Description

This easy smoked baby back ribs recipe delivers succulent, tender, and juicy ribs with a flavorful spice rub and smoky finish. For best results, rub the ribs a day or two before smoking to enhance the flavor. The ribs are slow-cooked in a smoker wrapped tightly in foil to lock in juices and finished with a sticky barbecue sauce glaze. Serve these fall-off-the-bone ribs with jalapeño cheddar corn muffins, roasted oven fries, or red cabbage slaw for a perfect meal.

Ingredients

Scale

Ribs

2 racks baby back ribs

Spice Rub

3 tablespoons packed light or dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons granulated garlic (or garlic powder)
2 teaspoons granulated onion (or onion powder)
2 teaspoons smoked paprika

Sauce

⅔ cup barbecue sauce, divided
¼ cup apple cider
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons butter, cut into small cubes

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

Prepare the ribs: Loosen the membrane on the back of each rack of ribs by slipping a small sharp knife between the rib bone and the membrane. Using paper towels for grip, hold the membrane tightly and pull it off. Discard the membrane.
Make the spice rub and season: In a small bowl, whisk together brown sugar, kosher salt, black pepper, chili powder, granulated garlic, granulated onion, and smoked paprika. Rub both sides of the ribs generously with the spice rub. Cover and refrigerate overnight or up to 2 days for best flavor, or proceed immediately if short on time.
Preheat smoker: Heat your smoker to 225 degrees Fahrenheit, maintaining a steady temperature.
Smoke the ribs: Place the rib racks on the smoker with the meat side up. Cook for 3 hours undisturbed.
Wrap the ribs: Remove ribs from the smoker while keeping the smoker on. Place each rack on a large sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil. Brush ribs with ⅓ cup barbecue sauce, reserving the rest. Drizzle apple cider and apple cider vinegar around the edges of the ribs and dot the top with butter cubes. Wrap each rack tightly in a double layer of foil to create leak-proof packets.
Continue smoking: Return the foil-wrapped ribs to the smoker and cook for an additional 3 hours or until tender when pierced with a knife.
Unwrap and glaze: Carefully unwrap the foil packets exposing the meat without letting the juices spill out, reserving the liquid. Brush the ribs with the remaining ⅓ cup barbecue sauce. Place ribs back on the smoker and cook for 15 minutes more until the sauce turns sticky and caramelized.
Serve: Transfer ribs to a cutting board, cutting into portions. Arrange on a platter and drizzle with reserved cooking juices. Serve immediately with plenty of paper towels for easy enjoyment.

Notes

Do Ahead: Ribs can be rubbed and refrigerated for up to 2 days before smoking.
Leftover smoked ribs can be refrigerated in foil packets with juices and reheated in a 350-400˚F oven or grill until warmed through.
Use heavy duty aluminum foil doubled up to prevent juices from leaking during cooking.
If you don't have a smoker, bake ribs wrapped tightly in foil at 300˚F for about 2 hours until tender. Then brush with sauce mixture and finish on a grill for 10 minutes to caramelize.
Any barbecue sauce works well; a robust peppery and gluten-free sauce like Stubbs Original Bar-B-Q is recommended.
For additional sides, try jalapeño cheddar corn muffins or herbed oven fries alongside these ribs.

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 serving (approx. 1/4 rack)
Calories: 550 kcal
Sugar: 15 g
Sodium: 950 mg
Fat: 35 g
Saturated Fat: 12 g
Unsaturated Fat: 20 g
Trans Fat: 0 g
Carbohydrates: 20 g
Fiber: 1 g
Protein: 40 g
Cholesterol: 120 mg