This Sweet BBQ rib recipe for the charcoal grill or oven is one of the easiest rib recipes to perfect. A rack of ribs and 5 hours of grilling or oven time, and you’ll end up the perfect tasty and sticky pork ribs ever!
Starting with tender back ribs that only need a little trim before getting started, these are super easy to make on the grill or in the oven.
Before we get started we’ll make a sweet rib rub that will be the dry rub for our tasty BBQ rib recipe.
Table of contents
Watch How We Made The Ribs
How To Make A Sweet Rib Rub
This sweet and tasty rub has no hot component but is absolutely flavor packed with 10 ingredients.
This is what you will need for the sweet BBQ rub:
Brown Sugar
White Sugar
Salt
Pepper
Paprika
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Dry Mustard
Dry Thyme
Celery Salt
That’s it. Mix the spices and sugar together and set aside for our rib rub and also for our sweet and tasty barbecue sauce. Another reason this recipe is SO simple to make is that we rely on the rub for both the ribs and the sauce for the ribs. We’ll provide bottles of hot sauce on our dinner table tonight for the guests that want to spice things up. There is no shortage of hot sauce, and we’ll use Sriracha and also Franks original hot sauce on the table.
Rub Your Ribs
Go ahead and remove the membrane from the underside of the ribs rack and then apply the sweet barbecue rub liberally to the ribs. Flip the rack over and give equal rub time to the top of the rack. Don’t forget the ends and sides too. After rubbing the ribs, wrap the rack in plastic wrap and set in the fridge while you get your grill ready. We like to have the resting for at least 2 hours, so that the salt can work its magic
I love using my Weber kettle for grilling and smoking. Once I mastered the art of temperature control and time, smoking ribs and other meats because a joy.
How To Make A Charcoal Snake
We set up our kettle with a small snake of 40 coals and then add a chimney of 40 coals to start the snake. The temperature of our kettle will level out at 250-275 degrees and run for 4 to 5 hours. If we had not added the snake then the temps would drop significantly after the first 2 hours. Which would have been no problem. We could simply move the ribs to a pan and finish in the oven. Barbecue heresy? No. I say good management of our pit and time.
Water Pan For Your Smoker
Once the pit is ready, place a water pan in the bottom of the pit. The water pan is like an air conditioner for your pit. It helps keep a level humid temperature in the pit during a long cooking time. Fill the water pan with hot water and then put the grill in place.
If you are making ribs in the oven, then don’t skip the water pan. The water pan is essential in creating the right environment for moist and juicy ribs.
Place the rack of ribs on the opposite side of the hot coals, the cool zone of our two zone fire, and close the lid. Wait to see how the temperature levels. At the dome, you can expect to see the temperature 50 degrees hotter than at the grill grate. Use a thermometer at the grill grate to get an accurate reading.
Cook the ribs for 4 hours before applying our sweet and tasty barbecue glaze. Close the lid and let the sauce set for 30 minutes.
The Right Temperature For Perfect Ribs
Check the temperature of the ribs and see if they have reached an internal temperature of 200 degrees. This is not our final fall off the bone temperature!. The ribs must rest for 30 minute to an hour before carving. The best way to do this is to take the whole rack off the grill and cover loosely with aluminum foil and keep in a warm oven or back in the pit.
Sweet BBQ Rib Recipe
Equipment
- Charcoal grill, grill or oven
Ingredients
- 1 rack Pork back ribs
BBQ Rub
- 1/2 cup Brown sugar
- 1/2 cup White sugar
- 1/4 cup Paprika
- 3 tablespoons Kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon Black pepper
- 2 tablespoons Garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons Onion powder
- 1 teaspoon Ground mustard
- 1 teaspoon Celery salt
- 1 teaspoon Dried thyme
BBQ Sauce and Glaze
- 1 1/2 cups Ketchup
- 1 cup Water
- 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 cup Apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons Rib rub From above recipe
- 1/4 cup Honey
Instructions
- Make the dry rub by adding all the dry ingredients and mixing well.
- Remove the ribs membrane from the underside of the rack. Insert a small utensil under the membrane skin at a bone location and gently pry the membrane up so that you can grab it with a paper towel. Use the paper towel to get a hold of the membrane and pull of the membrane.
- Liberally apply the rub to the top and bottom of the rack of ribs. Wrap the ribs in plastic wrap for at least 30 minutes or overnight.
- Start your grill, oven or smoker and set the temperature to 250 degrees. Place a water pan into the grill, under the grill grate, and fill the pan halfway with hot steaming water.
- Place your ribs onto the grill and close the lid. Rotate the ribs once after 2 hours. After 4 hours apply the barbecue sauce to the ribs and then close the lid for at least 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, check the temperature of the ribs. The internal temperature of the ribs should be between 195 degrees and 205 degrees. Cover the ribs and let the ribs rest in a warm place for 20 to 30 minutes before carving.
- While your ribs begin to cook, make the barbecue sauce. The sauce and the rub can be made a head of time.
- Serve the barbecue sauce on the side and provide bottles of hot sauce for your guests that prefer hot and spicy ribs. Enjoy!
Nutrition
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