Quick Look at the Best Grilled Ribs Recipe
- Ready In: 2 hours
- Serves: 8
- Main Ingredients: baby back ribs, pork rib dry rub, barbecue sauce, and an optional rib marinade for grilling.
- Dietary Info: dairy-free & gluten-free
- Best For: 4th of July, Father’s Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, cookouts, and serving a crowd!
- Why You’ll Love It: In the summertime, most of our meals happen on our Weber gas grill! Cooking outside gives you that slight charring on the outside of your food and has minimal clean-up. This grilled ribs guide will walk you through how to grill ribs on a gas grill, step-by-step, including tips for moisture, dry rubs, marinades, and sauce options.
Share and summarize this recipe:
Key Ingredients + Substitutions
Be sure to see the recipe card below for a full listing of ingredients, instructions, and estimated nutritional information.
- Baby Back Ribs: our go-to cut of pork ribs that we are always able to find at our local grocery store or butcher shop.
- Rib Marinade: this is an optional step but I cannot recommend my easy rib marinade recipe enough! It adds so much flavor and moisture for the best results!
- Rib Rub: it only takes about 5 minutes and 6 pantry seasonings to make this homemade rib rub for the BEST flavor.
- BBQ Sauce: everything is always better with a little sauce to prevent any dryness, whether it is homemade barbecue sauce or your favorite store-bought sauce.
How To Grill Ribs
Step 1 – Pat the ribs dry and gently pull off the membrane on the bottom of the ribs.
Step 2 – Mix up the marinade and pour over the ribs. Let sit for at least 30 minutes.
Why Remove The Membrane?
For best results, remove the rib membrane. This will help the marinade and dry rub penetrate the rib meat easier and, once cooked, they will more easily fall off the bone!
Step 3 – Remove the ribs from the marinade, mix up the dry rub, and coat the ribs in that rub.
Step 4 – Place ribs on HOT grill grates in the center of the grill, turn off the middle burner, and cook for 30 minutes.
Step 5 – Flip ribs and continue cooking until the internal temperature reaches 190-203 degrees F.
Step 6 – During the last 5 minutes of cooking, brush on the bbq sauce.
Step 7 – Take ribs off the grill, cover in foil, and rest for 30-60 minutes.
What To Serve With Grilled Ribs
There are so many different side dish recipes that would be great with these juicy ribs! A few of our favorites are:
- Traditional BBQ: slow cooker baked beans, cornbread muffins, & purple cabbage coleslaw.
- Side Salads: creamy cucumber salad or Mexican street corn salad.
- Grilled Vegetables: keep the grill going and make easy grilled asparagus or the best grilled sweet corn.
Grilled Ribs FAQs
Yes, grilled ribs can sit in the marinade overnight and then mix the dry rub to use the next day. Or season with the dry rub, wrap in plastic wrap and then let them sit in the fridge until ready to grill.
No, all of the cooking can be done on the grill.
It is best to preheat the grill to a high heat so the grates are nice and hot, giving you beautiful char marks. Then turn off the middle burner and cook the ribs over indirect heat.
These ribs took just over an hour to reach 200 degrees F. The cook time will depend on how thick the ribs are, the temperature outside, etc. Just keep a close eye on that internal temperature.
Tracking the internal temperature of the meat is the most accurate way. Use a meat thermometer and pull them off the grill when they reach 190-203 degrees F.
Yes, ribs can easily be cooked in the oven instead of on a grill. Use the same marinade and dry rub, then follow our simple instructions on how to make ribs in the oven.
Made this recipe and loved it?!
We would love it if you would take a minute and leave a star rating and review โ it is also helpful if you made any substitutions or changes to the recipe to share that as well. THANK YOU!
Follow Us on Social
Ingredients
Marinade (optional):
- โ cup soy sauce
- ยผ cup extra virgin olive oil, or avocado oil
- ยผ cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- pinch kosher salt & ground black pepper
Grilled Ribs:
- 2 racks baby back ribs, about 3-4 pounds each
- 2 ยฝ tablespoons smoked paprika
- 2 ยฝ tablespoons lemon pepper
- 1 ยผ tablespoons kosher salt, more if desired
- 1 tablespoon smoked garlic powder
- ยฝ tablespoon onion powder
- ยฝ tablespoon ground black pepper
- ยฝ teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional
- 1 cup bbq sauce, homemade bbq sauce or store-bought
Instructions
- Make Marinade: Combine Marinade ingredients in a medium bowl. Whisk to combine. Set aside.ย
- Prep Ribs + Marinate: Pat 2 racks baby back ribs dry with clean paper towel. Place ribs, meat side down, on a baking sheet. Using a small knife, gently lift off the corner of the membrane (the layer of thin connective tissue) and gently pull to remove. Place in 9×13 pan and pour marinade over top – rub marinade all over ensuring it covers every nook and cranny. Cover and let marinate 30-60 minutes.
- Prep Grill: Ensure grill grates are clean and well-greased. Preheat grill temperature to 500โ.ย
- Make Dry Rub: In a small bowl, combine 2 ยฝ tablespoons smoked paprika, 2 ยฝ tablespoons lemon pepper, 1 ยผ tablespoons kosher salt, 1 tablespoon smoked garlic powder, ยฝ tablespoon onion powder, ยฝ tablespoon ground black pepper and ยฝ teaspoon cayenne pepper (if using).
- Season Ribs: Remove ribs from the marinade and let the excess marinade drip off. Place on a baking sheet and cover ribs in the dry rub ensuring every nook and cranny is covered.ย
- Grill Ribs: Place both racks of ribs meat-side down over the middle burner. Drop heat down to 300โ. (I usually turn off the middle burner and leave the outer two on and as low as they can go).ย Let ribs cook for 30 minutes then flip.ย Continue cooking until the internal temperature reaches between 190-203โ (use a meat thermometer). (190โ will be more firm and at 203โ the meat will fall off the bone easier).ย
- BBQ Sauce: When ribs are about 5 degrees away from being done, brush the tops with a generous amount of your favorite bbq sauce and close the lid until they are done cooking.ย
- Rest Ribs: Remove from grill and place on a baking sheet. Cover with foil and let sit 30-60 minutes.
- Serve: Uncover the foil and serve!ย
Notes
- Marinade: the marinade is optional but definitely adds some amazing extra flavor to take these ribs to the next level!ย
- Kosher Salt: be sure to use kosher salt and NOT table salt – that amount of table salt will be too much.
- Cook Time: during testing it took a little over an hour to reach 200 degrees F. There are lots of variables that go into total grill time such as thickness of ribs, outdoor temp, etc. Keep a close eye on the internal temperature with a meat thermometer to determine when your ribs are done.ย
- BBQ Sauce: you don’t have to add bbq sauce, but we highly recommend!
- Storage: store leftover ribs in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.ย
Cindy Ostrander says
Can you marinate overnight?
Erin says
Yes, you could definitely marinate this one overnight!
Marissa says
Do you leave the grill open in the first half of cooking?
Erin says
Nope! Grill is closed the entire time!
Jon says
Love the recipe and planing on using them for the 4th the July
Nancy says
I didn’t do the optional marinade and they still turned out great. I’ll try the marinade next time to see if it gets even better.
Bridget says
Delicious – our whole family loved them!!
Erin says
yay!!!
EH says
Turned out perfect!