Easy Baby Back Ribs

Grant had some bacon to smoke this past weekend, so he decided to throw some baby back ribs in the smoker, too. You can certainly smoke your ribs for several hours, but this easy recipe uses both the smoker and the oven to get that great porky rib flavor.

First, you need to get some rub on your ribs. Grant doesn't use the same rub every time, he just throws together what he wants - but you can find some excellent commercial rubs that have lots of different ingredients. If you like the heat, this Iowa-produced rub, Mo' Rub, is very tasty, but be warned, it's spicy. Another Iowa product, Cookies Flavor Enhancer and All Purpose Seasoning, is perfect for rib rub. 

For these racks, Grant soaked the racks with some apple juice, then used brown sugar, raw sugar, New Mexico chile powder, Cookies Flavor Enhancer, salt and pepper. He let the ribs sit overnight, but you can shorten that up to at least one hour, if you're ready to go.

You need to fire up the smoker about 45 minutes before you put the ribs on to smoke. For these racks, Grant used apple and cherry wood and got the smoker up to 200 - 250 degrees.

Throw in the ribs!

He left the ribs on the smoke for about 2 hours.  

After a couple of hours in the smoker, Grant pulls them off, and finishes them in the oven. He douses them with a mixture of apple juice and BBQ sauce to keep the moisture in and avoid them drying out, but you could use any type of liquid like beer, wine, or even water.

He slices up some onion and piles it on top of the ribs, and wraps them up in a couple of sheets of heavy duty foil. Then he pops them into a 200 degree oven for 2 hours.

After 2 hours, check the temp of the meat and make sure they have reached a safe cooking temp of 185 - 200 degrees. Let the racks sit for 10 - 15 minutes to let the juices redistribute throughout the meat.  

Then, mmmm..... time to eat! These ribs were juicy and tasty - just the right amount of smoke and really tender. We had 6 people for dinner and there were only 3 bones left - so you know they were good! 

Try this easy and delicious method the next time you have some ribs to throw on the smoker. It's pretty fool-proof and feeds a bunch. We enjoyed our ribs with Grant's Cole Slaw and some excellent baked beans. Let us know if you try this Easy Baby Back Ribs recipe!