How Long To Grill Ribs
Place the ribs bone side down over the direct heat and close the lid. Set your timer for 35-45 minutes.
Once the 45 minutes is up, flip the ribs so that the meat side is down. Cook them meat side down for 15 minutes.
Your total cook time is about 60 minutes.
As I said, it doesnt matter what kind of ribs you have. Baby back, St. Louis style, they all cook the same when you do it this way! Simply maintain that 350 degrees and youre good to go!
After 45 minutes to 1 hour of grilling, your ribs should be right around 203 degrees F. internal temperature. Ideally, theyll get to 205 degrees F. but 203 is perfectly acceptable!
After the 60 minutes is up, sauce the ribs again and crank the heat to high .
Char up the BBQ sauce on each side for a few minutes and double-check your temperature.
Thats how to BBQ ribs on the grill, the right way!
Instructions For Foil Wrapped Ribs:
1. Prepare the grill for direct cooking over medium heat .
2. In a small bowl mix the rub ingredients.
3. Remove the membrane from the back of each rack of ribs. Cut each rack crosswise in the middle to create two smaller racks.
4. Season each half rack evenly with the rub. Using eight 18-by-24-inch sheets of heavy-duty aluminum foil, double wrap each half rack in its own packet.
5. Brush the cooking grates clean. Place the ribs on the grill over direct medium heat and cook for 1 hour, with the lid closed, occasionally turning the packets over for even cooking, making sure not to pierce the foil.
6. Remove the packets of ribs from the grill and let rest for about 10 minutes. Carefully open the foil packets, remove the ribs, and discard the rendered fat and foil.
7. Drain and add the wood chips directly onto burning coals or to the smoker box of a gas grill, following manufacturers instructions. When the wood begins to smoke, return the ribs to the grill, bone side down. Grill over direct medium heat, with the lid closed as much as possible, until they are sizzling and lightly charred, 10 to 12 minutes, turning and basting once or twice with the sauce. Remove from the grill and let rest for about 5 minutes. Cut into individual ribs and serve warm with any remaining sauce.
©2011 Weber-Stephen Products LLC. Recipe from Webers Time To Grill by Jamie Purviance. Used with permission
How To Make Bbq Ribs
If you want to grill BBQ Ribs, and who doesn’t? You simply need a BBQ dry rub for ribs and/or your favorite homemade BBQ sauce. I prefer to use both, but you can use either based on your personal preference.
Dust the ribs liberally with the dry rub prior to grilling, this can even be done the day prior if desired. The BBQ sauce will be applied to the ribs during the final hour of cooking. The heat from the grill will transform the BBQ sauce into a delectable sticky jam clinging to the meat! You can even make great BBQ ribs in the oven when it isn’t grilling season!
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Grilling Ribs On A Charcoal Grill
How long the ribs need on a charcoal grill depends on the temperature. Ideally, the grill will remain at a consistent temperature of 225 degrees Fahrenheit .
Keep in mind, were aiming for low and slow cooking here, and even at 225 degrees Fahrenheit, the ribs will still need at least five hours maybe even six hours to finish.
Unlike grilling steaks, the ribs internal temperature wont determine whether theyre done or not. Of course, when cooked to the safe internal temp of 190 degrees Fahrenheit, the ribs will be safe to eat however, they might not be delicious just yet.
In fact, it takes a significant amount of time for the connective tissues to break down and become tender. Most of the time, we need to cook the ribs to an internal temperature of 205 degrees Fahrenheit to become tender.
A basic timeline could look similar to this:
- Unwrapped smoking: Three hours.
- Cooking wrapped in foil: Two hours.
- Unwrapped at a high temperature: One hour.
Depending on your grill, your ribs might require slightly more or less time than mentioned above. Its essential to rotate the ribs occasionally throughout the cook you must also check on the fire, smoking wood and the water pan every 30 minutes or so.
Always test for doneness, dont go by time or temperature. Were going to cover how you can test for the perfect doneness in a minute.
Grilled Ribs On The Bbq
There is no fancy recipe here, were simply making grilled ribs on your barbecue and have them come out tender, juicy, and just about ready to fall off the bone. A little tug and the bone is stripped clean!
If youd like some of my funky and delicious BBQ sauce recipes, head on down to the bottom of the page and find a list of goodies just before the recipe card.
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How To Smoke Meat On A Charcoal Grill
To turn the charcoal grill into a smoker, you will be using indirect heat. This means that you will need to arrange your hot coals on either side of the grill, so that they are not directly below the meat you are smoking.
To do this, we placed a disposable aluminum pan on the center of the bottom grate and used it to hold the coals to either side of where we would place the meat. This pan also does double duty as a drip pan during cooking.
