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5 from 1 vote

Barbecue Ribs on a Charcoal Grill Recipe

Barbecue ribs are a long-time staple of cookouts and barbecue joints for good reason. You take the right type of ribs, ideally St. Louis style, put them into a properly-armed grill for several hours, and finish with your favorite BBQ sauce.
Prep Time30 mins
Cook Time2 hrs 30 mins
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Barbecue Ribs
Servings: 4
Calories: 762kcal

Equipment

  • Charcoal grill
  • Charcoal briquettes, 1 chimney’s worth (divided)
  • Pan, foil, 1
  • Smoking wood, 3 chunks

Ingredients

  • Pork ribs, 1 rack
  • 1 tbsp Mustard, yellow
  • 1/4 cup Dry rub
  • 1/4 cup BBQ sauce
  • 2 tbsp Juice, apple

Instructions

  • Fill half of your chimney with briquettes and only ignite a handful of them; this will make sure the pile burns at a slow rate.
  • Pile the briquettes up along one side of the grill, then add your smoking wood if you want.
  • Set your grate on the grill and the foil pan over that grate with charcoal.
  • Fill the pain to the halfway mark with water.
  • Get rid of the ribs’ membrane by inserting a butter knife between it and the bone and use the knife to weaken the membrane’s grip to the point that it can be pulled off entirely.
  • Free free to use a paper towel for extra grip.
  • Take the mustard and rub both sides of the ribs, then apply the dry rub. 
  • If you somehow lack a rub for your ribs, apply salt instead.
  • Set your rack on the grill’s far side, away from the coals and cook them at 225°F-250°F.
  • Cover the grill and cook for either 3 hours or 2 hours, depending on whether you are using spare ribs or baby back ribs, respectively.
  • After time is up, add 2 tablespoons of your chosen liquid, be it apple juice or coffee, and seal the ribs inside of foil.
  • Add another half chimney’s worth of charcoal if it seems you will need it, then cook for an extra 2 hours with the grill remaining covered.
  • Once time is up, remove the foil from your ribs, invert the ribs and paint their bottom side with your favorite BBQ sauce.
  • Cover the grill again and let the ribs cook 15 minutes.
  • Flip your ribs back upright so that you can paint them with the same BBQ sauce as the bottom side.
  • Yet again, cover the grill and paint them with the same BBQ sauce.
  • Continue to cook the ribs in a covered grill for 45 minutes.
  • Pull the ribs from the grill, allow them to cool just enough to not burn mouths, and enjoy the deliciousness.

Nutrition

Serving: 240g | Calories: 762kcal