These smoked BBQ Party Ribs, are sticky, tender, and finger-licking good! Roll up your sleeves and fire up the smoker. These St. Louis Style pork ribs are cooked to perfection and finished with a sweet-and-savory BBQ Sauce that makes having seconds mandatory!
If sticky ribs are your thing, wait until you try this technique! No more covering and leaving your ribs alone on the smoker. It's time to show them some love through the whole process. We make these all summer long and pair them cold appetizers like Grilled Watermelon Salad and Three Pepper Salsa. But, since you already have the smoker running... consider throwing some Smoked Pig Shots or Smoked Hamburgers on there too!
St. Louis Style Pork Ribs
St. Louis Style ribs are indeed spare ribs..BUT they have been trimmed down to remove the cartilage, breastbone, and excess flap meat. It's ends up being a great balance of meat of fat. You're left a rectangular rack of ribs that cooks evenly and is pretty on the plate!
Don't have St. Louis Style Ribs? Although baby back ribs are shorter and more curvy, they still work great! In fact, they'll cook faster so keep an eye on them.
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Ingredients
See recipe card for quantities.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Step 1: Preheat smoker to 250°F. Score the bottoms of the ribs with a knife and season generously with a BBQ Rub.
- Step 2: Place ribs directly on the smoker and cook until ribs reach 165°F.
- Step 3: Remove from smoker and toss ribs in sugar, BBQ sauce, butter, and hot sauce (if you opt to use it).
- Step 4: Place them in a pan with a cover and smoke them for 40 minutes.
- Step 5: Remove ribs from the pan on the smoker and place them directly back on the smoker for 30 minutes. Coat them with BBQ Sauce every 15 minutes.
- Step 6: Remove ribs from the smoker, top them with chives and enjoy!
Substitutions and additions
- Don't have any BBQ Rub? Make your own! Here's how:
- Mix together Brown Sugar, Paprika (more the smokier!), pepper, salt, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper and mustard powder.
- Want to change up the flavor of your ribs?
- Smokier - Add in more Smoked Paprika when seasoning
- Spicier - Add in hot sauce, top with jalapeños or crushed red pepper flakes
- Herby - Add in thyme, oregano or cumin when seasoning ribs
Equipment and Supplies
- Que That BBQ Rub - My buddies at Flat Top King have a rub for everything! Try out a sample pack to test them all.
- Tongs - Make sure you have a long pair for grilling to protect your hands from heat.
- Traeger Timberline Pellet Grill - Out of all the smokers on my deck, this is my go-to for easy smoking! We used Smoking Pecan Pellets for this rack of ribs.
- Basting Brush - Silicon basting brush used for coating ribs with BBQ Sauce.
Storage
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. To keep them from drying out, wrap tightly in aluminum foil and then place in a container.
Store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Wrap them tightly and then place in an airtight container. Allow them to cool (about 30 minutes) before freezing.
More From the Smoker
- Pellet Grilled Salmon
- Pulled Ham
- Corned Beef Sliders
- The Best Chicken Wings (Smoked + Air Fried for Crispy Skin)
Video of Recipe
Recipe
Smoked BBQ Pork Ribs
Equipment
- Pellet Grill or Smoker
- Aluminum Pan with Lid
Ingredients
- 1 Rack St. Louis Style Pork Ribs
- 1 Cup BBQ Sauce add as needed
- 2 tablespoon BBQ Rub
- 4 tablespoon Butter
- 4 tablespoon Brown Sugar
- ¼ Cup Hot Sauce optional
- 1 teaspoon Scallions
Instructions
- Preheat smoker to 250°F. Score the bottoms of the ribs with a knife and season generously with a BBQ Rub.
- Place ribs directly on the smoker and cook until ribs reach 165°F.
- Remove from smoker and toss ribs in sugar, BBQ sauce, butter, and hot sauce (if you opt to use it).
- Place them in a pan with a cover and smoke them for 40 minutes.
- Remove ribs from the pan on the smoker and place them directly back on the smoker for 30 minutes. Coat them with BBQ Sauce every 10 minutes.
- Remove ribs from the smoker, top with scallions and enjoy!
Chef Tim Clowers says
This has become my new favorite way to cook ribs