Smoked Baby Back Ribs are cooked low and slow in the Traeger Pellet Grill, and the results are tender, fall apart meat with sticky bbq sauce. We're using the 3-2-1 method, which is the best approach to getting that perfect texture.
Smoked Ribs are one of my favorite Summer recipes to cook low and slow all day on the smoker. These are fall off the bone with bbq sauce and I love pairing them with easy Summer sides like watermelon, these ground beef baked beans and my 5 minute pork Coleslaw recipe.
Jump to:
Why You'll Love This Recipe:
- Beginner Friendly. Smoking ribs isn't only for pit masters! This recipe is super easy to follow with step by step instructions and photos.
- Minimal effort. These Smoked Baby Back Ribs rely on the pellet grill to do most of the work, which makes it easy for us.
- Taste. Get ready for fall off the bone tender pork ribs with sweet and sticky bbq sauce. They're messy and delicious!
- Great for a Cookout. Smoke these for your family and friends at the bbq. You can always add on a few extra racks if needed. I promise they will be a crowd favorite.
For more Smoker recipes, try these Boneless Smoked Chicken Thighs, Pork Butt on the Pellet Grill, and Smoked Vegetables.
Ingredients:
Ribs: Make sure to get Baby Back Ribs, also known as Pork Loin Back Ribs. These are NOT the same as beef short ribs, country style pork ribs or spare ribs.
Apple Cider Vinegar: The acidity helps to break down the meat and assist in keeping it moist at the same time.
Stone Ground Mustard: Helps adhere the rub to the pork, so it doesn't fall off when cooking.
*Find the full ingredients and quantities in the recipe card below.
Substitutions and Variations:
- The Apple Cider Vinegar can be substituted with apple juice or pineapple juice for this recipe.
- Use your favorite BBQ Sauce for this recipe, but I would stay with a thicker version, no runny vinegar based sauces.
- The Dry Rub can be swapped out with any pork rub. I usually have Bad Byron's Butt Rub seasoning on hand and I highly recommend it. Use a few tablespoons of the rub with a few tablespoons of brown sugar.
For more BBQ Side Dish ideas, try this Dill Pickle Potato Salad, Cheesy Potato Casserole, White Cheddar Mac and Cheese, and Smoked Baked Potatoes.
How to Make BBQ Smoked Baby Back Ribs:
Step 1: Unwrap the baby back ribs and sit on a cookie sheet. Pat dry if needed with paper towels and allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Lather 2 tablespoons of mustard on each rack, mainly on the meat side, but I do a bit on the underside as well. If you are making the pork rub: mix together the brown sugar, garlic powder, salt, paprika, chili powder and black pepper and sprinkle over the entire surface, both front and back. Allow to sit for another 30 minutes at room temperature.
Step 2: Prepare the smoker by cleaning the grate, filling up the pellets, and heating to 225 degrees. Add the ribs directly onto the racks meaty side facing up. Smoke for 3 hours.
Step 3: Carefully remove the ribs from the smoker onto a cookie sheet or cutting board and bring inside. Prepare two large pieces of foil and place each rib on top of the foil. Fill a spray bottle with apple cider vinegar and generously spritz the top of the meat. Cut the butter into 8 tablespoons and top each rib with 4 tablespoons of butter, spacing it out down the rack.
Step 4: Wrap the ribs entirely in foil and place back on the smoker for 2 hours.
Step 5: Remove the foil wrapped ribs from the smoker and carefully unwrap and discard the foil (it can be really HOT inside). Lather on bbq sauce onto the tops of the ribs.
Step 6: Return the ribs to the smoker for 1 hour. *Note: Check that the internal temperature is 190 degrees or higher before pulling off the smoker. If not, you may want to leave them on until it reaches that fall off the bone temp.
Step 7: Remove the smoked baby back ribs onto a cutting board and tent with foil for 10-20 minutes.
Step 8: Use your knife to cut perpendicular into the soft spots between each bone. Serve and enjoy!
Expert Tips:
- Make sure the pellets are filled up before starting the recipe. I forgot my own rule and had to do a Costco run mid-smoking.
- Don't skip the mustard coating. It really helps the seasoning stick to the ribs and makes a big difference.
