Photo of BBQ Smoked Pork Ribs
Main · Off the grill

BBQ Smoked Pork Ribs

St. Louis-cut pork ribs smoked at 250°F, wrapped with butter until probe-tender, then sauced and set over higher heat.

  • Main
  • Off the grill
  • Serves 6 to 7
  • 250°F, then 275–300°F
  • About 5 to 6 hr
Gus' Family Recipe

Ingredients

For the ribs

  • 3 racks St. Louis-style pork ribs
  • Yellow mustard, for the binder

For the rub (no sugar)

  • 1/4 cup smoked paprika
  • 2 tbsp garlic powder
  • 2 tbsp onion powder
  • 2 tbsp kosher salt

For the wrap (per rack)

  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 1/8 to 1/4 cup apple juice or apple cider vinegar
  • Heavy-duty foil

To finish

  • Barbecue sauce, homemade or store-bought (such as Sweet Baby Ray's)

Steps

  1. Pull the membrane: turn each rack bone side up. At one end, slide a butter knife or your fingertip under the thin, shiny membrane to lift a corner. It's slippery, so grab that corner with a paper towel for grip and peel the whole membrane off in one slow pull.

  2. Mix the rub: stir together the paprika, garlic powder, onion powder and salt.

  3. Bind and season: coat each rack in a thin layer of mustard, then season it all over with the rub.

  4. Smoke: set the Searwood to 250°F. Smoke the ribs unwrapped for 3 hours.

  5. Wrap: lay each rack on heavy foil with 2 tbsp butter and 1/8 to 1/4 cup apple juice or cider vinegar. Wrap tightly and put them back on at 250°F.

  6. Probe, don't time: start checking at about 1 1/2 hours. Probe between the bones; done is 203°F. Some racks get there in 1 1/2 hours, others take 2 1/2.

  7. Bend test: pick a rack up with tongs near the middle. When it's done, it bends and the surface starts to crack.

  8. Sauce and set: unwrap the ribs and put them back on. Raise the heat to 275 to 300°F, brush on the sauce, and cook another 15 to 20 minutes, until the sauce is sticky and the bark firms up.

  9. Rest: let the ribs rest 15 to 20 minutes before slicing.

Cook's Notes

  • Don't follow "3-2-1" blindly. The 3-2-1 method (3 hours smoke, 2 wrapped, 1 unwrapped) is a rough guide, not a rule. Every rack is different, so always probe to know when it's done.
  • Use a sauce with sugar in it. The sugar is what turns sticky and caramelized in that last stretch over higher heat.
  • I buy St. Louis ribs at the US Foods Chef's Store in Tukwila, WA.
  • The paper towel is the trick to the membrane. Bare fingers just slip off it. Grip it with a paper towel.