One of my favorite things to grill is baby back ribs. So, today I’m going to show you how to grill baby back ribs indirect. There is nothing better than fall off the bone baby back ribs that you’ve made yourself. The nice thing too is that they are not difficult to grill at all.
The way I like to grill my baby back ribs is with a bit of rub and some smoke. I know some people like to add on the barbecue sauce, but I usually just reserve that for dipping. The way these ribs turn out they are so moist and delicious that they don’t need any BBQ sauce.
So, here is what you will need to grill baby back ribs indirect:
4 racks baby back ribs
baby back rib rub
wood chips or chunks
There really isn’t too much to this recipe. I like to make a homemade baby back rib rub, but you can use any commercial rub, or your own favorite blend. As far as wood for smoking use your favorite. I really like apple wood, so I use that quite a bit. Now if you are using a gas grill, there is no need to worry, you can use a cast iron smoker box to smoke your ribs.
Once you have your ribs you will need to prep them. There is a thin membrane on the back of each rack that needs to be removed. You can have the butcher do it, or you can remove it yourself. Just stick a knife underneath the membrane to pry it up a bit until you can get your fingers under it. Grab the membrane and pull it off the ribs.
Once you have your rib rub ready generously rub it into each of the racks front and back. At this point I use plastic wrap and wrap up the ribs and place them in the refrigerator. I like them to soak in that rub for a couple hours. But if you are in a hurry you can skip that step on go right to the grill.
You should be soaking your wood chips or chunks in water for about an hour prior to grilling. Set up your gas or charcoal grill for indirect grilling over medium heat. If you are using a charcoal grill place a drip pan in the center and the coals on each side. If you are using a gas grill only heat one side of the grill and keep the other burners off.
Once the grill is ready place the wood chips on the coals or your smoke box over the heat until it starts smoking. You will only need a couple handfuls of chips or a couple of chunks at this point. If the smoking slows down during grilling add more wood.
Now place the baby back ribs on the grill away from the heat, if you are using a charcoal grill this would be in the center over the drip pan. Now here is the problem, a standard grill will only hold two racks of baby back ribs when grilling indirect, so you are going to want to get yourself a rib rack. This will allow you to grill all four racks of baby back ribs at the same time. Here is the one that I use. It works great.
Grill the ribs for approximately 1 ¼ to 1 ½ hours. The meat should shrink back from the bone about a ¼ inch and be tender enough to pull apart with your fingers when they are done. I also like to flip the racks in the rib rack about half way through grilling.
Once they are done transfer them to a cutting board and let them rest for a few minutes before cutting into individual ribs. Serve with your favorite BBQ sauce. That is how to grill baby back ribs indirect that turn out wonderful.
image courtesy of Danielle Scott/flickr