Smoked Spare Ribs - A Simple Recipe From Smoked Meat Sunday (2024)

FAQs

How long do you smoke spare ribs for? ›

Set up your smoker for smoking at about 225°F (107°C) using indirect heat. Once the smoker is ready, place the ribs directly on the smoker grate, or you can use a rib rack if you need to fit more. Let the ribs smoke cook for about 5 hours or until they are as tender as you like them.

One advocates smoking ribs using the 3 2 1 method. This low-and-slow ribs method requires a smoking temperature of 225° F. The ribs are smoked at this temperature for three hours, tenderized in a wrap for two hours, and then finished, unwrapped, for one hour. Voila!

Most ribs hit their sweet spot for doneness around 198 degrees F, but some take until 203 degrees F to be perfectly tender. This spread in final temperature is one reason why thermometers are a great jumping off-point for rib perfection, but not the be-all-end-all indicator.

I start cooking ribs in the oven at around 200 degrees if they're wrapped in foil, and unwrapped ribs at 225 degrees to compensate for the cooling effect of evaporation from the exposed meat surface. These temperatures bring the inner meat temperature up to around 170 degrees in 3 to 4 hours.

Wood chips are added, as is a container of water or apple juice, and when everything is up to temp the ribs are put in, meat side up for 1 1/2 hours. Then flip, meat side down for another 1 1/2 hours. Smoke them for about 1 1/2 hours. They might look a little dry but they're not.

Set it to 180F for 3 hours of smoking then wrap and crank up the heat to 225F for another 2+ hours till they hit 205F between the bones. You'll know they are ready when some of the meat starts pulling away from the ends of the bones.

One thing is certain about ribs and pork: If you overcook them, they do become dry and tough. There is something very important to learn with the “low and slow” cooking method employed here. Food is ready when it's ready. Not to be evasive, but for the most part, you cannot judge simply by cooking time.

How to get more flavor in smoked ribs? ›

Smoke your ribs low and slow - Smoking your ribs at a low temperature (around 225-250 degrees) and for a longer time (around 4-6 hours) will help to tenderize the meat and infuse it with smoke flavor. Use the right wood - Different woods will give your ribs a different flavor.

Place ribs bone-side down in smoker at 225 F /110 C and cook for three hours. Remove ribs from the smoker and wrap tightly in aluminum foil to form an airtight seal. Return to the smoker bone-side up and smoke for two hours. Unwrap the ribs and return to the smoker bone-side down for one more hour.

Set the grill temperature to 180℉. Preheat with the lid closed, for 15 minutes. Then, place the ribs meat-side up on the grill and smoke them for three hours (or when your MEATER wireless thermometer tells you that the internal temperature of the ribs has reached 165℉).

Every pitmaster has their own technique, but most follow something along the lines of what Steven Raichlen calls the 3-2-1 method. This guideline for reaching the proper temperature means cooking for about three hours without a wrap, then for two hours wrapped tightly in foil, then for another hour unwrapped again.

Smoke with wood chips of your choice at 250 to 300 degrees F (120 to 150 degrees C) until the ribs are no longer pink, and the meat easily pulls from the bone, 4 to 6 hours or more depending on the smoker and temperature.