How to Cook Smoked St. Louis Style Ribs Recipe - Chef Billy Parisi (2023)

FAQs

How long does it take to smoke St Louis ribs at 225? ›

In regards to timing, if you maintain a smoking temperature between 225°F-275°F, St. Louis style ribs will usually take 5-6 hours to be perfect and Baby Back ribs will take 3-4 hours. Because of the bones temperature varying from the meat, you can't really use a thermometer to tell when they are done.

Essentially, 3 2 1 ribs go like this: 3 hours of smoking the ribs directly on the pellet grill. 2 hours wrapped in foil, still cooking on the grill. 1 hour of cooking, unwrapped and slathered in barbecue sauce.

Set the ribs meat side up on the grill opposite the coals. Close the grill and smoke the ribs at 250 degrees F to 275 degrees F for 2 hours, adding coals as necessary to maintain the heat; add another 2 cups of the oak chips to the hot coals after the first hour. Transfer the ribs to a baking sheet.

If you keep the smoker set to 200 degrees for the duration of the cook, a rack of baby back ribs should be done in about 7 hours. If you've opted for spare ribs or St. Louis-style ribs, the process will take a bit longer—7.5 to 8 hours.

To give pre cooked ribs the flavor and texture of the real thing, wrap them in foil and set them on the smoker for 2 hours. During the last 30 minutes, you can remove the wrapper to give them an extra dose of smoky goodness.

How to Trim Pork Spare Ribs (St. Louis Style Cut) - YouTube

Place ribs, meat side pointing up, on the smoker. Plan to smoke for about three hours. Start spritzing 90 minutes into the smoke and then spritz every 30 minutes.

Do you flip ribs when smoking? Yes, you should flip the ribs after 1 hour of smoking them. You'll flip them every 30 minutes until they're done. The only time you don't have to flip ribs is when you use a rib rack.

It's best to smoke the ribs unwrapped for the first few hours. This allows the smoke flavor to permeate the meat. Some chefs will smoke the ribs for 3 hours, wrap them in foil and allow them to cook for another 2, then remove the wrapper for the last hour.

You'll want to let your ribs grill at 275 for four to five hours. Ideally, the internal temperature of the ribs should be between 190 and 200 degrees when you're finished. If you don't already have a meat thermometer, go ahead and invest in one.

How do you tell when St Louis ribs are done? ›

3 Easy Ways To Tell If Ribs Are Done Without Using A Meat Probe

What is the best temperature to smoke ribs? For optimal results, smoked ribs should be cooked at a temperature between 225-250 degrees Fahrenheit. cooking the ribs at too high of a temperature will cause them to dry out, while cooking them at too low of a temperature will result in tough, chewy meat.

There are four criteria that should be met in order for ribs to be done. First, the internal temperature of the meat should be 185 to 190 degrees F. Second, pick up each slab from the center with tongs and it should droop into a u-shape and crack slightly.

Smoke your ribs directly on the racks for 3 hours at 225°F. Remove the ribs from the racks and tightly wrap them in aluminum foil.

Cook the ribs: At 250 degrees, place the ribs wrapped securely in tin foil onto a cookie sheet (sometimes juice/fat can escape the tin foil) and place them in the oven. cook for 2 hours.

Smoking ribs in a smoker takes about 5 hours. When smoking baby back ribs in a smoker, follow a "2-2-1" hourly schedule. First, the smoker should be preheated to 225 F, and during the cooking process, the temperature should be kept between 225 and 250 F.

Let the seasoned ribs sit in the refrigerator for at least a few hours or up to overnight before cooking. “As the salt gets wet on the surface of the meat, it melts, causing an electrical charge,” Goldwyn notes. This charge causes the ions in the salt to penetrate deep into the meat, improving flavor.

How to Prepare Pork Ribs - YouTube

Do You Have to Remove the Membrane on Ribs? Yes, it needs to be removed as it's ropy, tough and it's really not tasty to try to chew it when the ribs are finished. Also, membrane doesn't let the smoke penetrate into the meat and create its famous smoky taste and flavor.

Quick Overview: How to Cook Ribs in the Oven

Generously season both sides with salt and pepper. This is also a great opportunity for adding more flavor with your favorite spice rub. Cover the ribs with aluminum foil. Bake the ribs at a low temperature (275°F) for 2 ½ to 4 hours or until they are tender.

Can you marinate St Louis ribs overnight? ›

The longer you can let your ribs rest, the more flavor you can get into your meat. I usually do mine overnight.

Apple cider will tenderize the meat and give it a subtle sweet, apple flavor. The cider's natural sugar seeps back out during cooking and gives the ribs some caramelization when cooked.

