How to make Barbecue Ribs on the Grill
Learn how to make Barbecue Ribs recipe on the Grill and get them so tender that they're almost fall off the bone ribs. Save this recipe so you can make it every grilling season!
Print
Pin
Servings: 1 slab of ribs
Equipment
- 1 gas grill
Ingredients
Ingredients for the Barbecue Sauce
- 1 1/2 cups ketchup
- 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
- 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
- 1 tsp. liquid smoke
- 1/2 tsp. hot sauce You can add more if you like it spicy.
- 2 Tbsp. yellow mustard
- 5 Tbsp. light brown sugar
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp. onion powder
- 3 Tbsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 2 Tbsp. pure maple syrup Not pancake syrup. 100 percent maple syrup.
- 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
Ingredients for the ribs recipe on the grill rub
- 2 tsp. garlic salt
- 4 tsp. garlic powder
- 2 tsp. onion powder
- 2 tsp. paprika
- 1 1/2 - 3 tsp. chili powder
Ingredients for the ribs recipe on the grill
- 1 slab of baby back ribs
- Spice rub from above - divided
- Sauce mix from above
- 1/4 cup beer, apple cider or water I like to use an IPA beer.
Instructions
Instructions for making the ribs rub
- Mix all the ingredients together and then divide them.
- You will use half on one side of the ribs and half on the other side of the ribs.
Instructions for making the barbecue sauce
- Mix everything together and whisk well.
- Set aside until ready to use.
- Store extra sauce in the refrigerator for one week. Remove 30 minutes before re-using.
Instructions for making the ribs
- On a gas grill, on turn the front burner or one of the side burners to low/medium. My grill has a right, left and middle. I usually only turn on the right or left side. You want the internal temperature around 250 degrees. I keep it on medium the entire time.
- While the grill heats up put your ribs on a large piece of tin foil and remove the silver membrane. This will make the ribs more tender.
- Rub both sides of the ribs with the spice rub. You want this to be heavy. You will lose some flavor to the heat as the ribs cook.
- Place ribs bone side up and tent them. Make sure the foil doesn’t touch the ribs. You want to create a pocket with the foil so you can retain the moisture while they cook.
- Place the ribs on the opposite side of the grill from the ignited burner and leave them there for two hours. Make sure the temperature doesn’t fall below 200 degrees or go over 300 degrees.
- After two hours, open the foil and coat the ribs with your barbecue sauce and turn them bone side down, meat side up. If there isn’t a lot of moisture in the foil, add a ¼ cup of water or beer.
- Re-seal your foil tent and cook for another 2 hours.
- When time is up remove the ribs from the foil (carefully!) and pull them toward the burner that’s on. They will already be ready to fall to pieces on you so be careful.
- Open the tent on the ribs, coat again with barbecue sauce, turn all the burners on, close the lid and cook for 10 minutes. The grill can get up to 450 at this point.
- Finally, turn the burner off under the ribs again and remove the ribs from the tin foil, placing them directly on the grill above the non-ignited side. Close the lid and cook for 5 minutes. Again the temperature can go up to 450. You want to make sure the fat is rendered properly. You want the grill to start smoking so that you get a nice char.
- When done, let the ribs rest for about 10 minutes. This will help to retain the meat’s moisture.
- Add another layer of barbecue sauce and serve.