Grilled Baby Back Ribs on a gas grill are easy with a few simple steps. Delicious, juicy, and fall-off-the-bone tender BBQ ribs will make you the grill master.
Ingredients
Baby back ribs
BBQ dry rub—your own or brown sugar, salt, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper
Wood chips if smoking
BBQ sauce for serving
Table of Contents (scroll for more)
Featured comment from Matt:
"Delicious. Wife also loved them. These are the best ribs I've cooked so far - this basic recipe is a keeper, and I'm going to stick with it."
Great BBQ baby back ribs are easier than you think to cook on your backyard gas grill with a great homemade dry rib, a touch of smoke (optional), and your favorite barbecue sauce.
Grilling perfect ribs only needs a few skills. First, you must correctly set up your grill for low-and-slow cooking and smoking (if you want). And you must know your endpoint when the ribs are done; that is it; the rest is a personal preference.
👨🍳How to Grill Baby Back Ribs
Set up the grill for indirect cooking over a drip pan under the indirect area but not on the burners with ½ to 1 inch of water. Stabilize temperature at about 250°. Clean and oil the grill grates.
Prep the ribs. Remove the inner lining and check for bone chips.
Rub with about ½ cup of a dry rub of your choice. I have included an 8:3:1:1 rub in the recipe, but use what you want. The rub will work fine if applied just before grilling or the day before. If applying early, then wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
Place over the drip pan and start your smoke—30-60 minutes of smoke is enough. Then, keep your hands off for about 2-3 hours total from the start of cooking. Add some time to that if cooking more than one slab. It may be 4 hours or more. If you are unsure of your grill setup or doing smaller ribs, start checking at 1 ½ hours.
The ribs are done when: First, an internal temperature of 190°+ (200°-205° preferred.) Second, some ends of rib bones are sticking out. Lastly, when you pick up the ribs with tongs holding them about ⅓ of the way up, they should crack.
Allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving.
For more details, keep reading. See the Recipe Card below for complete instructions and to print.
⏰How long to cook on a grill?
Three hours is a good estimate for cooking a medium-sized rack of ribs. If the ribs are a bit small or you are unsure about your grill setup, start checking at about 2 hours. A thick slab may take 4 hours. If you are cooking more than one slab with a vertical rack, add about 30-60 minutes.
There are the variables of the grill and meat, so there is never an exact time for something like this.
When are the ribs done cooking?
You need to know when the ribs are done. If they are grilled too long, they are dry and overcooked. But too short, and they are tough. Here are three things to check, but I generally depends on the temperature and the rib bone exposure.
1) Temperature at 190°+, but 200°-205° is better. It is hard to get an accurate temperature due to the thin meat and the bones interfering. Use an instant-read or meat thermometer.
2) You want to see some bones. This means the ends of the rib bones are sticking out some. This happens when the meat is cooked and shrinks.
3) When you pick up the ribs with tongs holding them about ⅓ of the way up, they crack some. I have been known to have slabs of ribs break in half, so I do this less.
They will take longer if you use a larger rib like a St. Louis or spare ribs. Never cook by time; cook to an endpoint.
Rib recipes you should try
There are other good choices for your ribs. Check out Oven Baked Baby Back Ribs, Crock Pot Baby Back Ribs, or try some Grilled Boneless Pork Ribs.
I consider this recipe one of the three classic grilling recipes, along with BBQ Beef Brisket and Smoked Pulled Pork Butt.
The Dry Rub
I included a nice simple BBQ Dry Rub in the recipe. A great rub, but another good choice is my Memphis Dry Rub. Or use the rub of your choice.
This makes enough for two slabs. Cut it in half to have less leftover if you want, but I will save it for next time. You can add a pinch of cayenne pepper for some heat.
- 8 tablespoons brown sugar - ½ cup
- 3 tablespoons kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
♨️Grill Setup
One of the major factors in successfully grilling ribs is the grill set up for low and slow indirect grilling at 250°. Also, you will want a method of smoking on the grill. You get both things right, and you will have great ribs. Get them wrong, and you have no chance.
Fortunately, it is not that hard. I have included a summary of the high points below. But please review these details on the grill setup with my complete guides if you are a novice griller or need some pointers.
How to Set Up Your Gas Grill for Smoking and Low and Slow Cooking
A Beginners Guide to Grill Temperature on a Gas Grill
🌡️Grill Temperature
Most smokers and top grillers like to cook ribs in the 225°-250° grill temperature range. While higher temperatures will cook faster, that is not better. It will tend to cause dried-out meat.
Indirect Heat
You will use indirect heat, meaning the meat will not be directly over the burners. All grills are different, but you will need to learn this for your grill for this and other recipes.
You will need a large grill surface area and a grill surface thermometer to get a surface temperature of about 250°. You will also need a way to check and monitor the surface temperature of the grill where the ribs will be cooking.
