One of my all-time favorite things to do in summer is sit in the backyard with a BBQ dinner – and a big plate of juicy fall-off-the-bone ribs. My husband Luke and I tested method after method, and we’ve come up with the very Best Smoked Pork Ribs Ever Recipe – our 3-2-1 smoked baby back ribs recipe is the perfect way for melt-in-your-mouth ribs!

If you’re new to smoking and want to try smoking ribs, this smoked ribs recipe is perfect for beginners – so you can feel like an experienced grill-master, your first time and every time. The first few times I made ribs, I was so nervous to mess them up -and with two kids and busy work schedules, I don’t really have time to mess up a big meal- but this recipe just plain works, every time.

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At Sweet C’s, I add lots of tips in all of my recipes – because I am a home cook without any formal training, and I find I am more confident making dishes when I understand why it works, and what each ingredient means to the flavor of a recipe. My goal is for even the most beginner home cook to feel empowered in the kitchen.

How to Make Smoked Ribs

My husband and I designed this recipe to be super simple, and we’re adding a lot of tips and tricks below so you can be an expert smoker!

Check on my web story on these ribs that includes video!

What you’ll need To Smoke Pork Ribs

To make this recipe, we will need the following:

For the Rub:

• Ground black or white pepper. Pepper has a citrussy, piney, earthy and hot flavor that adds depth to the fatty pork rib meat, and helps to cut through the rich smoky flavor.
• Kosher salt. Salt doesn’t just add flavor to pork by helping to accent pork’s light buttery flavor – it actually helps accentuate the solubility of the muscle and fat (meaning it helps tough, chewy tissue break down to be more tender and delicious!)
• Hungarian paprika. Whether you choose sweet or hot paprika is largely up to you – I prefer hot Hungarian paprika, but my husband prefers sweet – either way, this pungent peppery seasoning helps to season pork and add depth and dimension to the smoky bark.
• Onion powder. Onion powder has an earthy, pungent, sharp and sweet flavor that highlights the meaty, fatty flavor of pork ribs.
• Celery salt. – celery salt is salty, vegetal, with a green and grassy finish that helps to lighten the smoky flavor so it doesn’t overpower your pork meat. Additional salt also helps to tenderize pork and break down tissue as well.
• Garlic powder. Garlic powder is another earthy, pungeant seasoning that is easy to mix and milder than raw garlic – perfect for mixing into a rub. It enhances pork’s rich, fatty flavor.

For the bath:

• Brown sugar. Brown sugar helps to create a sticky sweet crust on the outside of the pork, without being too sweet. It has a perfect light molasses flavor that enhances rich smoky notes.
• Apple cider vinegar. Rich, fatty, and smoky dishes need acid to balance them out, and the crisp, sweet notes in apple cider vinegar pair perfectly with pork’s light, slightly sweet meat flavor.
• Apple juice or cider. Apple juice adds additional sugar, and a bit of sweetness that is light, crisp, and isn’t overpowering to penetrate the rich smoky flavor from the grill.
• Butter. Butter adds fat to the bath to help the brown sugar stick to the bark, as well as create extra crisping on the outside of the pork meat.

For the Ribs:

• Baby back ribs, Spare ribs, or St. Louis style ribs.

How to 3-2-1 Smoke Ribs

Once you gather your ingredients, we will use the following method:

What temp to Smoke Ribs

Ribs should be smoked at 225-250 degrees, low and slow. Ribs should be cooked to about 160 degrees to fully break town fat and tissue. While pork is safe to eat above 145 degrees, we cook it beyond that point to make tough rib meat extra tender and juicy.

How Long to Smoke Ribs

Ribs take a long time to cook at low temperature, about 6 hours, giving it plenty of time to get tender and soak up the incredible smoky flavor.

Tips and tricks for Smoking Baby Back Ribs

Know What Ribs You’re Buying. There are a lot of different types of ribs, which can make it confusing to figure out the best ribs to buy if you’re new to smoking ribs.

• Baby Back Ribs. Baby Back Ribs are leaner, more tender, and work great in the oven, too.
• Spare Ribs. Spare ribs are ribs that are closer to the belly of the pig. Spare ribs are not as meaty – in fact, that is why they are called “spare”, since the belly of the pig is primarily used for bacon, and spare ribs only keep a bit of their meat since they are cut so close to the bone. Since spare ribs don’t have a lot of meat, they cook more quickly, and also do great in the oven as well as on the smoker.
• St. Louis Style Ribs. St. Louis Style ribs are actually from the same cut as spare ribs- except St. Loius style ribs are trimmed to a uniform rectangle shape so they can cook evenly to perfection. St. Louis style ribs have the skirt and the tip removed, which makes cooking time go faster, and prep easier. Since St. Louis style ribs have the least amount of meat, they cook the fastest – and are also great in the oven. While it’s not my favorite prep method, St. Louis style ribs can also be separated before cooking and cooked individually.

