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Summer grilling season is here, so let’s kick things off with some delicious BBQ Spare Ribs. This easy recipe will deliver the best tasting ribs you’ve ever made! Juicy, melt in your mouth flavor with fall off the bone deliciousness! It’s finger licking good!
Don’t forget to check out my Grilled Maple Bourbon Ribs and 30-minute Party Ribs.
Table of Contents
Prep the ribs
For this recipe I’m going with pork spare ribs. You can also use pork back ribs, or baby back ribs. Spare ribs lay flat with straight bones and tend to have more fat and less meat than back ribs.
Starting off with prep, I like to stick to the basics. Pat the ribs dry and trim any loose fatty ends. To remove or not to remove the membrane. And my answer, it depends! It depends on what grill you will using and what type of ribs you want. When i’m using my charcoal grill, I leave the membrane on. The more intense heat of the charcoal will crisp up the membrane. When I’m using my pellet smoker, I like to remove the membrane.
Next, season both sides with your favorite bbq seasoning. I like using a 50/50 mix of my Dad’s All Purpose Seasoning and Dad’s Sweet BBQ Rub. The 2 rubs work AMAZING on ribs.
Smoke The Ribs
Preheat the grill and set it for 250 degrees, indirect heat. I cooked these on my Big Green Egg with a few chunks of hickory wood for some extra smoke. I like to go 2.5 hours during this first part. This gives the ribs plenty of time to get smokey.
Next, remove the ribs from the grill and place them on a big sheet of aluminum foil. I like using the Heavy Duty kind, it’s less likely to tear. Pour 1/2 cup of apple juice over the ribs and wrap them tightly in the foil.
Place them back on the grill, meat side down, and cook for 1 hour. This 2nd part will get the ribs super tender. By adding the apple juice we provide extra moisture and a liquid for the meat to braise.
We are now entering the home stretch! Carefully open the foil wrap, there will be hot steam, and flip the ribs meat side up. Take your favorite BBQ sauce and brush it on. You can use a store bought sauce or make your own with my Easy Sweet & Tangy BBQ Sauce recipe.
Close the grill and let them cook for 15-20 minutes to allow the sauce to tack up.
When they are ready, remove from the grill, let them rest for a few minutes, serve and enjoy!
Absolutely! Follow the same time and temperature as the recipe. The only downside, you won’t have that mild smokey flavor you would get from the grill.
ABSOLUTELY NOT! Grill them hot and fast, smoke low and slow, just please don’t boil them!
If you tried these BBQ Spare Ribs or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the📝 comments. I love hearing from you!
BBQ Spare Ribs
Ingredients
Rib Ingredients
- 3 racks Pork Spare Rib
- 1/4 cup BBQ Seasoning
- 1 cup BBQ Sauce
- 1 cup Apple Juice
Instructions
- Pat ribs dry and cut off any loose fatty ends
- Season both sides of the ribs with the BBQ seasoning
- Place ribs on smoker at 250 degrees, indirect heat. Smoke for 2.5 hours.
- Remove each rack from the smoker, place on a big sheet of aluminum foil, add 1/2 of apple juice and wrap tightly. Wrap each rack separately.
- Place back on the smoker, meat side down, and cook in the foil for 1.5 hours.
- Carefully open the foil, flip the ribs meat side up, and brush with bbq sauce. Close the grill and cook the sauced ribs for 15-20 minutes, allowing the sauce to set.
- Remove the ribs from the smoker, allow to rest for 10 minutes, slice and enjoy!
Notes
- I like to leave the membrane on the ribs when cooking on a charcoal grill. I remove the membrane when using a pellet smoker.
Ribs are one of my favorite foods! I hope you like this recipe as much as I do!