Smoked Baby Back Ribs
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.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Resting Time: 80 minutes
- Cook Time: 6 hours
- Total Time: 7 hours, 30 minutes
- Yield: 2 racks of baby back ribs
- Category: meat
- Method: smoker
- Cuisine: southern
Ingredients
Homemade Pork BBQ Rub:
- 1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon paprika (regular or smoked)
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/4 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
- 1/4 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.
Find it online: https://simplymadeeats.com/19157/smoked-baby-back-ribs/