How to Smoke Ribs on a Pellet Grill (Baby Back or Spare Ribs)
These pellet smoker ribs are seasoned with a simple dry rub and smoked low and slow at 225°F until tender and juicy. This easy method works for baby back ribs, spare ribs, and St. Louis style ribs on any pellet grill.
Servings: 4
Calories: 361
Instructions
- While you are prepping the ribs, start preheating your pellet smoker at 225F. It is important to follow the instructions and start-up procedure of your brand of pellet smoker. You may want to line the bottom of your pellet smoker with foil.
- Ribs usually come with a thin layer of tough skin on the underside of the rack. This is called the silver skin and it needs to be removed so the seasonings can penetrate the meat. See the video in the post above for insutructions on how to best remove.
- Combine the dry rub recipe in a small bowl. Lay the ribs on a sheet tray and add about 2-3 tablespoons of rib rub per side. You don't want to completely coat them...leave some meat peaking through.
- Once the smoker is pre-heated, you can put the rack (or 2 racks) directly on the grates and let them smoke. Leave them alone for at least 4 hours. The less you open the grill, the shorter your cook time will be. You do want to keep an eye on the smoker temperature and make sure it stays where you set it.
- A rack of baby back ribs will take 4 to 5 hours to cook and spare ribs will take 6 to 7 hours.
- Towards the end of the cook time, pick up the ribs with tongs and if the bark breaks and the ribs almost split in half, they are done. If not, keep on smoking.
- Add BBQ sauce (optional): When the ribs are ready to come off of the smoker (they passed the bend test), you can coat them with a thin layer of your favorite BBQ sauce. Leave them on the smoker at 225F for 30 more minutes so the sauce can caramelize.
Notes
Remove the membrane from the back of the ribs before seasoning for the best texture.
This recipe works with baby back ribs, spare ribs, or St. Louis style ribs. Cook times will vary depending on the size and thickness of the rack.
I recommend smoking the ribs at 225°F and using the bend test to determine doneness rather than relying strictly on cook times.
Baby back ribs usually take 4 to 5 hours, St. Louis ribs take 5 to 6 hours, and spare ribs take 6 to 7 hours.
Hickory is my favorite wood pellet for ribs, but apple, cherry, pecan, and competition blends are also excellent choices.
For sauced ribs, brush your favorite BBQ sauce onto the ribs during the final 30 minutes of cooking and return them to the smoker so the sauce can caramelize.
Perfectly cooked ribs should be tender with a slight bite. If the meat falls completely off the bone, the ribs are generally overcooked.
Nutrition information is calculated automatically and is an estimate only.
Nutrition
Serving: 100g | Calories: 361 | Carbohydrates: 0g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Fiber: 0g