How To Make Smoked Beef Ribs

Learn how to make delicious smoked beef ribs at home with these step-by-step instructions and pictures to guide you through the process. Impress your friends and family with this mouth-watering recipe!

Ingredients Needed:

beef ribs
meat rub

Supplies Needed:

smoker
wood chips
foil

Preparing The BBQ Beef Ribs

I like to prep my ribs the night before I plan on smoking them, so the rub can sit on the ribs overnight. Start by trimming any excess fat and membrane from the ribs for better seasoning penetration.

Then sprinkle your favorite rub onto one side of the beef ribs. I let the rib sit for 10 minutes then flip the ribs over to sprinkle the rub on the other side. The rub recipe I use has paprika, black pepper, salt, garlic powder, brown sugar, chili powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, etc.

Then place the ribs into the refrigerator, I typically have them sitting in the rub overnight.

Preparing The Smoker

Your beef ribs will take about 6 hours total on the smoker. So about one hour before I want to put the ribs on the smoker, I will pull them from the refrigerator to help them come up to room temperature.

Then about 45 minutes before I want to put the ribs on I will start the smoker. You want to preheat to 225 degrees F. I love using hickory wood for my smoker with beef, but you can use whatever type or blend you love.

Smoke (3 Hours Unwrapped)

Place the ribs bone-side down on the smoker grates. Smoke for 3 hours at 225 degrees. If you want, you can spritz your ribs every hour with apple juice or a beef broth, I typically skip this step though.

Wrap (2 Hours Wrapped)

After the ribs have been on the smoker for 3 hours I prep my countertops. I will tear off long strips of heavy-duty aluminum foil.

beef ribs wrapped and ready for 2 hours smoked while wrapped

Pull the ribs off the smoker and place one rack on the aluminum foil or butcher paper. Then slather the ribs, top and bottom, with your favorite BBQ sauce. Add a couple tablespoons of butter, then wrap the ribs tightly in the aluminum foil. Repeat for each rack of ribs.

Return the ribs to the smoker for 2 hours.

Finish (1 Hour Unwrapped)

Unwrap the ribs and return them to the smoker. Be careful as you unwrap as steam will be hot and there will be liquid inside. I usually have a large bowl near me, where I can pour the liquid in and collect my rolled up foil.

Unwrapping beef ribs after 2 hours wrapped

Smoke for 1 hour to set the sauce and firm up the bark. You can check after 30 minutes if your ribs aren’t super meaty.

Rest and Serve

When you pull your ribs from the smoker, let them rest at least 20 minutes before you slice them between the bones.

After cutting, you can slather with more barbecue sauce if you like your ribs saucy or just serve with some BBQ sauce and people can add if they like more.

Why This Recipe Works

The 3-2-1 method is perfect for beef back ribs because it balances smoke, tenderness, and flavor. The initial 3-hour smoke builds a flavorful bark, the 2-hour wrap tenderizes the meat, and the final hour creates a sticky, caramelized finish.