This is more of a method for baking and grilling bbq ribs vs. a recipe. I like preparing bbq ribs this way because you do not need to have your grill running for hours on end. This is also great because many people don’t have a smoker to make traditional BBQ. Purists won’t necessarily like this method because of the baking at the beginning, but for people looking for great make-at-home-on-a-Sunday-afternoon-ribs, this is a great way to do it!
You need to start these a day ahead so a little (not much) planning is involved. You will also want to give yourself a little time the day of to let these bake and get nice and tender. However, don’t let the pre-planning fool you. This is so easy!
I used a rub and bbq sauce from the Neely’s. I added a little liquid smoke to the BBQ sauce for good measure. If you are buying your sauce from the store we love Sweet Baby Ray’s and Trader Joe’s has a great BBQ sauce with some nice kick. I actually think the two are pretty similar.
We use wood chips to get some smoky flavor into the meat on these ribs. To do this, you can buy some wood chips at most stores where they sell grilling accessories (Lowe’s, Home Depot, etc.) Soak about three good handfuls of chips in water for about 45 minutes before you are going to grill. Divide the chips between two good-sized pieces of heavy-duty aluminum foil and wrap them up so they are well secured in the pouches. Turn the pouches over to the flat side and poke about 8-10 small holes for the smoke to escape. Place the pouches on the flame shield on your grill. Jim also uses the bigger chips of wood and places them directly on the shield without soaking or wrapping. You just need to watch these chips for flare-ups. A spray bottle is handy if you use this method for smoking.
It is really important to keep the lid closed on the grill when you are smoking your ribs to infuse the smokey flavor into the meat.
I hope you will try this method for serving BBQ ribs this spring or summer. It really is a pretty foolproof method. They key is cooking them long enough in the oven so they get nice and tender and then you really are just finishing them off on the grill. They are already cooked at that point so you are just giving them that nice grilled/smoked flavor.
Drink a nice cold beer while you are grilling and relax out back while the kids play in the yard. Enjoy!
- 1 Rack of Pork Babyback Ribs
- Your favorite BBQ Spice Rub
- Your Favorite BBQ Sauce
- ¼ cup Cider vinegar and ¼ cup water mix (optional)
- The night before, cut membrane from the back of the ribs with a sharp knife and then liberally spread the BBQ Spice Rub all over the ribs. Wrap in tin foil and place in the refrigerator overnight.
- To bake the ribs, set wrapped ribs directly on a baking sheet and place in a preheated 300 degree oven. Bake for 2-2/12 hours. Alternatively, you can unwrap the ribs and place directly on the baking sheet. Pour ¼ cup cider vinegar combined with ¼ water over the ribs. Cover the baking sheet tightly with aluminum foil so no heat will escape. Bake for 2-2/12 hours.
- When ribs are finished cooking, heat your grill to medium/low heat – about 300 degrees. Place ribs on the grill over indirect heat. You can place some hickory wood chips on the flame shields under the grate for some added smoky flavor (see info above.) Close the cover of the grill and cook for 10 minutes. Turn ribs and cook with lid closed for another 10 minutes. Turn again and spread BBQ sauce over the ribs. Cover and cook 5 minutes more. Turn and spread BBQ sauce on the other side. Cover and cook 5 minutes more. Total time on the grill is about 30 minutes.
- Enjoy!
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