You will also need a drainage pan under the ribs. This is usually under the grids but CAN NOT rest on the burners.
Smoking on a gas grill
Many larger grills now have a smoking box built-in, but if not, use a cast-iron smoking box or aluminum foil packets of wood chips.
I suggest hickory, but cherry, pecan, mesquite, and apple are commonly used. Some people like oak, but I'm not too fond of oak for this.
Please see How to Set Up Your Gas Grill for Smoking and Low and Slow Cooking for more details and troubleshooting.
🍴What to serve with BBQ baby back ribs
This is a dry rub rib recipe, meaning sauce is served on the side at serving. My favorite is my Memphis Barbecue Sauce, but use the sauce you like.
Other common side dishes are baked beans, Macaroni Salad, Caprese Pasta Salad, Microwave Corn on the Cob, and Baked French fries. Serve with Old Fashioned Cornbread or Cornmeal Biscuits.
How to store and reheat leftovers
Store leftovers sealed airtight and refrigerated for 4 days or frozen for 4 months.
Reheat, after thawing overnight in the refrigerator if frozen, in the oven on a rimmed tray sealed with aluminum foil (preferred), or in the microwave.
❓FAQs
Pork ribs have a thin membrane on the back of each rack of ribs, which is the lining of the lung cavity. It does not have to be removed, but most experts want it removed (and I do, also.) I think you get more rub flavor if you remove it.
This is easier than you think. I like to use my fingers and a butter knife. And many times, the best part of the knife is the handle. Work your way under it in the area of a rib near an end. Then, once you can get a good hold on it, start pulling at an angle, and it will come off. It is an acquired skill, so you won't be perfect the first time.
Yes. It is all about grill setup and getting the temperature correct. It will need a large surface area for indirect grilling. However, it will be harder to maintain a consistent surface temperature for several hours.
No, but some people do. It will interfere with smoking. But it will not interfere much with cooking time. I prefer to have the surface and rub exposed to the grill environment for good bark development.
Maintaining a constant temperature in your oven is much easier than on a grill. So, you can cook in the oven with foil (Easy Oven Baked Baby Back Ribs) and finish on the grill if you want.
🐖About Baby Back Ribs
What are Baby Back Ribs?
Back ribs are cut from the top/back part of the rib, where it meets the spine. They are called baby back since they are shorter than the other rib cuts. They will usually be 10-12 ribs that are 4-5 inches, give or take a little, and usually weigh 1 ½ to 2 pounds.
Since they are meatier and in higher demand, baby back ribs will cost more but are well worth the price, in my opinion.
Other pork ribs are bone-in spare ribs and St. Louis ribs. St. Louis ribs are spare ribs with the sternum, some cartilage, and rib ends removed. While this recipe centers on baby back ribs, the same method can be used for spare ribs or St. Louis ribs.
Trimming the ribs for cooking: There are two things to do before applying your rub. First, check all bony areas for bone chips. The second is to remove the thin membrane from the inside of the ribs. This is not required but highly suggested.
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📖 Recipe
How to Grill Baby Back Ribs on a Gas Grill
Ingredients
- 1 rack baby back ribs - or more
- ½ cup rub of your choice
Excellent rub if you don't have one. Enough for 2 slabs. Cut in half to have less leftover if you want, but I save it for next time.
- 8 tablespoons brown sugar - ½ cup
- 3 tablespoons kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Set up the grill for indirect cooking over a drip pan under the indirect area but not on the burners with ½ to 1 inch of water. Stabilize temperature at about 250°. Clean and oil the grill grates.
- Prep the ribs. Remove the inner lining and check for bone chips.
- Rub with about ½ cup of a dry rub of your choice. I have included an 8:3:1:1 rub in the recipe but use what you want. The rub will work fine if applied just before grilling or the day before. If applying early, then wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
- Place over the drip pan and start your smoke—30-60 minutes of smoke is enough. Then keep your hands off for about 2-3 hours total from the start of cooking. Add some time to that if cooking more than one slab. It may be 4 hours or more. If you are unsure of your grill setup or doing smaller ribs, start checking at 1 ½ hours.
- The ribs are done when: First, an internal temperature of 190°+ (200°-205° preferred.) Second, some ends of rib bones are sticking out. Lastly, when you pick up the ribs with tongs holding them about ⅓ of the way up, they should crack.
- Allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Your Own Private Notes
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips:
- The two most important points to success are grill setup and knowing the endpoint of cooking.
- If you are unsure of your grill setup or doing smaller ribs, start checking at 1 ½ hours. Also, review How To Set Up Your Gas Grill for Smoking and Low and Slow Cooking.