How To Tell Ribs Are Ready
The USDA recommends that pork and beef both be cooked to an internal temperature of 145°F to be considered done. Many professional chefs cook beef steak cuts to only 128°F or so before they are served.
Its important to note here the difference between safe to eat and finished.
Since ribs are tougher cuts of meat, they should be cooked longer and until they reach a higher internal temperature so that the connective tissues and fats have ample time to break down and render.
Ribs are generally cooked until an internal temperature of 190°F to 205°F. Aaron Franklin, a BBQ idol of mine, recommends that you cook to an internal temperature of 203°F.
The best way to tell if ribs are ready is to measure internal temperature of your meat with a probe meat thermometer. When measuring, make sure that the probe measures a thick section in the center of the slab. The bones are sure to be piping hot and will throw off your temperature reading if the probe gets too close.
There are also a couple of quick checks you can do if you dont have a thermometer handy:
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Smoking = Low And Slow Cooking
When you are ready to cook, toss about 3/4 cup of soaked and drained wood chips onto the hot coals on each side of the aluminum pan.
You should notice smoke nearly immediately. Place your cooking grate on the grill. Close the grill and adjust your vents to get a proper temperature inside. You should be smoking at a low heat.
After a few moments, remove the cover of your grill and place your hand about four inches from the cooking grate. For a low heat you should be able to hold your hand over the grate for 8-10 seconds.
Of course, a more exact way of measuring the temperature of your grill smoker is with a leave-in probe thermometer. ThermoWorks makes a really cool tool for this in their Smoke 2-Chanel Alarm. It lets you monitor both the temperature of your meat and smoker at the same time, from one easy display. Definitely an essential to up your smoking game!
Smoking takes anywhere from 2-3 hours all the way up to 20 or more. It is this low and slow method that tenderizes the meat and infuses it with incredible flavor. A good smoke cant be rushed and will be ruined by heat that is too high.
How To Trim Ribs
There are three areas on pork ribs to consider trimming.
One: on the underside or bone side of your ribs, there is typically a flap of meat. Trim as much of this off as you can.
Two: trim any major fat pockets on the top side of your ribs. Dont try to get all this off, but rather simply reduce the thickness of any fat pockets you find. Remember, the fat will render off pretty well during the cook process.
Three: I like to square up my ribs. I trim off the last one or two ribs from the small bone end to make them a bit more uniform. This is more common with St. Louis spare ribs than baby backs. This is optional and more about aesthetics than anything else.
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Rinse Then Dry The Ribs
After trimming, its a good idea to wash off any residual brine and/or blood that is on the ribs.
Note on rinsing: don’t hold the ribs under a running faucet. This will splatter raw meat all over your kitchen. Instead, add cold water to a large measuring cup or pitcher and gently pour over the ribs into your sink.
Then, dry the ribs well with a paper towel.
The Type Of Rib Determines Grilling Time
Most often, when people talk about ribs, they mean pork ribs. However, thats not to say that pork is the only type. Beef short ribs have become immensely popular , lamb ribs are also super delicious when cooked just right.
Were going to stick to pork ribs here, and there are three popular types to try out:
- Spareribs: Cut from the meaty lower part of the pig.
- Louis-style ribs: Same cut as spareribs, minus the breastbone and cartilage.
- Baby back ribs: These are found where the spine and ribs meet. Now, dont worry, baby back ribs arent from baby piglets they simply get their name for the shorter size than spareribs.
Although these are different types of ribs, they all require low and slow cooking to become moist, juicy, and tender.
The cut will determine the cooking time.
Due to the difference in size, cooking time will differ. Spares will need significantly longer than baby backs. For example, if you were to cook the two types at 225 degrees Fahrenheit, baby backs will need four to six hours, whereas spares need five to seven hours.
The type of grill youre using will also impact how the ribs cook and the flavors. A charcoal grill is ideal for ultra-tasty, tender ribs due to its low n slow process. But, thats not to say that its impossible to cook delicious ribs on a gas grill its very much possible, and were going to show you how.
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How Long Does It Take To Cook Ribs On Charcoal
All ribs benefit from grilling over low, consistent heat. Youll want to keep the temperature at a steady heat of 225F . This means you need about 5 -6 hours for the ribs to cook.
To prepare your ribs on the grill make sure you have the following equipment:
- An aluminum pan to fit the grill
- Aluminum foil
- Sharp knife and meat scissors
Fire up your charcoal grill and get ready to cook your rack of ribs. Here are estimate times you can count on when planning your barbeque:
- The first stage is placing your ribs bone-side down on the grill unwrapped. Estimate 2-3 hours for this stage. Youll be turning your meat over regularly during this time. The time depends also on how many ribs you are going to grill.
