Smoked Baby Back Ribs with Homemade BBQ Sauce

Name: Smoked Baby Back Ribs
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 270 min
Total time: 1725 min
Ingredients: 2 racks baby back ribs; 2 tablespoons salt; 4 teaspoons ground black pepper; 4 teaspoons garlic powder; 1 cup Bourbon BBQ Sauce

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Cooked low and slow for hours with our homemade BBQ sauce, these Smoked Baby Back Ribs take a little effort but the result is worth it. You’ll feel like a BBQ pit master and your family, friends, and neighbors will thank you for it!

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I got an electric smoker for my birthday a few years ago and oh man. Might just be the best birthday gift yet…for the whole family!

Our whole neighborhood smells amazing when we make these smoked baby back ribs and my husband and kids get so excited for dinner.

Tender ribs, a smoky bourbon BBQ sauce, and just all around delicious meaty goodness.

No smoker? No problem! Try our slow cooker ribs instead!

Table of Contents

What We Love About Smoking Baby Back Ribs:

Firing up the smoker and pulling off some perfectly tender smoked ribs isn’t necessarily difficult, but it sure makes you feel like a BBQ pit master! That feeling when you watch your family ooh and ahh over your perfectly tender ribs is nothing short of amazing.

These baby back ribs are made with a simple seasoning blend and topped with our homemade bourbon BBQ sauce to add big, bold, saucy flavor.

The ribs turn out so tender and perfectly flavorful following our method.

I love that this recipe can feed a few or feed a crowd. Increase or decrease the number of ribs as needed!

Smoked Ribs Ingredients:

ingredients for smoked ribs on countertop.

Baby Back Ribs – You can easily double or triple this recipe as needed. We plan for a half rack of ribs per person and then happily end up with some leftovers.

Seasoning – We keep it simple with garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Another option is to use our homemade BBQ rub. This will add more barbecue flavor and works well if you don’t want to sauce your ribs.

Bourbon BBQ Sauce – This homemade bbq sauce is big on flavor and simple to prepare. You can always use store bought sauce as well. Or try our tangy Carolina bbq sauce!

Tools & Equipment

Electric Smoker -You could certainly use any type of smoker, but we tested this recipe in our Masterbuilt Electric Smoker. It’s budget friendly and so easy to use! Highly recommend.

Peach Butcher Paper – Perfect for wrapping the ribs and retaining moisture while cooking. We use this one.

Digital Thermometer – If your smoker doesn’t come with a built in thermometer, you’ll want to grab one of these. This one is my all time favorite thermometer. It’s magnetic, so I stick it to the side of the fridge and it never gets lost.

Step by Step Instructions:

Season the Ribs: We’re going for layers of delicious flavor here, so even though we’ll be slathering these ribs in our bourbon BBQ sauce, we want to start by seasoning the ribs with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

Allow the ribs to sit in the fridge overnight with the seasoning to get the best results! The seasoning will really soak into the meat and make things extra delicious.

Smoke: Get your smoker heated up to 250 degrees, and if it has a water pan, fill it with water. Next, load it with your preferred type of wood chunks/chips/pellets, whatever your smoker takes.

Begin smoking the ribs, uncovered and without any BBQ sauce yet, for about 3 hours or until they reach an internal temp of 175 degrees. Make sure to check about every 45 minutes if you need more water for the steam pot or wood.

Sauce: When the ribs have hit the 175 degrees mark internally, around 3 hours in the smoker, go ahead and remove from the smoker and generously slather the homemade BBQ sauce on both sides of the ribs. Next, cover the ribs fully in either aluminum foil or butcher paper. We prefer peach butcher paper for this recipe.

Smoke: When the ribs are wrapped go ahead and return them back to the smoker. The wrapping will seal in the moisture and juices, turning these into tender, succulent ribs. They’ll need 45 minutes in the paper.

Baste and Smoke: Go ahead and remove the butcher paper from the ribs and slather more sauce over the ribs. Continue smoking, unwrapped, for about 30 more minutes or until the ribs reach between 195 and 203 degrees.

Rest: As always, let your meat rest a bit before serving. Just let them sit for 15 minutes before cutting into portions and serving.

Helpful Tips!

Do not overload with wood! Too much smoke will lead to a charred, chemical taste. There should only be a thin, bluish colored amount of smoke coming out of the unit. If enough smoke is billowing out that you could send signals with it, that’s way too much smoke!
There are all types of smokers, from charcoal to electric and gas, and not all use wood chips or large chunks of wood, some use pellets. Whatever type you have, it’ll work for this recipe. Just make sure that the temperature remains as close to 250 degrees as possible for the duration of the cook.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Does it matter what type of wood you use?

Yes! Some woods work better for different cuts of meat. Luckily, for pork, nearly all types of wood will be tasty. We like fruit woods, such as apple, cherry, and peach. We prefer cherry.

What’s the difference between baby back ribs and spare ribs?

This recipe calls for baby back ribs, which are our preference. They are thicker, meatier, leaner, and more tender than spare ribs. A full rack of ribs will have somewhere around 10-13 ribs.

How long will ribs last in the fridge?

You can store your leftover ribs in the fridge for 3-4 days.

What temperature should the ribs be?

These smoked ribs will be the perfect texture at 195-203 degrees. Super tender and easily able to pull from the bone is what we’re going for.

Make It a Meal!

Pair this with…

Cheesy Hashbrown Casserole (Pop these in the smoker for an hour instead of baking them!)
Jiffy Corn Casserole
Creamy Baked Mac and Cheese (Can smoke this one too!)
Baked Potato Salad
Sweet Cornbread
Apple Cobbler

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