Smokers are pretty amazing to grill ribs. But maybe you don’t have space in the backyard or you just don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars on a smoker. Don’t worry, you can Grill Ribs in your charcoal or gas grill with no effort.
For our pitmaster readers beginning their journey, and after a lot of research, we have put together a guide to help you get started grilling ribs. We are focusing on the grill and added an easy-to-follow recipe. Once you mastered the technique, check our other recipes, or use your own one.
First Things First
The reason why people use smokers for cooking their Ribs is that they are done better using the low and slow method. Smokers are designed for this goal while grills are designed to cook hot and fast.
In the end, all that matters is whether you have the time or not. If you intend to continue to try smoking in your grill, make sure you have enough time. They don’t call it low and slow for nothing….
You can create an indirect cooking zone in your grill to mimic the function of a smoker. All you need to do is to prepare the fire on one side of the grill and put the meat on the other side. You will also want to create smoke to give our meat that smoky flavor, for that purpose, we use soaked wood chips. [1]
The wood chips are very important. Depending on the three they come from, your flavors might change. Keep on switching them until you find the right one. Here are some you can try:
- Oak
- Apple
- Maple
- Pecan
- Hickory
- Cherry
How you use them depends on your type of grill:
Charcoal Grill
For a charcoal grill just place your charcoal on one side. Once you have your grill up and running, put some soaked wood chips on top of the charcoal and let them slowly burn.
Gas Grill
In a gas grill, we are going to use only one side of the burners. We are going to tightly wrap our chips in aluminum foil to create small pockets. Using a knife, pierce holes in the top, to let the smoke out. Place the pockets directly where the burners are and wait for the smoke to start coming out.
Grill Ribs – Cooking Time
Depending on your skill level you might want to change the recipe, but we are sure this one will leave your guests wanting more.
Ingredients:
- 2 Back Ribs, St. Louis Style Ribs or Spare Ribs
- 1/3 cup yellow mustard
- 4 tbsp of your favorite dry rub
- 1 cup of your favorite bbq sauce
Preparation:
- Remove the membrane on the back of the ribs. This is not required but will improve your eating experience.
- Season both sides of the ribs with a coat of mustard, this will act as a binder for the rub. Add your favorite dry rub to all sides.
- Get the grill at 250 F following the instructions on top. Place the ribs in the cool zone of the grill, meat side up.
- Let them cook for 1 ½ to 2 hours. Apply your favorite BBQ sauce and finish cooking until they are tender.
- Enjoy!
The Bottom Line
It’s not hard to grill ribs, it just requires a bit of practice and patience.
We don’t think there is an ideal recipe or way of cooking, it really depends on how it tastes for you. Don’t be scared of trying different recipes on your grill.
If you want to move to the next level and start learning some new methods, make sure you check out our 3,2,1 Ribs guide and recipe.
