Grilled Baby Back Ribs

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My Grilled Baby Back Ribs recipe takes pork baby back ribs and marinates them overnight in a blend of mustard and spice rub. Then the pork ribs are cooked the next day on the grill, low and slow until fall off the bone tender and utterly delicious!

Grilled Baby Back Ribs 

Ribs are something that you cannot rush, as this is a food that takes a good long while to cook. However, the results are absolutely worth the effort.

My Easy Grilled Baby Back Ribs are very easy to prepare, in fact hand’s on preparation is minimal.

I marinate the ribs overnight in a blend of mustard and my favorite dry rub. This simple marinade is quick to pull together, but imparts real flavor into the ribs, elevating them from good to great.

With this recipe I show you just how to make tender ribs on the grill, time after time. The trick is they need to be cooked low and slow. Cooking them for hours over a low heat ensures the ribs get nice and tender.

Then I like to finish the ribs with a glaze of my favorite BBQ sauce, so that they are sweet, sticky and fall apart tender.

How to BBQ ribs on a gas grill:

The Night Before Cooking:

• Remove the ribs from the refrigerator and remove the membrane/silverskin from each rack (see photo below).
• Pat the ribs dry with paper towels to remove any moisture.

• Cover both sides of each rack of ribs in French’s yellow mustard then liberally apply the rub of your choice to both sides of ribs.
• Wrap in heavy duty aluminum foil and set aside in the refrigerator overnight to marinate.

Grilled Baby Back Ribs:

• 30-45 minutes before putting ribs on grill, remove them from refrigerator, unwrap, and let them warm up to room temperature.
• Set the Grill/Smoker to 225 degrees F (indirect heat on a grill).
• Put an aluminum foil pan of 2 cups water, one cup apple juice in the smoker (under grate in a grill).
• Place ribs on cooking surface (meat side up) and use a spray bottle to coat with apple juice.
• Cook for 1 hour.
• If needed (using a grill) rotate ribs. Spray ribs with apple juice.
• Cook for 1 hour.
• Rotate ribs and/or spray with apple juice.
• Cook for 1 hour.
• Take ribs off of grill and loosely wrap them meat side down in heavy duty aluminum foil; create a tent over the ribs.
• Inside the foil spread a mixture of honey, Parkay squeeze margarine, and brown sugar; apply to both sides, also spray with apple juice.
• Cook for 2 hours, if needed (using a grill) rotate ribs at the 1 hour mark.

Glaze the Ribs:

• Take ribs out of grill/smoker, unwrap, and liberally apply BBQ sauce to both sides.
• Place ribs back in grill/smoker, meat side up, and cook for 1 hour.
• Take ribs out of grill/smoker, let cool before cutting apart.

Recipe ingredients:

• RIBS: To serve 12 as a main, I used 4 racks of pork baby back ribs.
• MUSTARD: I used French’s Yellow Mustard as it has a great depth of flavor. You could substitute with Dijon mustard which would work great too.
• DRY RUB: I used Memphis Barbeque Rendezvous Dry Rub which has great flavor, but you can use any other dry rub.
• JUICE: I like to spray the ribs with apple juice during the cook, to keep them moist and stop them from drying out.
• HONEY: I coat the ribs with honey, which I combine with Parkay Squeeze margarine and brown sugar. I find that runny honey works best.
• GLAZE: Towards the end of the cook I like to glaze the ribs with BBQ sauce. You can use the BBQ sauce of your choice.

Flavor variations:

• Maple syrup would be a great substitute if you don’t have honey and the flavors of maple syrup work well with BBQ.
• If you want to add some chili heat to your ribs, look for a BBQ sauce with a good kick of chili to it.
• Alternatively combine BBQ sauce with your favorite hot sauce.

Serving suggestion:

I like to serve my Grilled Baby Back Ribs hot, straight from the grill with my favorite dipping sauce. However, they make a great dinner main too, serve them with my Hot Butter Skillet Corn, or my Apple Pear Spring Salad Mix.

Recipe hints & tips:

• It is really important to take time to properly marinate the ribs in the mustard and spice rub. I like to marinate overnight as this really imparts the best flavor into the ribs.
• When it comes to cooking the ribs, I recommend printing off the recipe card, then ticking off each step in the grilling process. This will help you keep track of which stage you are at!
• It’s important to spray the ribs with the apple juice as this will keep the pork moist and stop the ribs from drying out.

FAQs

How long does it take to cook ribs on the grill?

I like to cook the ribs low and slow, so I cook them at 225 degrees F for a total of 6 hours on the grill, turning the ribs over at regular intervals throughout the cook.

How to store leftover ribs?

Leftover ribs can be cooled and placed into an airtight container and stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. When ready to heat up, place the ribs on a baking sheet, in an hot oven at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes until warmed through.

 

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These are a few items I find helpful when preparing this Grilled Ribs Recipe in my own kitchen:

Charlie Vergos Rendezvous Famous Memphis Barbecue Dry Rub Seasoning (4.5 oz)2-PackReynolds Wrap Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil, 130 Square FeetGreen Direct Latex Gloves Powder Free / Disposable Food Prep Cooking Gloves / Kitchen Food Service Cleaning Gloves (Large)100 glovesBest Insulated BBQ Pit Gloves * 148-Ounce Clear Glass Spray Bottles (2-Pack); Boston Round Bottles w/ 3-Setting Adjustable Black Heavy Duty Sprayers & Chalk LabelsThermoPro TP-17 Dual Probe Digital Cooking Meat Thermometer Large LCD Backlight Food Grill Thermometer with Timer Mode for Smoker Kitchen Oven BBQ, SilverAveloki Roasting Meat Thermometer T729E,Stainless Steel Classic Fry Meat Thermometer,Silver Easy-Read Face for BBQ HouseholdTop 30 Most Delicious Ribs Recipes: A Ribs Cookbook with Pork, Beef and Lamb – [Books on grilling, barbecuing, roasting, basting and rubs] – (Top 30 Most Delicious Recipes Book 1) (Volume 1)Best Ribs Ever: A Barbecue Bible Cookbook: 100 Killer Recipes (Barbecue! Bible Cookbooks)Pitmaster: Recipes, Techniques, and Barbecue Wisdom