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Perfect Ribs

Simply Perfect Recipes typically have only a few ingredients. For our Perfect Ribs, you’ll only need some great ribs (spare or baby back), seasonings and of course your EGG!

3.3/5 (172 Reviews)

Ingredients

  • 4 tbsp (60 ml) paprika
  • 2 tbsp (30 ml) oregano
  • 1 tbsp (15 ml) garlic powder
  • 1 tbsp (15 ml) brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp (15 ml) onion powder
  • 1 tbsp (15 ml) dry mustard
  • 2 tbsp (30 ml) cumin
  • 2 tbsp (30 ml) salt

Instructions

Set the EGG for indirect cooking with the convEGGtor at 300°F/150°C.

Combine all spices in a small bowl. Remove the membrane from the ribs and apply seasoning to both sides.

Place the ribs in the Rib and Roast Rack, bone side down, and cook for one hour. Flip the ribs and rotate the rack 180°. Cook for another hour.

Baste the ribs with the preserves (we used salted caramel peach preserves) then wrap tightly in foil – you do not want any gaps in the wrap or you will steam the ribs. Cook for an additional 30 minutes, then unwrap the ribs and place directly on the grid for a final 15 minutes to allow the glaze to tighten up.

Let rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

89 thoughts on “Perfect Ribs”

  2. Justin

    Well I’m not bragging. Might have been lucky. First fire up of the BGE in northeast Ohio. Getting temp on the fire took awhile. The best temp was 225 and I was running out of time so we started the ribs at 225. Did one hour and a half and then rotated and did another hour and a half. At this point I was concerned the temp was too low but as the smoke progressed out the temp went to 260. So we went to 90 minutes on the crutch. Apple cider with good foil wrap. Now the temp was a steady 270 for that time. Then did ribs on rack over deflector for 50 minutes with temp above 250. Can’t lie. I had burgers thawing. I had the cider juice for too dry. Had oven on if for too raw. But let the ribs cool for ten minutes and everyone was thrilled with tender and flavorful ribs.
    The lesson for me was not to panic or give up. Keep adjusting and resetting These would not have won a gold medal. But it was a great meal that I did not panic and toss in the garbage

    1. WM

      If you cook the ribs at 300, you are doing them an injustice! Set the egg at 225, and place 3 racks directly on the grate without tge deflector. Close the lid and adjust flues to maintain 225 as best you can. 3 hours later open the lid and awe over the mahogany bark. Pull 6 large sheets of foil. Put 4 tablespoon of unsalted butter and brown sugar on the foil and tightly double wrap each rack. Put back on egg and adjust temp to 275. Let steam in the foil for 1.5 hours. Pull the ribs from the foil and place back on the egg. Mop the ribs with your foil drippings and favorite sauce several times over the next 45 minutes while maintaining 250. I promise you they come out perfect every time. I use orange tree wood, which in my opinion is the best mild smoke flavor. You don’t want the ribs falling off the bone, but you want them tender. If you follow this procedure that’s what you get, tender without falling apart! Good luck and good grilling! BTW: I’ve won multiple competitions using this method, then again I make my own seasonings and sauce! Sorry that’s proprietary!

  5. Dawn and Stephen Kirby

    Absolutely the best ribs EVER. Purchased baby back ribs by Tyson at Walmart. I used the dry rub recipe but increased brown sugar to 4 TBSP. Everything went well, but grill was a little hot when we put ribs directly on grill for last 15 minutes, just a few small areas got too brown We loved these ribs, used Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce. The pink smoke line was perfect…can’t wait to make these again. Next time just watch last 15 minutes to control the browning more. THANKS!!

  6. Joseph C.

    Made this tonight but I did not use the brown sugar. I used some cayenne pepper powder instead of the sugar. To finish I used a fig chutney. The ribs turned out perfect. Moist, tender, and brimming with flavor. I used a rib rack and followed the cooking instructions to the letter.

  7. Ben Ford

    DO NOT TRY THIS WITHOUT THE RIB RACK

    I did this directly on the grill, 2hrs at 300F and they were way overcooked, to the point where all the seasoning burned off and the rib bones were burnt and breaking apart. Total waste of 3 hours, 20 lbs of ribs and left me in a bind with company coming over.

    7. Norm

      My first hard lesson in bq ribs= low and slow. Try 225 -250 for hours. So just above boiling temperature well below caramelization. You need to let time and moderate heat break down all the ligatures. And tenderize the meat.

    9. JR

      If you follow the directions these ribs turn out perfect every time. Not sure what went wrong.

      This recipe is for baby backs ribs not spare ribs. Spare ribs will get dry unless you cut the initial cook time down.

    10. Bruce Stanley

      Ribs should be cooked long and slow, heat at 225. I cook mine in a rib rack, the smoker at 225 for three hours. I take them off/out of the rib rack and put them into the drip pan, adding a small bottle of Apple Juice to the drip pan. Seal up the pan with foil and cook for an additional 2 hours. I pull the ribs out of the drip pan, put the ribs directly on the grill with bbq sauce for at least 30 minutes. The rule of 3, 2, 1 is perfect for ribs. Time spent about 6 hours as I put the rub on the night before. Be sure to pull the skin off the backside, put regular yellow mustard on the ribs one side at a time, and spread the rub. Flip and do the other side. Wrap in plastic or foil and let sit overnight in the fridge. Soak the wood chips of your choice for about 30 minutes while the grill warms up. Once the ribs are on the grill, you only need to open the green egg three times, once to put the ribs on, once to put them in the drip pan, and once to add BBQ sauce. Easy peasy!

  9. David

    My ribs were absolutely torched using this temp and amount of time. I didn’t even proceed to the glaze step, they were already so badly burnt and dried after 2 hours at 300 that they went in the garbage.
    They actually looked near done at the one hour flip mark, I should have trusted my gut and lessened the time and turned the heat way down at that point. I use a digi-Q so the temp remained constant the whole time, and I had my convEGGtor in place.

