Enjoy greatly flavored BBQ with ease. Smoky, sweet, and get punched in the mouth with flavor from these Pellet Grill Ribs. Low and Slow. You can do it on the pellet grill.
When I got a pellet grill I wanted to see if I could pull off some of my favorite smoker recipes on the pellet grill.
When I was researching the different pellet grills, I found that some offered a "super smoke" feature at a low temperature and others advertised that the lower the temperature you set the grill to, the more smoke the grill will generate to give you that classic bbq smoke flavor.
In my house, we love yummy, tender, juicy ribs. So I decided to start with those my first time cooking on the pellet grill. I became determined to make the best ribs and I did. Serve with some Deviled Egg Potato Salad and you'll have an amazing meal!
Ingredients
Pork Ribs - We started with a whole rack of ribs which was about 7 pounds. You can adjust the amount based on how many people you are feeding and the size of your smoker.
Dry Rub - Any barbecue style rub you enjoy can be used.
Liquid - You have your choice here of using apple juice, apple cider vinegar, or bourbon whiskey.
How to Make Pellet Grill Ribs
This process of cooking ribs, 3 hours unwrapped, 2 hours wrapped, 1 hour unwrapped is referred to as a 3-2-1 method. This process is very common in BBQ, especially if you are looking for the best way to easily manage the cook time.
Step One: I always like to start by cleaning any excess fat that has remained through the butcher and packing process. I will also remove any silver skin that might remain as well with a sharp knife.
If we don't the silver skin tightens while cooking and can make any piece of meat very tough to chew, so just remove it if you see it.
With a full rack of spare ribs, I will typically also cut it down to more manageable-sized pieces. If you have a smaller pellet grill, you want to make sure it will fit on your rack, so you may also need to cut it in half or thirds.
Step Two: Pat dry with a paper towel. Next, sprinkle with rub seasoning and massage it in. make sure to work it into both sides as well as the edges. Once the ribs are prepared, go fill the pellet grill with pellets and preheat the grill to 225°F.
Step Three: Once the grill reaches 225°F, place the ribs in the pellet grill right on the grill grates. Cook at 225°F unwrapped for 3 hours. Then place the ribs on a piece of foil along with a tablespoon of apple side vinegar (or bourbon) and wrap the ribs ensuring the liquid doesn't pour out. You can drizzle it on or apply with a spray bottle.
I used foil but you can use butcher paper as well. Next, place them back on the grill for 2 hours. After that, remove the foil and place them back on the grill for 1 more hour.
Top Tip
If you are having trouble getting the rub to adhere to the ribs, try first coating them with yellow mustard or honey. This will add stickiness to the surface to better hold the rub.
Step Four: Once the ribs have cooked at 225°F for 6 hours, remove them from the grill, re-cover, and rest for at least 20 minutes. As you slowly open the foil, the aromatic smoky steam will envelop your senses and you will immediately feel incredibly hungry. The internal temperature should be between 190 and 200.
Step Five: For a nice presentation, go ahead and slice the ribs into individual ribs and serve with your favorite sauce, like our sriracha barbecue sauce. I recommend offering quests something sweet and something spicy to make sure you have something for everyone. Whether you are using spare ribs or baby backs, these smoked pork ribs will fall right off the bone. Enjoy!
Variations
Spicy - Kick these up a notch with some chipotle pepper powder or ancho chili powder. Or give them a rub down with sriracha before adding your favorite dry rub.
Sweet - Add brown sugar to your favorite bbq rub.
Meat - While we wrote this recipe for pork ribs that doesn't mean it couldn't be used on beef ribs or venison ribs.
Common Questions
What type of rub goes with ribs?
I have a few classic rubs that I enjoy. One of my favorite ingredients in a rub is smoke paprika. Mix equal parts of smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and half a part of salt and black pepper for an easy rub. A tablespoon of each should provide enough rib rub for an entire rack of ribs. I will sometimes make a larger batch of rub and store it in a ziplock or small container for later use.
Feel free to make up your own recipe. Try adding brown sugar for a sweeter bark or even some honey. I typically keep away from cooking the ribs with a wet bbq sauce. We can add a sauce when we serve them for another explosion of flavor. But this is up to you. Experiment and have some fun.
What pellets should I use?
Whatever your favorite bbq ribs recipe is, try cooking it on the pellet grill. There are so many wood pellet flavor options as well. If you like cherry, hickory, or any other wood, they have those options. Find your favorite flavor and have some fun using your pellet smoker to make smoked ribs.
What to serve with ribs?
We served these with our Smoked Cheesy Potatoes and a simple coleslaw. These are also great with any other type of potatoes, such as potato salad, or green vegetables.
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Recipe
Pellet Grill Ribs
Ingredients
- 7 lb pork spareribs
- ¼ cup apple juice or apple cider vinegar or bourbon
- 3 tablespoon favorite rub homemade or store-bought is fine
Instructions
- Start by removing any large chunks of fat that have still remained through the butcher and packing process. Remove any silverskin that might remain as well. If this is a full rack of spare ribs, cut it down to more manageable-sized pieces. If you have a smaller pellet grill, make sure it will fit on your rack.
- Sprinkle with rub seasoning and massage it in. Make sure to work it into both sides as well as the edges.
- Preheat pellet grill or smoker to 225°F
- Cook the ribs on the grill for 3 hours.
- Remove ribs from the grill, wrap them in foil or butcher paper adding a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar. Place back on the grill and cooked wrapped for another 2 hours.
- Unwrap the ribs and cook on the grill for another hour.
- Remove from grill. Rest for 20 minutes covered. Then serve and enjoy!
Nutrition
Originally Published July 22, 2021. Revised and Republished January 20, 2024.
marian says
Thanks for the amazing recipe! Question: Ingredient list says ¼ cup apple cider vinegar. The recipe directions call for 1 tablespoon in the foil with the ribs. Where does the other 3 tablespoons of cider vinegar go?
Paul says
Great question. You want to put a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar into the foil with the ribs. If you have multiple racks of ribs, you want to wrap them separately and use a tablespoon in each. It really depends on the size of your smoker and if you can fit large pieces or not. I typically have 2 racks of ribs or 4 half racks that I will cook at a time. If I have 4 half racks, I will wrap each one separately and put a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar in each. I hope that helps. Good luck with your cook!