- The next stage is wrapping your ribs in aluminum foil. We do this to keep in the heat and maintain the internal temperature of the meat. The foil keeps the juices in, giving you succulent ribs. The timing here is 2 hours.
- For the last stage, remove the wrapping from the ribs. Place back on the grill and cook for another hour.
Remember: baby back ribs generally cook for an hour less than your spare ribs. Youll need to check on your fire regularly to maintain the correct temperature.
Video #4 Smoking Ribs Using A Slow N Sear
The Slow N Sear is a fun accessory that is essentially a massively oversized charcoal basket with a built in water reservoir. Some folks claim that the steam produced by the water reservoir helps adds moisture to the meat. Im not sure of how accurate that claim is but I can attest that it is easy to maintain Low and Slow for at least eight hours on a single load of charcoal.
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Selecting Your Rack Of Ribs Affects Your Grilling Time
Most of the time when people refer to ribs theyre referring to pork ribs.
Even though there are also beef short ribs, and even lamb ribs, the vast majority of smoked barbecue ribs are pork. And there are three popular types you can buy:
Learn how to tell your different pork ribs from each other in this video from the BBQGuys:
Baby backs refer to loin or pork loin back ribs. They are cut from where the rib meets the spine. The upper portion is named baby backs because theyre shorter in length compared to spares.
There are about 10 to 13 curved ribs from 3 to 6 inches in length. Theyre usually tender and lean.
St. Louis-style and spareribs are cut from the pork belly .
The slab shape is rectangular because the hard breastbone and cartilage are removed. Its flatter in shape compared to the baby back ribs and theyre easier to brown because they contain a higher amount of fat.
Theyre moist, juicy and very flavorful if cooked properly.
All pork ribs require low and slow cooking, otherwise theyll be hard and chewy.
Does it make a difference to the cooking time which cut you choose?
Yes, if you cook spares instead of baby backs, you will need to add more cooking time because baby backs are smaller compared to spares.
For example, if you cook both at 225°F:
Guy Fieri, American restaurateur, author, and television personality,
How Long Does It Take To Grill Bbq Ribs In The Oven
Outdoor barbeques are wonderful for those lazy summer afternoons. But if you want to eat ribs during winter you can by using the oven.
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Prepare your ribs with a dry rub or bbq sauce. The choice is yours! Wrap them in aluminum foil. Once the oven has reached full temperature, place the rack of ribs on a baking sheet in the middle of the oven. Set the timer to 2 hours 15 minutes for baby back ribs and 3 hours 15 minutes for spare ribs.
When the timer goes off, unwrap the ribs. Add more sauce if youre using basting. Turn on the grill and place the ribs under the grill. Keep an eye on your ribs while they are grilling. You dont want them to be grilling for more than 20 30 minutes at this stage.
If you take your ribs seriously you could fire up your outside grill to finish off the ribs. Instead of placing them under the oven grill for the last 30 minutes, cook them over direct heat. Place the ribs on the grill and keep an eye on them. Youll be using the same amount of time but youll benefit from an authentic taste experience.
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How Do You Keep Ribs From Drying Out On The Grill
Maintain moisture while the ribs cook. Either wrap in foil, cover with foil, immerse in liquid or baste frequently to prevent ribs from drying out. Uncover meat when ribs are fork tender. Remove from liquid, baste with a sauce, if desired, and transfer ribs to a baking pan or grill to finish cooking.
Adding Flavor To Your Ribs
Once youve removed the skin from your ribs, youre ready to add the flavor. You can do this by applying a rub. If youre battling to keep the rub on your ribs, I suggest you use a little bit of olive oil, mustard, or honey. This will help to stick your rub to the ribs. Dont use baste or barbecue sauce at this time.
If youre worried about the ribs getting too dry during cooking you could apply a sauce. Use a brush to do this. An easy sauce to use is a mixture of the dry rub and apple cider vinegar or beer, Apply this sauce while the meat is cooking.
Eating ribs are associated with the delicious sticky glaze that caramelizes on the top. The glaze is applied during the last stage of cooking. Are you wondering what makes a good glaze? I like to use a combination of sugar or honey with tomato sauce and Worcester Sauce. But you can get creative here add whatever appeals to you to the base which is sugar or honey.
Ready-made bbq sauces and glazes can be bought from the supermarket. While they save you time if youre wanting to make the best ribs, using your own recipe can be fun.
Tip: Many barbeque chefs question the need to remove the membrane from the ribs. Some say it keeps the moisture in if you leave this skin on. Ive found it makes no difference. Try them both ways and decide for yourself what is the best option.
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