Our favorite for a spritz for ribs is apple cider vinegar, but you could also use white wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar. If you have it, a splash of bourbon or beer can also be added at this point for a hit of decadent flavor!

A few methods to keep ribs moist while smoking include maintaining a consistent heat, using vinegar brine, wrapping it in foil, and marinating ahead for better absorption. Using a plain water pan and allowing the ribs resting time after cooking for the juices to redistribute also help keep ribs moist.

Cook your Ribs in the Oven bone side up (meat side down). This will give you the best result for tender and juicy rib meat.

Should you smoke your ribs bone up or down? For most barbecue enthusiasts, the answer is clear: bone side down all the way. The meat will cook more evenly, and the smoky flavor will be more pronounced than if you'd set them with the meat side facing down.

Place the ribs meat side down on the foil and wrap tightly. 7 – Put the ribs wrapped in foil back on the grill and increase the grill temperature to 250 degrees for 1 hour.

GREAT RIBS

Ribs are best when they're done low and slow, most everyone knows that, but taste what happens when your method includes half-a-stick of butter.

Apple juice adds to the apple flavor of the rib sauce. It also creates steam inside the foil pack so the ribs don't dry out. If you don't have apple juice you can use orange or pineapple juice, stock/broth or just plain old water.

The shorter cooking time will fully cook the ribs and get them tender but still hugging the bone. The longer cooking time will yield ribs that fall off the bone.

Do you smoke ribs at 225 or 250? ›

Smoker temperature for ribs: 225° (If smoking on charcoal or wood smoker, don't let it go below 225° or above 250°.)

For 3-2-1 ribs, that will take around 3 hours. For hot and fast ribs, it'll take just over an hour.

Fun fact- ribs are actually cooked when they reach 145 degrees, but the collagen and fat breaks down between 190 and 205 degrees, giving you that fall off the bone, delicious and juicy rib you want.

Not pre-cooking the ribs before grilling.

Follow this tip: Pre-cooking the ribs before they hit the grill not only gives you more control over the cooking temperature, but it can also make for more tender meat. You can oven-bake, boil, or even use the slow cooker for pre-cooking before firing up the grill.

Ribs need to cook slowly at low temperatures. If they cook too quickly, especially over high heat, the meat will be tough and dry. Should you encounter this issue, try wrapping the ribs in foil and putting them back on the smoker over low heat.

Ideal Technique & Temperature For Cooking Ribs

Prepare and season the ribs with your favorite rub. Preheat your smoker, charcoal grill, or gas grill to 225°F - the ideal temperature for cooking ribs.

Wrapping should be done about half way through the cooking process or when internal meat temp is 150-160 degrees. Use two layers of heavy duty foil to wrap the meat. We recommend the following process for wrapping ribs, pork shoulder and brisket.

How Long To Smoke Ribs at 300 and 350 Degrees. When you set the smoker to 300 degrees, it will take about 2.5 to 3 hours to smoke a rack of spare ribs. Baby backs might take even less time on account of their smaller size and leaner texture. At 350 degrees, baby back ribs should be done within a 2-hour window.

Best Ribs to Smoke

For pork, baby back ribs, cut from where the loin is separated from the spine, are generally the most popular for grilling and smoking. They tend to be smaller and cook more quickly than other kinds of ribs. Spare ribs are cut from near the belly, with St.

Increasing the smoker temperature helps to speed along the cooking process. A 3-pound rack of baby back ribs should take 5 hours to cook at 250 degrees and 3 to 4 hours at 275 degrees. For spare ribs, the process takes about 6 hours at 250 degrees and 5 hours when you ramp up the temp to 275.

How do you tell if smoked ribs are done? ›

Bend Test: When ribs are done cooking, they're flexible but don't fall apart. To check, hold the rack from the end with a pair of tongs. The other end should bend towards the ground and cracks may form in the crust.

A rack of spare ribs will need about 10 hours on the smoker when the temperature is set to just 175 to 180 degrees. Baby back ribs should take about 8 hours at this temperature. If you opt not to wrap the ribs partway through the smoke, the process could take even longer.

In regards to timing, if you maintain a smoking temperature between 225°F-275°F, St. Louis style ribs will usually take 5-6 hours to be perfect and Baby Back ribs will take 3-4 hours. Because of the bones temperature varying from the meat, you can't really use a thermometer to tell when they are done.

The ribs should now meet the competition BBQ bite test. When talking rib cooking temperatures, Meathead from AmazingRibs.com has this to say, The ideal cooking temp is about 225°F, hot enough to brown the surface, to develop a crusty bark, and to melt fat and collagens.

