoke when ignited, and the smoke will impart delicious smokey flavor into your ribs.
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Our #1 Secret For Tender Ribs
The best, most fool-proof way to make sure that your ribs are fall off the bone tender is to bake them, covered, at a low temperature in your oven. We bake our ribs in a 275° F oven for two to three hours. It is this simple method that guarantees tender ribs!
We learned how to make oven-baked ribs from Steamy Kitchen and have never looked back! So we suggest you prep the ribs, pick out a favorite movie, open a beer, and relax until done.
These baked ribs are so easy all you need is time.;We bake the ribs before adding any sauce, and then when baked, we brush on our;favorite;barbecue sauce.
You can use the barbecue sauce suggested in the recipe below or use your favorite homemade or store-bought sauce.
We use a similar sauce when making these barbecue chicken wings. You can also season the ribs with your favorite BBQ rub. We keep our ribs simple in the video and only use salt and pepper, but you can always add more flavor with a spice rub.
Cooking Ribs On The Grill
These ribs on the grill are not super traditional, but they are super tasty. You wont get a thick pink smoke ring cooking faster at higher temperatures, but the rub and braise will infuse the meat with lots of delicious porky flavor.
These ribs will fall off the bone, but they also have a little bit of a crunchy chew on the exterior from the caramelized sugars in the rub, braising liquid, and sauce.
If you are looking for tender, moist, fall all the way off the bone ribs, invest a little more time and try my 3-2-1 ribs recipe. This recipe will get the job done and yield tasty tasty results in less time. Im cooking St. Louis trimmed spare ribs. If youre cooking baby backs, congratulations! Your ribs will take even less time!
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How To Prepare The Ribs
The key to any good round of ribs is proper preparation. This stage can make or break the success of your meal and neglecting good prep will give you bland, inferior ribs. Simply throwing them as you bought them onto the grill isnt going to cut it.
For your rib choice, I suggest going for pork. And then there are 2 varieties: Spare or baby back ribs.
Personally, I prefer spare. Theyre cut from the belly-end of the ribs, so are much meatier. Baby back are a little shorter but still an excellent choice. Cooking time tends to be about 4-5 hours for spare and 3-4 for baby back.
Its also important to bear in mind that your grill will dictate the size of the rack that you can cook at once. We want as much of the ribs to be exposed at once, so its not a good idea to pile them on top of each other. As a result, you will probably only be able to fit one rack of spareribs on the grill or two racks of baby back. Keep this in mind when preparing your ribs.
You will then need to cut the ribs down to just the rib rack. If you havent done this before, check out my full guide on how to trim spare ribs.
Start by removing the membrane from the rack. Not a lot of grillers do this, but doing so removes this thin skin off the back of the ribs, allowing them to be tender and packed full of flavor.
How Long To Grill Beef Back Ribs
Beef back ribs come from the same section of a steer as the prime rib roast.; In case you didnt know, prime rib is a prized cut of beef and butchers can typically get top dollar for it.; Because of this, beef back ribs typically have bone exposed and minimal meat on top of the bones.; The fingers in between each of the bones will house the meaty goodness of beef back ribs.
Beef back ribs are a tough cut of meat that requires some time on the cooker to truly tenderize.; Get it right and your BBQ ribs will be the stuff of legend.
The Slow Way :
For low and slow cooking, set your grills temperature to 225°F and place the beef back ribs on the grill to cook for about 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 hours.
The Fast Way:
For low and slow cooking, set your grills temperature to 325°F and grill the ribs on the indirect side for approximately 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
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How Do You Grill Ribs On A Propane Grill In Foil
How Do You Grill Individual Pork Ribs
Place the ribs right on the grill, using tongs to maneuver them into place. Grill, covered, over indirect medium heat for 30 minutes on each side. After the first hour, move the ribs to direct medium heat and cook 20-40 minutes longer, or until the pork is tender .
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The Equipment/ingredients Youll Need For Pre
We are going to try out three different methods of preparing the ribs, but all of them will involve pre-cooking at some point.
To complete these cooking methods, the pieces of equipment you will need include:
- Oven Obviously, youll need this, and also make sure that no one else is thinking about using it for the rest of the day because you may end up needing it for a while.
- Oven pan Nothing fancy is needed here, but you will want a larger one to hold the ribs and the other ingredients you will be using.
- Aluminum foil This will be utilized in a few ways over the course of the pre-cooking process, so make sure to have plenty on hand.
You may also need:
- Smoker One of the cooking methods that will be included in this article will involve smoking the ribs.
- Grill You can make use of this in one of the cooking methods that are listed below if you are so inclined.
Youll also need the following ingredients:
Its optional, but you can also put together your own barbeque sauce, and for that, you will want to have:
- Ketchup This will give the sauce that bit of tartness and appealing color.
- Brown sugar Most bbq sauces feature sweet notes of some kind.
- Some kind of vinegar This is necessary for balancing out the sweetness.
- Chili powder Again, just use this if you want some heat.
