Perfect Temp Smoked Baby Back Ribs: A Thermal Exploration

Step 1

Preheat your smoker to 220°-240°F (104°-116°C).

Step 2

Peel the membrane from the back of the rack of ribs. This facilitates bark production on the underside of the ribs, but is ultimately optional. (Or, you can ask your butcher to remove it for you.)

Step 3

Slather the ribs in mustard. (Jeff Phillips says this step is optional…I highly recommend it!)

Step 4

Apply rub generously to the ribs, pressing to help it adhere to the mustard.

Step 5

Place ribs in the smoker. Insert a mini needle-probe into the ribs. Do this between the bones if the ribs have less meat or in the thickest part of the meat if they are very meaty. The needle probe is thin enough to fit into the rib meat without touching bone.

Step 6

Set up your ThermaQ Blue to monitor the temperature.

Step 7

Smoke the ribs for 3 hours for a competition-style finish, 2 hours for fall-off-the-bone ribs.

Step 8

When the time has expired, wrap the ribs well in aluminum foil. The temp should be somewhere near the 170°F mark.

Step 9

Return the baby back ribs to the smoker. Re-insert the probe.

Step 10

Smoke for 1 hour (competition) or 2 hours (fall-off).During this time, see that the ribs reach the target temp of 190°-205°F (88°-96°C). (set the high-temp alarm on the ThermaQ Blue to let you know when you get there.)

Step 11

Remove the ribs-package from heat and unwrap.

Step 12

If you want glazed, sticky ribs, now is the time to brush them with BBQ sauce. If you want to keep them “dry” just go on from here.

Step 13

Put the ribs back in the smoker. Replace the probe.

Step 14

Allow the ribs to cook for 1 final hour. You will see the temp drop during this time, then rise again somewhat.

Step 15

Remove the ribs from heat. Let cool enough to handle.

Step 16

Cut the ribs up and enjoy!