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    Home » Main Dish » Pellet Grill Ribs

    Pellet Grill Ribs

    Published: Jul 22, 2021

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    pinterest image for pellet grill ribs
    pinterest image for pellet grill ribs

    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. 

    pellet grill smoked ribs on a plate

    I recently got a pellet grill and 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 smoking taste. In my house, we love yummy, juicy, tender ribs. So I decided to start with that my first time cooking on the pellet grill.

    pellet grill ribs on a plate with potatoes

    Rubs for Ribs

    What type of rub to use? Whatever I am in the mood for. 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 for an easy rub.  A tablespoon of each should provide enough 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.

    raw pork spareribs on tray with a rub

    How to Make Pellet Grill Ribs

    Step One: I always like to start by cleaning any large chunks of fat that have still remained through the butcher and packing process. I will also remove any silver skin that might remain as well. 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. If this is 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.

    raw pork ribs on a tray with seasoning rub

    Step Two: 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: Cook the ribs. Once the grill reaches 225°F, place the ribs in the pellet grill. 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. I used foil but you can use butcher paper as well. 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.

    whole rack of pork ribs pellet grill smoked

    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. For a nice presentation, go ahead and slice the ribs into sections and serve with your favorite sauce, like our sriracha BBQ 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!

    whole rack of pork ribs pellet grill smoked

    Tips for Cooking Spareribs

    This process of cooking ribs, 3 hours unwrapped, 2 hours wrapped, 1 hour unwrapped is referred to as a 321 cooking. So these were technically Traeger 321 ribs. This process is very common in BBQ, especially if you are looking for an easy way to manage the cooking time.

    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.

    close up of pellet grill ribs on a plate

    What to Serve with Pellet Grill Ribs

    We served these with our Smoked Cheesy Potatoes but they are also great with Smoked Jalapeno Poppers, Grilled Broccoli, Foil Packet Potatoes, or a Pecan Crusted Goat Cheese salad.

    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.

    pellet grill smoked ribs on a plate

    Lastly, if you were planning on making ribs and you look out sound and it is a blizzard or a torrential downpour, don't let that stop you. Pull out the air fryer and give these Air Fried Spare Ribs a try.

    Like what you see? Follow us on Facebook! Love this recipe? Leave a comment & a 5-star rating right here! Make sure you don’t miss new recipes by getting email updates!

    Pellet Grill Ribs

    Moist and flavorful this pellet grill ribs will be the best spareribs you have ever eaten. They are SO easy to make and worth every bite.
    Print Recipe Rate Recipe
    Prep Time: 5 minutes
    Cook Time: 6 hours
    Total Time: 6 hours 5 minutes
    Course: Main Course
    Cuisine: American
    Servings: 16
    Calories: 550kcal
    Author: Paul

    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
    US Customary - Metric
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    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

    Calories: 550kcal | Carbohydrates: 0g | Protein: 31g | Fat: 46g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g | Monounsaturated Fat: 17g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 159mg | Sodium: 161mg | Potassium: 480mg | Fiber: 0g | Calcium: 30mg | Iron: 2mg
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    Comments

    1. marian

      April 04, 2022 at 3:47 pm

      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?

      Reply
      • Paul

        April 05, 2022 at 3:17 pm

        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!

        Reply

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