Description

This smoked baby back ribs recipe yields fall-off-the-bone tender, juicy, and flavorful ribs. The ribs are rubbed with a robust spice blend and slowly smoked at low temperature, then wrapped in foil with a butter and tangy apple cider vinegar mixture to keep them moist. Finished with a sticky barbecue sauce glaze, these ribs are perfect for an impressive meal and pair wonderfully with jalapeño cheddar cornbread muffins, oven fries, or red cabbage slaw.

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

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Instructions

Prepare Ribs: Loosen the membrane on the back of each rack by slipping a small sharp knife between the rib bone and membrane. Hold the membrane firmly with paper towels and pull it off completely, then discard.
Make the Spice Rub: In a small bowl, whisk together brown sugar, kosher salt, black pepper, chili powder, granulated garlic, granulated onion, and smoked paprika until evenly combined.
Apply Rub: Rub both sides of the ribs thoroughly with the spice rub. Cover and refrigerate overnight or up to 2 days for best flavor; if short on time, proceed immediately to smoking.
Preheat Smoker: Heat your smoker to 225 degrees Fahrenheit, maintaining steady temperature throughout cooking.
Smoke Ribs First Phase: Place the rib racks meat side up directly on the smoker grates, and smoke for 3 hours undisturbed, allowing smoke to deeply penetrate the meat.
Wrap and Sauce: Remove ribs from smoker and place each rack on a large sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil. Brush ribs with ⅓ cup barbecue sauce, drizzle apple cider and apple cider vinegar around edges, and dot with butter cubes. Wrap ribs tightly in a double layer of foil, forming leak-proof packets.
Smoke Ribs Second Phase: Return foil-wrapped ribs to smoker and continue cooking until tender when pierced with a knife, about 2 to 3 hours longer.
Unwrap and Glaze: Carefully unwrap foil to expose ribs without losing cooking juices. Brush with remaining ⅓ cup barbecue sauce, then return ribs to smoker for 15 minutes to develop a sticky glaze.
Serve: Transfer ribs to a cutting board, reserving foil juices. Cut into portions, arrange on a platter, and drizzle with reserved juices. Serve immediately with paper towels for easy cleanup.

Notes

The uncooked ribs with spice rub can be refrigerated for up to 2 days to enhance flavor.
Smoked ribs can be cooled, kept in foil packets with juices in refrigerator, then reheated at 350-400 degrees Fahrenheit in the oven or on the grill when ready to serve.
Use heavy duty aluminum foil doubled up to securely wrap the ribs and prevent juice leakage.
If you don’t have a smoker, rub the ribs as directed, wrap tightly in foil, and bake at 300 degrees Fahrenheit for about 2 hours until very tender, then grill with sauce for 10 minutes until caramelized.
You can use any style barbecue sauce; a robust, peppery, gluten-free brand like Stubbs Original is recommended.
Serve ribs with jalapeño cheddar cornbread muffins, herbed oven fries, or red cabbage slaw for a complete meal.

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 serving (about 1/2 rack)
Calories: 650 kcal
Sugar: 9 g
Sodium: 850 mg
Fat: 44 g
Saturated Fat: 15 g
Unsaturated Fat: 26 g
Trans Fat: 0 g
Carbohydrates: 18 g
Fiber: 1 g
Protein: 42 g
Cholesterol: 130 mg