- The endpoint:
a) Temperature,190°+ (200°-205° is better.) It is hard to get an accurate temperature due to the thin meat and the bones interfering. Use an instant-read thermometer.
b) The ends of the rib bones are sticking out some.
c) When you pick up the ribs with tongs, holding them about ⅓ of the way up, they crack some. - This post is for one slab of baby backs. You could do two side by side if you have enough space or use a rib rack. The time is about 2-3 hours. If you have a large slab of ribs or do a rib rack to cook more slabs, you will need to add some time. And if you use a larger rib like a St. Louis or spare ribs, they will also take longer.
Helpful links
How to Set Up Your Gas Grill for Smoking and Low and Slow Cooking A Beginners Guide to Grill Temperature on a Gas GrillTo adjust the recipe size:
You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.
Nutrition Estimate
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Originally published May 11, 2014. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
JimN
Lots of good advice here. While I will usually stoke ribs (either baby back or st St Louis style on my charcoal smokers, its just to hard to requite the temp in the winter. I like the fact you talk about the importance of temperature at the grill surface and temp oof the food. I find an electronic thermometer with an ambient temp probe (for the grill surface) and probes for the meat to be invaluable.
The only quibble I have its "falling off the bone". To each his own but it is generally regarded that there should be some resistance when you chew on the rib. It should come off cleanly with a little tug but not fall off.
Don
This is the dry rub that I use on chicken, beef and pork. I keep a large shaker bottle in my spice cabinet and some in a zip-lock bag so I'm always ready. It will clump some after a while but the back of a spoon takes care of that.
1 cup brown sugar 1/4 cup chili powder
1/2 cup white sugar 1 Tbsp onion powder
1/2 cup kosher salt 1 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper 2 tsp dry mustard
Thomas
total failure and I followed this to the core.
Andy
Dr Dan
What are your thoughts on wrapping the ribs in foil for the middle stage of the cook? I’ve read about 2-2-1 namely cook open for 2 hours to form bark, wrap in foil for 2 hours to counter stall and preserve moisture then finish open again.
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Andy,
Welcome to the blog.
What you are asking is about "the stall" which occurs when fluid comes out of the meat at about 150 degrees. It will go to the surface and evaporate. That will slow cooking and the meat will not be quite as moist. I have a long discussion on my grilled brisket recipe. https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/cook-brisket-gas-grill/#the-stall
It is fine to do but be sure to remember you are cooking to an endpoint and not just by time. I have never done this for ribs but find miminal effect on my briskte. If you do it, be sure to wrap tightly since you need as little air as possible in the wrap. If you use foil, be sure not to have holes in it from the bones.
But I don't bother with it.
Hope that helps.
Dan
Matt
Delcious. Wife also loved them. These are the best ribs I've cooked so far - this basic recipe is a keeper and I'm going to stick with it.
I cooked them for the first time tonight on my Genesis II. It was tricky figuring out the right temperature and they reached 195-ish after 2.5 hours, so I'm going to have to play with the setup. Someone on this page writes about switching one off and on again at certain intervals. I might try that, but I'd rather just be able to let them sit.
The ribs were still fantastic despite not having gone at least three hours in the grill. Super juicy, tender, and almost fall-off-the-bone. They're going to be even better once I can figure out the surface temperature problem.
Janel
I do not know how you got the wood to smoke...on a gas grill at such a low temperature
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Janel,
Welcome to the blog.
It will smoke. If you use an aluminum pouch or castiron box, put it over the direct heat side. If you have a built-in box, use it. More details at https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/set-gas-grill-smoking-low-slow-cooking/
Hope that helps.
Dan
Valerie Pickett
Outstanding ribs! Thank you for a great recipe!
It was my first time cooking ribs on the grill! The man and I went to a local meat shop and purchased the ribs so I didn't want to fail. Looking at a lot of recipes yours was the most complete and easy to follow.
The only question I have for next time is how to ensure the top of the ribs are a little less chewy?
Will be checking out the rest of your site. Thank you again❣
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Valerie,
Welcome the blog.
By the top, I assume you mean the outside of the meat where the rub is. The chewie is some dryness of the meat from dry cooking, you can add some humidity to the environment with water in the drip pan. Some people "mop" with various solutions.
Hope that helps some.
Thanks for the note and rating.
Dan
Jubran
Just tried these out on our new Weber Genesis II 310 for Memorial Day - came out delicious!
Our grill is a three burner, so we started off with the two sides on and one off in the middle. The heat was rising a bit too rapidly at first with two burners, so after an hour I turned one of the burners off, then on again after another hour. After 3 hours, both racks were right at 190F, so I finished them with a quick sear on medium heat over direct flame to finish it off, and it came out great. It looks like experimentation really is needed with each unique grill.
One concern I had was with the wood chips. After three hours, I had no smoke coming out of the hickory wood chips I bought, despite being hot to the touch. I think next time I'll do without soaking first and see how it turns out.
Thanks for the great recipe, Dr. Dan.
Matt
Jubran, did you have the burners on low the entire time? I may try your method of switching one off then on again.