Trim and prep ribs for smoking properly. A lot of your success on the smoker will start before you ever step foot outside – starting with well prepared ribs will ensure your feast comes out perfect, every time.

Remove silver skin. Silver skin is the whitish, silvery membrane that runs along the back side of the ribs. While it is not necessary to remove this membrane, it is very easy, and can help to make your ribs softer and easier to eat.

• Slide a small, rounded knife (not a sharp knife) under the silverskin anywhere along the rib rack, and pull up on the skin to loosen it.
• If it won’t pull up in one spot, simply try another.
• Lift and loosen the membrane or silver skin with the knife until it’s loose enough that you can grab it with your hands.
• Pull the silver skin off of the rack of ribs; it should peel away in one large sheet, but if it breaks – no worries- just use the knife to restart the easy process in another section of ribs.

Use the 3-2-1 Smoked Ribs method. The 3-2-1 method is pretty easy and foolproof, and consists of 3 easy steps:

• 3 hours of smoking. Prepare and preheat your smoker to 225 degrees, using the wood chips of your choice (be sure to make note of the section above where I talk about wood choices. Trim any messy flaps from ribs, and remove the silver skin membrane. Pat ribs dry to remove any excess moisture. Prepare and mix your rib rub, coat ribs in rub well, and let come to room temperature. Place the ribs on the smoker and smoke for 3 hours.
• 2 hours – smoked, while wrapped. Arrange large sheets of foil to wrap the ribs in. Add the ribs flesh side down, then cover with the cider, and butter mixture. Wrap the ribs tightly in foil and return to the smoker to smoke for another 2 hours. This step can be done in your oven (if you run out of wood chips, mess up timing, etc.)
• 1 hour – Finish, with sauce. Remove the ribs from the foil and paint on the BBQ sauce (if desired). Return to the smoker until crunchy and set in – around 15 – 20 minutes. If you like very crunchy BBQ sauce bark, you can repeat this step every 15 minutes or so for this last hour of cook time. This step can also be done in your oven (if you run out of wood chips, mess up timing, etc).
• Remove from the smoker and rest for at least 10 minutes until separating and serving.

Create a bark. Creating a crunchy BBQ sauce bark is a beautiful thing – delicious slightly caramelized sauce that is more crunchy than drippy, sticky instead of wet, is heavenly on smoked pork ribs. For an extra crispy, crunchy “bark”, follow these tips:

• When ribs are almost done smoking, unwrap from foil and brush a thin layer of sauce on, then let them continue to smoke until the sauce is “set” – or firm, sticky, and not wet.
• Sauce should not slide around when set.
• For an extra crunchy crust, repeat with another thin layer of sauce and cook for another 15 minutes until set again.

Know your wood. Since pork is a light and slightly sweet meat, it can become easily overpowered with heavy smoke. Trust me – there IS such a thing as too much smoky flavor! Picking the right kinds of wood chips can help get the perfect smoke flavor for smoking ribs without overpowering them. In general, you’ll want to look for lighter woods or fruit woods for a lighter, cleaner flavor that won’t overpower your ribs and will taste “cleaner”. Look for the following wood chips:

• Hickory
• Oak
• Mesquite
• Grapevine
• Apple
• Cherry
• Pecan

Alternatively, when smoking ribs, there are some woods that are simply too overpowering and should be avoided for the best overall flavor. Do not use:

• Elm
• Cedar
• Cypress
• Pine
• Fir
• Redwood
• Spruce
• Sycamore
• Poison Oak
• Eucalyptus

Rub ribs with rib rub. It sounds silly, but this step is essential for flavor! We like to add tons of rich, delicious, earthy, salty, spicy flavor before our ribs ever touch the smoker – by absolutely covering them in rib rub full of herbs, spices, and salt. While we love ribs smothered in sauce, perfect smoked ribs should be so full of flavor right off the smoker, they don’t even need sauce to taste great!

Give ribs a bath. In the middle of smoking ribs, when they are wrapped in foil, I like to give my ribs a little bit of a bath in some apple juice or apple cider, and butter. This helps to create a juicy rib flavor and helps the meat become tender and soft and not dry out when wrapping to cook in foil.

When done properly, these steps can give you juicy and delicious ribs that don’t even need a sauce for moist, tender, and delicious meat – though they also serve as the perfect base to then top with your favorite sauce.

What to Serve With Smoked Ribs

Smoked ribs are a thing of beauty on their own, slathered in your favorite sauce or just falling off the bone in a delicious rub – but we love serving with one of our favorite BBQ sides!

Ribs are delicious alongside cool and creamy potato salad, delicious and hearty smoky bean bake, a tangy, zippy creamy cucumber salad, out delicious crunchy grilled potatoes, with a simple and easy chili, or some no knead jalapeño cheddar bread!

3-2-1 Smoked Ribs Recipe FAQs

Homemade French Fries in Air Fryer

Best Ever Bean Bake

Best Grilled Corn on the Cob

Honey Butter Cornbread

You can find more of our favorite sides that pair perfectly with BBQ recipes here.

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