- Allow the ribs to rest for 10-20 minutes tented with foil before slicing into individual pieces.
Love BBQ Recipes? Try these BBQ Chicken Flatbreads, BBQ Chicken Sliders on Hawaiian Rolls, and BBQ Cajun Shrimp. Whip up a batch of this Orange Lemonade Recipe too!
Recipe FAQs:
In order to be fall apart, you want the internal temperature to reach between 190-205 degrees. This happens after a low and slow cook in the smoker with the 3-2-1 method. If your smoker is running under 225 degrees (sometimes mine will run about 8-10 degrees under), you may have to smoke them a bit longer to reach the internal temp of 190 or higher. It can depend on a lot of factors like temperature of smoker, size of meat, the weather, etc.
Start with a dry rub and smoke the ribs for 3 hours, then spray them with an apple juice, pineapple juice or apple cider vinegar and wrap them in foil for 2 hours and smoke. Finish off by unwrapping the foil coating them in bbq sauce and smoking for another 1 hour.
I smoke baby back ribs at 225 degrees, but 250 degrees is also common.
More Pork Recipes to Try:
If you tried this Baby Back Rib Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the 📝 comments below. I love hearing from you!
PrintRecipe
Smoked Baby Back Ribs
- Total Time: 7 hours, 30 minutes
- Yield: 2 racks of baby back ribs
Description
Smoked Baby Back Ribs are cooked low and slow in the Traeger Pellet Grill, and the results are tender, fall apart meat with sticky bbq sauce. We're using the 3-2-1 method, which is the best approach to getting that perfect texture.
Ingredients
Homemade Pork BBQ Rub:
- ⅓ cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon paprika (regular or smoked)
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Baby Back Ribs:
- 2 racks of baby back ribs (about 2.5 lbs each)
- 4 tablespoons stone ground mustard or dijon mustard
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar poured into a spray bottle
- 8 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 bottle of bbq sauce (I used Stubbs sticky sweet) *You only need about 1 cup for the ribs, but I like to use the rest for serving).
Instructions
- Unwrap the baby back ribs and sit on a cookie sheet. Pat dry if needed with paper towels and allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Lather 2 tablespoons of mustard on each rack, mainly on the meat side, but I do a bit on the underside as well. If you are making the pork rub: mix together the brown sugar, garlic powder, salt, paprika, chili powder and black pepper and sprinkle over the entire surface, both front and back. Allow to sit for another 30 minutes at room temperature.
- Prepare the smoker by cleaning the grate, filling up the pellets, and heating to 225 degrees. Add the ribs directly onto the racks meaty side facing up. Smoke for 3 hours.
- Carefully remove the ribs from the smoker onto a cookie sheet or cutting board and bring inside. Prepare two large pieces of foil and place each rib on top of the foil. Fill a spray bottle with apple cider vinegar and generously spritz the top of the meat. Cut the butter into 8 tablespoons and top each rib with 4 tablespoons of butter, spacing it out down the rack.
- Wrap the ribs entirely in foil and place back on the smoker for 2 hours.
- Remove the foil wrapped ribs from the smoker and carefully unwrap and discard the foil (it can be really HOT inside). Lather on bbq sauce onto the tops of the ribs.
- Return the ribs to the smoker for 1 hour. *Note: Check that the internal temperature is 190 degrees or higher before pulling off the smoker. If not, you may want to leave them on until it reaches that fall off the bone temp.
- Remove the smoked baby back ribs onto a cutting board and tent with foil for 10-20 minutes.
- Use your knife to cut perpendicular into the soft spots between each bone. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Make sure the pellets are filled up before starting the recipe. I forgot my own rule and had to do a Costco run mid-smoking.
- Don't skip the mustard coating. It really helps the seasoning stick to the ribs and makes a big difference.
- Allow the ribs to rest for 10-20 minutes tented with foil before slicing into individual pieces.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Resting Time: 80 minutes
- Cook Time: 6 hours
- Category: meat
- Method: smoker
- Cuisine: Southern
Lisa says
So good! The whole family devoured these. A great recipe for summer BBQs. Thanks for sharing.
Tara Smithson says
Thanks so much Lisa! So happy to hear that. My family loves these too.