Look no further for the perfect Baby Back Ribs Recipe. These ribs are seasoned with my best-selling rubs, wrapped in a brilliant butter bath, and sauced with my award-winning sauces. If you like ribs with an attractive, full-bodied flavor profile, you’ll be obsessed with this variation!
These ribs are a perfect compromise between ribs that smoke all day and those cooked hot and fast. They come together easily on the Outlaw Smoker and give you a chance to hone your pitmaster skills. Serve them at your next family holiday, tailgating party, or game day. I know they’ll be a hit!
My mouth-watering Baby Back Ribs Recipe comes together in about 5 hours. Start them in the morning, so you have plenty of time to rest before dinner. I love cooking ribs in all styles, but this is one of my all-time favorite recipes. I’m sure it’ll make the cut at your house, too!
The Ingredients
These Baby Back Ribs come together with just a few simple ingredients. You’ll have leftover seasoning, so save it for the next excellent cook. Here’s what you need to add to your shopping cart.
- Cheshire Pork Baby Back Ribs. I love everything I get from Cheshire Pork. The ribs come with the membrane already stripped! If you don’t want to mess with a lot of trim work, try Cheshire Pork. Everything I make from them turns out amazing.
- Yellow mustard. Mustard is one of my favorite binders. It adds twang to the meat and helps the spices stick. Use smooth mustard like French’s for the best result.
- Apple juice. Apple juice and pork go together like peanut butter and jelly. I use apple juice to spritz the ribs and in my Heath Riles BBQ Butter Bath & Wrap.
- Heath Riles BBQ Everyday Rub. Throw away the salt and pepper; there’s a new boss in town! This rub is fabulous on veggies, fries, meat, and in soups. Once you try it, you’ll never be without it.
- Heath Riles BBQ Honey Chipotle Rub. This tasty rub adds the perfect infusion of smoky sweetness to pork, fish, and chicken. Everyone’s talking about this ingredient. Try it, and you’ll see why!
- Heath Riles BBQ Pecan Rub. My best-selling rub features nutty notes but no nuts. It’s an allergen-friendly treat any pitmaster can enjoy. This rub adds a savory-sweet finish to fish, beef, and ribs.
- Heath Riles BBQ Peach Rub. Unlike most fruit-infused rubs, my version has a little spice on the back end. I love adding a hint of Georgia peach to any meat or side dish. It always reminds me of blue skies and sunshine.
- Heath Riles BBQ Butter Bath & Wrap. This fantastic butter bath contains brown sugar, honey, dehydrated butter, garlic, and sriracha notes. It keeps meat fall off the bone tender. Mix it with apple juice or water, the choice is yours.
- Heath Riles BBQ Sweet BBQ Sauce. Good things take time, including this delicious BBQ sauce that took me ten years to develop. It features a ketchup base, brown sugar, mustard, and onions. It’s incredibly delicious in baked beans.
- Heath Riles BBQ Tangy Vinegar BBQ Sauce. I created this vinegar sauce because I wanted a tangy sauce with a sweet note. If you're feeling adventurous, you can use this BBQ sauce as a salad dressing.
The Smoker Setup
Here’s the leading equipment I used for these Baby Back Ribs. You can find more of my grilling favorites in the Equipment and Tools section.
- Smoker. I cooked these ribs over the Outlaw Smoker. This is one of my favorite setups because it’s durable, high-quality, and easy to use. If you’re in the market for an excellent stick burner, check out the Outlaw.
- Charcoal. I stoked the Outlaw with Royal Oak Charcoal . I love using Royal Oak Charcoal because they’re high-quality, and their ingredients list passes the test.
The Process for Making Baby Back Ribs
You can find a detailed demonstration of this recipe in the video and recipe card. Here’s a quick rundown of how I pulled these ribs together.
- Fire up the Outlaw Smoker. I stoked the Outlaw Smoker with Traeger Pecan Hardwood Pellets and Royal Oak Charcoal , then fired it up to a range of 275℉-300℉.
- Prep the ribs. I removed the ribs from the packaging and trimmed the meat flaps off the end. My ribs came with no membrane, or I would have stripped that at this point too. The goal was to make the ribs even so no part cooks faster than the other.
- Add binder and seasoning. Once I trimmed the ribs to my liking, I drizzled them with a layer of French’s mustard. Then, I laid down a good sprinkle of Heath Riles BBQ Everyday Rub, followed by Heath Riles BBQ Honey Chipotle Rub. To finish seasoning, I added Heath Riles BBQ Pecan Rub and Heath Riles BBQ Peach Rub. I let the ribs sweat in for five minutes, then repeated the seasoning process on the other side.
- Start cooking. I laid the ribs directly on the Outlaw Smoker’s grate and let them go for about 2 hours, spritzing them with apple juice every 45 minutes. This step is optional, but it does keep the meat moist and gives it great flavor.
- Wrap the ribs. Once the ribs hit 160℉, I took them off the pit and placed them on a foiled-lined baking pan. I mixed 1 package of Heath Riles BBQ Butter Bath & Wrap with 5 ½ cups of apple juice until smooth. Then, I laid down a bit of Heath Riles BBQ Honey Chipotle Rub on the foil then added the ribs. I seasoned the ribs with more Honey Chipotle Rub and poured ¾ cup of this mixture over EACH slab of ribs. I quickly wrapped the ribs to keep the juices inside the foil.
- Finish cooking and rest. I put the ribs back on the Outlaw Smoker and let them go for another hour until they reached 203℉-207℉ internally. Once the ribs reached temp, I took them off the pit and let them rest for 30 minutes.
- Sauce the ribs. To make my sauce, I combined 2 parts Heath Riles BBQ Sweet BBQ Sauce and 1 part Heath Riles BBQ Tangy Vinegar BBQ Sauce until smooth. I unfolded the ribs and discarded the liquid before drizzling sauce over each meat side. I finished saucing by applying a little more Heath Riles BBQ Peach Rub to the top of each slab.
- Set and serve. I transferred the ribs to a wire cooling rack and set them back on the pit for 20 minutes to tack up. I let the ribs cool for a few minutes before digging in!
The Results
The ribs came off the pit smelling delicious. Layering the rubs gave these Baby Back Ribs the perfect flavor profile: sweet, zesty, and a little fruity. The natural flavor of the pork shone through and was complemented by my sauce.
Serving Suggestions for Baby Back Ribs
Ribs are always great on their own, but if you want to create a full spread, serve them with one of my favorite side dishes.
- Smoked Brisket Baked Beans. This side dish cooks right on the Outlaw Smoker! Baked beans are a classic side dish that everyone enjoys. This gourmet version includes hearty brisket and is way better than anything from a can.
- Mississippi Coleslaw. You can’t go wrong with a bowl of cool coleslaw! This coleslaw features a white BBQ sauce that’s to die for. This side dish is one of my most popular recipes. Make it ahead of time for easy meal prep.
Storing Leftover Baby Back Ribs
You can store any leftovers for up to 4 days in the fridge or up to 4 months in the freezer. To reheat, thaw in the refrigerator, then cook until warmed through.
Equipment and Tools
Outlaw Smoker, Royal Oak Charcoal , disposable cutting board, clear spray bottle, aluminum foil, Victorinox Fribrox Boning Knife, Heath Riles BBQ Mixing Shaker Bottler, Nechtik BBQ Gloves. wire cooling racks, ThermoWorks Thermapen ONE, YETI Tundra Haul Wheeled Cooler, ThermoWorks hi-temp silicone brush.