  15. John Lamberth

    I love to cook on the green egg. This is a great recipe. Perfect tender ribs the first try. Followed the recipe exactly except used honey instead of chutney for a glaze. I’m trying to get them smokier so I put a handful of woodchips in just before putting them on the grill and will add another handful after that first hour of cooking. Second attempt on now! Can’t wait! Thanks and great recipe!

    2. John Baker

      Yes. I think you could put anything on them. Just a matter of the desired flavor. The peach preserves go nicely with the rub. The rub is extremely savory. So the peach provides a little sweetness to counter that. But BBQ sauce will be fine I am sure.

  20. bower yousse

    I’ve made this recipe half a dozen times and it always turns out right. I get requests for it even. Have not been able to find salted caramel peach preserves, so I have used ordinary peach preserves with delicious results. The ribs are always fall-off-the-bone perfect, so the recipe is appropriately called Perfect Ribs!

  25. Drew

    The cooking temp was good – they came out well. I also smoked with mesquite, although I normally use allpewood for pork. What I didn’t like was all the paprika in the rub. I put it on pretty heavy and the paprika was “cakey “. I recommend going lower on the paprika or shake off the ribs after coating. I just used apricot preserves which were good, next time I will go with a more traditional bbq sauce.

  28. Miss Daisy Boca

    I can’t believe this turned out as well as it did! I’ve always smoked ribs low and slow at about 225 for hours and hours. This was a time saver and they came out tender and delicious!! I didn’t do the preserves because I was too lazy to go to the store, so I just seasoned them up with some good tub and then after the foil cook, brushed w/some BBQ sauce and charred them. WONDERFUL!

  29. Rod

    Trying a variant of this today. Using rubs from B’s Rubs in Othello, Wash. and apricot preserves. What’s the reason for flipping and rotating the ribs? Doesn’t the Egg heat quite evenly with plate setter in place and ribs on their sides in rack?

  31. Jim Jacob

    Forget this one. I have doing this for 25 years on the BGE Medium. Room temp, lightly sprinkle ribs with Salt Lick dry rub sold at Barbeques Galore; I like a little Lawrys Garlic salt also, Smoke with hickory chips, at 250 degrees for 1.5 hours in a rib rack with the heat deflector. Wrap tight in foil, no leaks, and place back on the BGE for 1.5 hours. Unwrap slice and enjoy! Simple! just like the BGE

  33. Craig

    Great recipe. Used the rub with 3 finishes: just the rub with sauce optional, basted with a nice Carolina sauce and basted with Fig preserves (what I had on hand). All were great and the preserves give a unique sweetness that I’ve not tried before. One thing I will try the next time is add some cayenne pepper to the rub for some heat eith the sweet.

  34. Amy

    I’m surprised nobody’s mentioned the amount of salt! I halved the amount of salt in the recipe, and the ribs still came out way too salty. They would’ve been great otherwise, so I’ll adjust the recipe again and use it in the future. You could use anything as a baste: any kind of preserve, BBQ sauce, Korean chili paste …

  39. Kyle S

    I have had bad luck with ribs before, but this recipe came out absolutely perfect. Instead of preserves, I just used traditional BBQ sauce.

    This is now my go-to rib recipe!

  43. patricia Kempe

    I make these ribs a coupple of times a month, I use Honey Hog seasoning(to make it easy on myself) and the unicoi salted carmel peach preserves(I found at the Big Green Egg store

  45. Vincent

    I made these this past weekend and they were awesome. I made 4.5 lbs of St. Louis stlyle ribs using this recipe with one minor modification. As I didn’t have the salted caramel peach preserves, I used my wife’s home made plum preserves, which we have used with pork tenderloin before and it added an amazing flavor. I’ll see about getting some of the salted caramel peach but I think any of the ones mentioned in the comments will add a distinct flavor. My family and friends loved them and I will use this recipe again for sure>

  46. Eric Sheets

    I used this recipe/smoking method this past weekend. First time I have ever used a glaze on ribs. LOVED IT! I just used Peach Preserves I bought at store. I will use this method moving forward.

  47. Marylyn Stallmann

    I used Roberts Reserve Pineapple Coconut Mango Tequila Sauce from HEB because I didn’t have preserves. It was amazing. The Sauce can be used for anything – dipping chicken tenders, pouring on grilled chicken or pork, glazing a ham or pouring over cream cheese for a great spread. I have even put it in chicken and tuna salad.

    1. John Baker

      I used Robert’s Reserve as well except I used Pineapple habanero. Not everyone is as luck as us to have HEB though!!! They also sell a Fisher & Weiser Charred Peach Bourbon Sauce that works VERY WELL on these ribs also…..YUUUUMMMMMYYYY!!!

    1. Ed

      Mike,
      Coverage depends on how liberal you are with the rub.
      Purchasing the spices in bulk, I normally make a large batch, X4 or better, then seal in 1/2 pint canning jars. This rub is great on pork loin, shoulder, ect.

  54. Rick Roesler

    Some of the best Ribs to date, So easy to make, I’ve past this on to others as well and loved them as much as I did, Thanks for sharing. In fact doing another rack today.

      1. Taylor Shulman

        Hello,
        Chef Taylor here! You can use fig jam, peach preserves, apricot jam, or apple butter if you can not find salted caramel peach. However, Unicoi preserves has a website and they ship their delicious stuff 🙂 I hope you enjoy the ribs!

  59. Rick Roesler

    Thanks for sharing this recipe, these turned out perfect, my wife says there the best ribs I have done so far. it’s so simple and quick to make. I love visiting your Web site. thanks for sharing

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