Often, meat will shrink when exposed to high temperatures, even if it's still undercooked in the center. Even worse, if you've been cooking at around 225 degrees Fahrenheit (the typical recommended temperature for grilling pork ribs), the pull back might not occur until very late in the game.

Set the ribs meat side up on the grill opposite the coals. Close the grill and smoke the ribs at 250 degrees F to 275 degrees F for 2 hours, adding coals as necessary to maintain the heat; add another 2 cups of the oak chips to the hot coals after the first hour. Transfer the ribs to a baking sheet.

Yes, If cooked for longer than they should your baby's back ribs can be overcooked and will become dry, so your best bet is to check their internal temperature in the last few minutes of the cooking process to assure their doneness.

Roughly speaking, they need to have at least 1 hour in the oven per pound, with about 15 – 30 minutes extra to make sure they're super tender. Then preheat the broiler on your oven while you use a BBQ mop to baste the ribs in whatever sauce you like.

Louis Style Ribs Take to Smoke. St. Louis style takes roughly 6 hours to smoke and about 30-45 minutes to rest, so all in all plan your day well because with prep time you're looking at about a total of 8 hours.

Bones: When the ribs are finished cooking, the meat will draw back and expose about three-quarters of an inch of the rib bone. Quick tip: When the “knuckle” of the third rib bone begins to poke through the back of the rib, the ribs are finished.

Should you wrap St Louis ribs? ›

The method is known in grilling circles as “the Texas crutch” for a reason. Wrapping meat in foil allows it to cook more quickly, giving you more control over the timing. That's because the foil acts as a miniature oven-within-an-oven, trapping the heat inside.

Wrapping should be done about half way through the cooking process or when internal meat temp is 150-160 degrees. Use two layers of heavy duty foil to wrap the meat. We recommend the following process for wrapping ribs, pork shoulder and brisket.

Do you flip ribs when smoking? Yes, you should flip the ribs after 1 hour of smoking them. You'll flip them every 30 minutes until they're done. The only time you don't have to flip ribs is when you use a rib rack.

Ribs shouldn't be fall-off-the-bone tender, he said. If the meat falls off the bone, it's overcooked. It should have a little chew to it. On the other hand, if the meat doesn't pull away from the bone, it's undercooked.

Yes, it's possible to end up with overcooked ribs. As you'll learn from our chosen techniques, the meat should separate from the bone easily when light pressure is applied. However, if the meat is literally falling off the bone, it's likely been cooked for too long.

Ribs need to cook slowly at low temperatures. If they cook too quickly, especially over high heat, the meat will be tough and dry. Should you encounter this issue, try wrapping the ribs in foil and putting them back on the smoker over low heat.

Fun fact- ribs are actually cooked when they reach 145 degrees, but the collagen and fat breaks down between 190 and 205 degrees, giving you that fall off the bone, delicious and juicy rib you want.

Ideal Technique & Temperature For Cooking Ribs

Prepare and season the ribs with your favorite rub. Preheat your smoker, charcoal grill, or gas grill to 225°F - the ideal temperature for cooking ribs.

Adding Moisture while Smoking Ribs

A simple rib spritz is equal parts apple cider vinegar and apple juice or water. So for one cup of apple juice you add one cup of apple cider vinegar. The added moisture to the cooking chamber really helps with color on the smoked ribs and keeping the texture moist.

GREAT RIBS

Ribs are best when they're done low and slow, most everyone knows that, but taste what happens when your method includes half-a-stick of butter.

Should I use a water pan when smoking ribs? ›

Anytime you are trying to cook at a constant, steady, low temperature for a long period is the ideal time to use a water pan. It doesn't matter what type of food you're cooking, whether it be ribs, pork shoulder, brisket, prime rib, etc.

It's best to smoke the ribs unwrapped for the first few hours. This allows the smoke flavor to permeate the meat. Some chefs will smoke the ribs for 3 hours, wrap them in foil and allow them to cook for another 2, then remove the wrapper for the last hour.

Should you smoke your ribs bone up or down? For most barbecue enthusiasts, the answer is clear: bone side down all the way. The meat will cook more evenly, and the smoky flavor will be more pronounced than if you'd set them with the meat side facing down.

The important thing is to wrap your ribs in aluminum foil tightly to seal in the juices. Some folks add a shot of water, fruit juice, or apple cider for added moisture. Make sure you use two layers of heavy-duty foil and wrap the ribs bones side up, so it's easier for you to wrap them without piercing the foil.