Similar to a hamburger or steak, pork ribs will become chewy, dry, and possibly foul if they are not processed and smoked properly. However, unlike steak, ribs will take more time and meticulous work. If your home has a smoker, do you know “how do you cook ribs in a pellet smoker?”.
Do not worry, and let us help you! Our article will guide you on cooking the best ribs according to recipe 3-2-1 in a pellet smoker.
Check it out now!
How Do You Cook Ribs In A Pellet Smoker?
Ingredients
- Pork Ribs: 2-3 racks
- Yellow mustard: ½ cup
- Traeger rubs: ½ cup
- Honey or Maple syrup: ¼ cup
- Apple juice: 1 cup
- Traeger-Que Sauce or different sauces: ¾ cup
Preliminary Preparations
First, you rinse and remove the rib’s membranes before smoking because these membranes will turn papery during cooking and are difficult to eat. You may use a tiny knife or ask the butcher to take them out for you.
The next step is to season the ribs; you sweep the mustard, and Traeger rubs on the rib’s sides and let the spices absorb for a while.
Speaking of the sauce, because there are so many sauces on the market and each has a different taste, you can choose which sauce you like. In our article, we use Traeger-Que – a combination of a sour taste of vinegar and a sweet taste of molasses.
The 3-2-1 Method
Period Of One Hour
The first step is to set up your smoker temperature of 180 degrees to 200 degrees and wait until the grill is hot.
Then, smoke your ribs for three hours and make sure that the temperature inside the ribs is around 130 degrees after completing this stage.
After the first three hours, you take the ribs out of the smoker and get ready for the next phase.
Period Of Two Hours
After taking the ribs out of the smoker, you set the temperature to 225 degrees and lay a double layer of aluminum foil on each rack. Next, place the ribs on the aluminum foil and sweep 1/8 of a cup of honey or maple syrup over each side of the ribs.
Now, you add the apple juice and fold up the aluminum foil’s sides to prevent the liquid from spilling out. Then, coat the racks with apple juice again, and cover them with another foil so that the foil completely covers the rack.
Last, place the ribs back on the smoker, cook for two hours, and make sure that the temperature inside the ribs is around 165 degrees after completing this step.
Last 1 hour
After cooking for two hours, each rack is removed from the aluminum foil and disposed of the liquid.
The next step is to brush the ribs with the sauce you like, place them back in the pellet smoker and continue to cook for about one hour until the temperature inside the ribs is about 180 to 200 degrees.
You can adjust the temperature to 250 degrees if you do not feel the ribs’ temperature is enough.
Time remaining
After cooking the ribs for six hours, you take the racks out of the smoker and let them cool for about 15-20 minutes, and you can prepare side dishes at this time like salad, cornbread, or crispy onion.
Everything is ready; let’s enjoy the meal together!
Tips For Cooking Ribs In A Pellet Smoker
- You can change the sauce to suit your taste, and use cornflakes, coleslaw, extra crispy, or potato salad to serve with your smoked ribs. These recipes are very simple to make, and you can refer to them in our upcoming posts.
- Before smoking, you can spread seasoning on the rib racks and leave them for 1-2 days for the best flavor.
- You can use whatever model or brand of smoker you have, as long as you can maintain and control the cooking temperature.
- In case you do not have a smoker, you can smoke your ribs in the oven. Just follow the same instructions as cooking in a pellet smoker – then place your ribs in the oven and adjust the temperature to about 300 degrees.
Conclusion
We believe our article “How do you cook ribs in a pellet smoker” will help you have soft, moist, naturally sweet, and deeply flavored ribs.
Let’s try this smoked pork if you are searching for a new taste from familiar ingredients like pork ribs. Hopefully, with this wonderful dish, you and your family will have comfortable and fun moments together.
Good appetite to you and your loved ones!
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