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These baby back ribs were so good and I cannot wait to share this recipe with you. Having a little knowledge about this cut and in turn how to cook it can go a long way. Ultimately, you need patience and time for these to turn out amazing. Back ribs (or loin ribs) come from the top of the pig’s rib cage and sit just below the pork loin (thus the name loin ribs). They are shorter and fatter than their counterparts Spare ribs. As with any cut of meat you plan to smoke, knowing the mass and density of the meat is important. Ribs are a much smaller cut and leaner so to cook them right you need a lower temperature and longer time. I will walk you through my process below and explain the steps along the way. Now sit back, grab an ice cold IPA, and enjoy this post for Big Green Egg Baby Back Ribs.
Big Green Egg Baby Back Ribs
Ingredients for this recipe are simple: yellow mustard, BBQ rub, and of course the baby back ribs!
Trim any excess fat and remove the membrane from the bone side of the ribs.
Apply a small amount of mustard as a binder for the BBQ rub then generously season the front and back of the ribs with the rub. For this cook, I used one of my favorite rubs Dizzy Pig Dizzy Dust
.
For this cook I preheated the Big Green Egg to 225° and used 2 chunks of hickory wood and 2 chunks of apple wood.
I placed the ribs inside and had an aluminum drip pan sitting on top of my ConvEGGtor
to catch the drippings.
Leave the ribs alone for the first hour. After that check on them every hour and spritz with a mix of apple juice and apple cider.
Between 4 – 5 hours start checking the ribs to see if the meat has pulled back from the bone and they pass the “bend test“.
Now bump the temp to 275° and pour some BBQ sauce on the ribs. Using a brush apply evenly to the surface of the ribs. Let the sauced ribs cook in that higher temp for 10 minutes or so until the sauce sets.
It is time to slice these beauties and serve!
Big Green Egg Baby Back Ribs
Ingredients
- Baby Back Ribs
- Yellow mustard
- BBQ rub
- 1 c apple juice
- 1 c apple cider vinegar
- Hot sauce
- Worcestershire sauce
Instructions
- Preheat your Big Green Egg to 225° using 3 - 4 chunks of smoking wood
- As the grill comes up to temp start prepping your ribs
- Pull the membrane off the bone side and trim excess fat and loose ends
- Put a small amount of yellow mustard on the front and back of the ribs and spread evenly to create a binder for your rub
- Apply the rub front and back until evenly coated
- Place the ribs in the Big Green Egg and leave alone for the first hour
- After that check on the ribs every hour and spray with a mix of apple juice, cider vinegar, hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce
- After 3 hours bump the temp to 250°
- At the 4.5 hour mark check the ribs to see if the meat has pulled away from the bone and the ribs pass the "bend test" if so move on to next step and if not wait 30 minutes and check again
- At the 5 hour mark (or when your ribs pass the previous step) glaze with BBQ sauce and bump temp to 275°
- Let the ribs sit in the BIg Green Egg another 10 minutes until the sauce sets
- Pukl, slice and enjoy!
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Chris,
In this baby back rib video … I noticed your round drip pan on the place setter. Did you place any liquid in the drip pan (apple juice/water, etc) or was it empty? If it was empty, why do you prefer it that way?
Thanks,
David
Jus to catch the fat dripping for easy clean up.
If you do wrap them with foil (I’m doing St. Louis ribs) at what step do you wrap them at?
Typically after the first 2 hours
I followed this recipe to the letter, and I was very disappointed in the outcome. Too much “tug”, too dry, and too much smoke flavor.
Sorry you had that experience. This has helped 1000’s of Big Green Egg owners turn out great baby back ribs. Hopefully you will find a recipe or technique that works better for you ?
Doing 5-6 racks vertically (lengthwise). Anything you would change in doing that method to have them all fit on the large BGE?
Vertical racks are great for fitting more ribs. My only issue with them is you can disrupt the bark when pulling the ribs out of them. With that said, I wouldn’t change anything with this recipe to accommodate more ribs. The bend test will tell you when they are done!
Chris, First thing! Thanks so much for the intel. I’ve had my BGE for 21 years now. Still looks great. My daughter and I did a refresh on it back in 2018. I’ve cooked dozens of racks over of the years. I am in the middle of following you rmethod and I will tell you I learned more from your video than I have learn in years. The biggie waiting until the intial white smoke is gone before putting them on. I’ll give you an update when I’m done. Thanks a million!
Very clear and instructive video….. the ribs look delicious…
Thank you!
Trying these for Thanksgiving…I’d rather not foil them or use a rack. What size egg are you using?
XL for this cook.
Very tasty, however the bone sideof the ribs was dry. Suggestions?
Perhaps move them around and sauce both sides at the end.
Will make them this way again. Great taste!
Thank you ?
My wife gave me the BGE for Father’s Day and this was the first time I tried ribs. I followed your recipe as best as I could (made my own rub, did not have apple juice) and the ribs were fabulous. My wife, daughter and son-in-law all agreed that it was the best ribs they have eaten. I plan on doing more this weekend with my son and his family. Thank you!
Kind words my friend. Thank you!
I see something about wrapping in foil in the comments, but not in the recipe. When do you wrap them if you do? Thanks. Can’t wait to try them tomorrow.
I typically don’t wrap my ribs anymore but when I do I use foil and wrap them after 2 hours but for only 45m to and hour.
Hi, your video was great – explained well about each step, with options and why to do each step. Any questions I had were addressed in the comments. I’m using my BGE for the first time today, and my ribs are dusted and in the fridge until we start smoking.
I’ve smoked ribs before, but can’t wait to try this method!
Great cook for your first use of the BGE! I am honored to be the recipe creator for you 🙂