Smoked Pork Back Ribs
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Dive into these smokey, tender, delicious smoked pork ribs. You’ll love this no fuss recipe, and the amazing results.
You might think that because I have a food blog that I’ve always been a good cook, that I was born with it.
I’m here to tell you that no, none of those things are true. This is like one of those “maybe it’s Maybelline” moments.
Believe it or not, I could hardly cook when Kevy and I got married, I’m pretty sure he taught me all the basics. Now, I’m a self proclaimed kick-ass cook. And so is he.
And these back ribs? Oh baby, these are ALL Kevy.
This recipe is dedicated to learning.

Jump to:
Tips + Tricks
No. 1 –> To easily remove the membrane use a butter knife in between 2 ribs. You only need to get the butter knife under the silver skin enough to get a finger underneath it. From there, use your fingers to slowly pull up the membrane until it’s completely detached all the way across the rack, from there it’s quite easy to pull up and remove it completely.
No. 2 –> This recipe also works with side ribs, spare ribs, or St Louis style ribs, but we much prefer pork back ribs in this house.
No. 3 –> Kevy said that tip number three is #meatmagic. I’m not sure exactly what kind of alchemy he’s talking about, but if you follow his recipe, you’ll be making your own meat magic.
No. 4 –> Look for a rack of ribs that has a nice marbling of fat throughout the rack and a somewhat even thickness, this will improve the accuracy of your cook.
Take your ribs up a notch by smothering them in Alabama white sauce!

Ingredients
There’s a printable recipe card below with all the exact quantities and directions, this is just a quick glance at the ingredients before we get too far into the recipe!
- pork back ribs
- brown sugar
- pepper
- salt
- garlic powder
- paprika

How to make
- Fire it up. Start your smoker according to the manufacturer’s directions and set to 185f.
- Take it off. Remove the silver skin from the bone side of the ribs. Kevy’s trick for this is to slide a butter knife underneath the membrane and wiggle it around till he’s got a hole large enough for his finger, then pulls and stretches with his fingers till he’s able to lift a swath perpendicular to the rib rack, from there it’s as simple as grabbing the loop of silver skin and pulling towards each end to remove. It’s much easier to get off that way.
- Get spicy. At this point, you can either mix the rub or sprinkle it on in layers. For this one, Kevy likes to layer his flavour, but either way works. Just remember, paprika only goes on the meat side.
- Get smoky. It’s time to put the ribs on the smoker. Place them on the smoker meat side down and smoke at 185f for 3 hours.
- FLIP! It’s time to flip your ribs meat side up and increase the smoker temperature to 225f. cook for 1 hour.
- Get sauced. Your ribs have now been cooking for 1 hour, meat side up, at 225f and it’s time to baste them with your favourite bbq sauce. Sauce only the meat side at this point, and cook for another hour at 225f.
- Bring the heat. Turn up your smoker to 325f. Flip the ribs one last time, and sauce the bone side. Then cook for 30 minutes. There are a couple of reasons for this last 30 minutes; this positions the ribs so they are easy to cut when they come off the smoker, and the higher temperature caramelizes the sugars in your bbq sauce.
- Give it a rest. The ribs are now off the smoker, after smoking at 185f for 3 hours, 225f for 2 hours and 325f for 30 minutes. They deserve a break. Let the ribs sit for 5-10 minutes before cutting into them. Cut in between the rib bones as shown.













Which Ribs?
There are 3 basic cuts of pork ribs, all of them work great for this recipe.
Back ribs or baby back ribs
These ribs come from the highest point on the pig’s back and are generally smaller and leaner than spare ribs. That said, they are my favourite ribs for this recipe.
Side or spare ribs
These ribs are located in the middle section, below the back ribs. They tend to be more affordable and the most popular cut of pork ribs. These ribs have cartilage and gristle on the bottom side of the ribs, for this reason, we prefer back ribs.
St. Louis ribs
These ribs are further prepared side ribs. St Louis ribs are cut into a neat and tidy rectangular shape and the cartilage and gristle is removed.
I have never seen these ribs in the wild frontier that I call the supermarket, and they are definitely a less common cut.

recommended tools
This smoked baby back rib recipe owes itโs glory to the smoker. Hereโs the Traeger we own, love, and use extensively! The Timberline 1300 is the biggest, baddest Traeger we could find, itโs double-walled for better insulation, and has 3 stainless steel racks for all your smoking needs, not to mention WiFire! You can get a Timberline from Home Depot or Williams Sonoma.

Other smoked recipes you’ll love!
๐ Printable Recipe

Smoked Pork Back Ribs
Ingredients
- 2 racks pork back ribs
- ยฝ cup BBQ sauce
bone side:
- 1 tablespoon coarse ground black pepper
- ยฝ tablespoon salt
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- ยฝ cup packed brown sugar
Meat side:
- 1 tablespoon coarse ground black pepper
- ยฝ tablespoon salt
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- โ cup packed brown sugar
Instructions
- Preheat your smoker to 185f.
- With 2 racks pork back ribs meat side down, use a rounded butter knife to work between to ribs to pull up the silver skin membrane. Do this on both sets of ribs.
- Combine 1 tablespoon coarse ground black pepper, ยฝ tablespoon salt, 1 tablespoon garlic powder, and ยฝ cup packed brown sugar, in a medium bowl and sprinkle the spices onto the ribs.
- Flip the ribs and combine 1 tablespoon coarse ground black pepper, ยฝ tablespoon salt, 1 tablespoon garlic powder, 1 tablespoon paprika, and โ cup packed brown sugar, before sprinkling on the meaty side of the ribs.
- Place your ribs on the smoker meat side down and smoke for 3 hours at 185f.
- After 3 hours, flip the ribs meat side up, and increase the temperature to 225f for 1 hour.
- Once the ribs have cooked meat side up at 225f for 1 hour, use about a third of theยฝ cup BBQ sauce to give them a light baste of sauce on the bone side. Cook for another hour at 225f.
- Flip the ribs again, meat side up, and give them a quick baste with sauce on the meat side, then turn up your grill to 325f for 30 minutes.
- Remove the ribs from the smoker, place them meat side up, and allow them to sit for 5-10 minutes before cutting in between the bones and serving.
Notes
Recommended Equipment + Ingredients
Nutrition
Pin this smoked baby back rib recipe for later!

โ Remove the ribs from the smoker, place them face down, and โฆโ
Up to this point youโve made the distinction between meat side up or bones side up. What is โface downโ?
Sorry, Craig! I will certainly correct it for clarity!