Do you like your ribs? Well, here’s the third recipe this season! How many garden parties have you had this summer? If you’ve had more than five, then BBQ ribs must have been present in at least one serving! Were they any good? Here you can learn tips and tricks on even better results.
best selling bbq cookbooks
- Let There Be Meat: The Ultimate Barbecue Bible
- Jamie’s Food Tube: The BBQ Book (Jamie Olivers Food Tube)
- Grillstock: The BBQ Book
- Weber’s Complete BBQ Book (Hardback)
- 200 Barbecue Recipes: Hamlyn All Colour Cookbook
never eating chewy ribs ever again
Once, I was at a BBQ party and our host served BBQ ribs. I can tell you, they were chewy, hard and not seasoned very well. Honestly, it was like chewing rubber. My expectations were so high because the smell was making us ravenous. Obviously, our host hasn’t done his research. Simply placing BBQ ribs on the grill won’t cut it. There are many more things you need to be aware of such as keeping juices inside the meat, selecting the correct spice rub and even grilling at proper temperatures.
Bacofoil the Original Kitchen Foil
There are many tools and tricks that can help you get those perfectly tender BBQ ribs. Trust me, paying attention to these tricks might just make the difference between happy disappointed guests.
Luckily, Bacofoil is at hand to help. Chef Dean Edwards’ top tip from is to use Bacofoil The Original Kitchen Foil for slow cooking on the barbecue as it protects the meat whilst cooking, stopping it from drying out and infusing the flavour beautifully. Check out how Bacofoil can help you make the best BBQ ribs here.
To summarize, cooking on the grill using Bacofoil is good because it helps to infuse the flavours of the spice rub. In addition, it distributes the flavours evenly across the ribs. Most importantly, it keeps the meat moist by keeping it wrapped out to avoid it drying out. The result? Juicy, tasty, and finger-licking good BBQ ribs. Best of all is that it’s a cheap cut of meat.
brining and smoking the BBQ ribs
Why should you brine your BBQ ribs? It increases flavour, moisture inside the meat and ultimately makes the BBQ ribs very tender. You can check out my article on how to brine chicken for the basics of brining. Not so difficult! I promise.
Also, to add a more flavourful punch to the meat, you can try smoking the ribs. The smoking technique has been known to us for ages, and it works! It also helps preserve various types of meat. I talked about a very simple method of how to smoke chicken properly in my smoked chicken recipe. Make sure you check it out. For these BBQ ribs, I used hickory wood chips.
If you don’t brine and smoke the ribs, you could bake the ribs in the foil first and finish it off on the grill. Everyone loves that last touch on the grill. Just be careful not to overdo it, otherwise the BBQ ribs can get dry and stringy.
cooking process
Don’t forget to remove the ribs halfway through the cooking process. Place the hooks at the bottom end of the ribs and place them back in the smoked “upside down”. That way, both ends will get evenly cooked. This will help deal with the temperature discrepancy between the top and bottom area inside the smoker. Therefore, you might find this little trick worthwhile. If you don’t brine and smoke the ribs, you could bake the ribs in the foil first and finish them off on the grill.
Glaze for the BBQ ribs
Did I impress you with my glossy glaze? Not only does it look good in pictures, but it’s also delicious. I used ketchup, sugar, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, garlic and oil. Simply mix all ingredients in a small pot and keep on stirring until the sugar is dissolved. What I love about this sauce is that it has those nice BBQ flavour that everyone looks for in a decent BBQ sauce. The sweetness of the ketchup complements the smoky BBQ ribs perfectly.
When I started out with my first ever grill, I tried slathering all kinds of sauces on the ribs. However, soon I found that sweeter sauces burned faster. My advice? Smoke the ribs plain in the smoker and finish them off on the grill with your sauce of choice. A lot less mess and no burning either. Live and learn! If you have some BBQ sauce left over add it to the table as a condiment for dipping!
alternative recipe from the video
Obviously, there are many glazes and sauces you can serve with the BBQ ribs. You can also get inspired by the video above by Bacofoil. Why don’t you add an exotic twist to traditional barbecue ribs with this Indian spiced recipe? The slow cooking method ensures the ribs fall apart effortlessly once cooked, making it the perfect finger food for sharing on a lazy summer afternoon. The ginger glaze adds a complementary sweet taste to the dish. For added crunch, prepare the coronation slaw to serve on the side.
Accompaniments
One of my favourites for BBQ recipes is the grilled courgette salad with feta and pomegranate. This lightens the meal overall but there’s nothing stopping you from adding something starch such as sweet potato fries or bakes potato.
Smoked BBQ Ribs
Prep 20 minutes
Cook 80 minutes
Total 100 minutes
Servings 4
Author: Michelle Minnaar
Ingredients
- 2 racks of brined pork ribs, weighing around 1kg (2lbs)
- Salt and pepper
- Hickory wood chips
- 120ml (8 tbsp) tomato ketchup
- 30ml (2 tbsp) brown sugar
- 15ml (1 tbsp) mild mustard
- 30ml (2 tbsp) Worcestershire sauce
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 15ml (1 tbsp) vegetable oil
Instructions
- For a very basic brining method, check out my How To Brine Chicken article.
- After the ribs have been brined overnight, pat them dry and season well.
- Preheat the Char-Broil Big Easy Smoker on the High setting and fill the smoking box with wood chips.
- Wait for 10 minutes until the chips begin to smoke, then change the heat setting to Low.
- Hang the ribs on hooks and let them hang on the side of the smoking basket. Place the basket inside the smoker.
- Close lid and cook until the ribs’ internal temperature is 68°C (155°F). This takes about 60 minutes.
- Remove the ribs from the smoker and wrap them in foil, letting them rest for about 15 minutes.
- Mix the ketchup, sugar, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, garlic and oil in a small pot. Keep on stirring until the sugar is dissolved.
- Finish the ribs off on a hot grill while slathering some BBQ sauce on them. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
- Because of the temperature discrepancy between the top and bottom area inside the smoker, you might find it worthwhile to remove the ribs halfway through cooking. Place the hooks at the bottom end of the ribs and place them back in the smoked “upside down”. That way, both ends will get evenly cooked.
- When I started out I tried slathering all kinds of sauces on the ribs but the higher the sugar content, the quicker it burnt. My advice? Smoke the ribs plain in the gadget and finish them off on the grill with your sauce of choice. A lot less mess and no burning either. Live and learn!
- If you have some BBQ sauce left over add it to the table as a condiment for dipping!
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 1 serving
Amount Per Serving | ||
|---|---|---|
Calories 541 | ||
% Daily Value | ||
Total Fat 32.8g | 50% | |
Saturated Fat 10.8g | 54% | |
Sodium 569mg | 24% | |
Total Carbohydrates 9.4g | 3% | |
Dietary Fiber 0.1g | 0% | |
Sugars 8.5g | ||
Protein 52.3g | 6% | |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
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P.S. This is a sponsored post.
A special thanks to Kelly Reeve for assisting with the recipe shoot.
CT would love to get his hands of some of these ribs. Sadly for him, we’ve not been to a single BBQ this year!
I’ve never done BBQ ribs myself as I know it’s a multi-step process to make tasty, succulent ribs with the perfect texture. Great guide on how to achieve this!
I do love ribs – your tips for making them fantastic are really helpful!