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Beef Back Ribs Recipe

Kansas City Style Smoked Beef Ribs

Tender and meaty Beef Back Ribs smoked using the 3-2-1 method and finished with a sweet and tangy Kansas City Style BBQ Sauce.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 6 hours
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Servings 4 people

Ingredients
  

Kansas City Style BBQ Sauce

  • 1 tbsp of olive oil
  • 5 cloves of garlic minced
  • 2 cups ketchup
  • 156 ml tomato paste 1 small can
  • ½ cup apple cider vinegar
  • ½ cup molasses
  • 1 tbsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • ½ tbsp kosher salt
  • 2 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp ground mustard powder
  • ½ tsp red chili pepper flakes (add more to increase heat if desired)

Dry Rub

  • 3 tbsp paprika
  • 2 1/2 tbsp dark brown sugar
  • ½ tbsp ground black pepper
  • 1 tbsp kosher salt
  • 1 tbsp garlic powder
  • 1 tbsp onion powder
  • 1 tbsp chili powder
  • 2 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 tsp dried ground cumin
  • ½ tsp cayenne pepper

Spritz (or use your preferred spritzing liquid)

  • 1 cup apple juice
  • 1 cup apple cider vinegar

Meat

  • 2 whole beef back ribs
  • Olive oil

Instructions
 

  • Make the Kansas City Style BBQ Sauce: Preheat a medium sized sauce pan over medium heat. Add the olive oil and garlic. Cook until fragrant and translucent, about 1 minute. Add the remaining BBQ sauce ingredients to the sauce pan and whisk to combine. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then reduce the heat to low to simmer for 20 minutes. Store in the fridge in an air-tight container until ready to use.
  • Make the dry rub: Combine the paprika, brown sugar, black pepper, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, oregano, ground cumin, and cayenne pepper in a small bowl. Store in an air-tight container until ready to use.
  • Prepare the Spritz: Combine the apple juice and apple cider vinegar in a food safe spray bottle (or use your preferred spritz).

Smoke the Ribs

  • Preheat the smoker: Preheat the smoker to 225˚F.
  • Season the beef ribs: Remove the ribs form the fridge at least one hour before cooking. Pat the ribs dry with paper towel. Brush with olive oil. Generously season all sides of the beef ribs with the dry rub. Any remaining dry rub can be stored in an air-tight container.
  • 3 Hour Smoke: Place the ribs, bone side down in the smoker. Close the lid and smoke for 3 hours. Spritz the ribs every 45 – 60 minutes.
  • 2 Hour Wrapped Smoke: Wrap the ribs separately, in a double layer of heavy-duty aluminium foil with the bone-side up (so they don’t pierce the foil). Pour some of the spritzing liquid into each foil packet before closing (about ½ cup each). Tightly crimp the edges of the foil together to seal the package. Return to the smoker for another 2 hours.
  • 1 Hour Smoke with Sauce: Remove the ribs from the foil. Discard the foil and excess liquid. Place the ribs back into the smoker, bone side down. Brush both sides generously with the BBQ sauce. Close the lid and smoke for an additional hour until they are done to your desired tenderness and the sauce is sticky and set. The best way to tell when your ribs are done is by checking the resistance when you insert a probe thermometer. The probe should glide in like it would with soft butter.

Notes

The Kansas City Style BBQ Sauce and dry rub can be made several days in advance.
 
Keyword beef back ribs, beef ribs, smoked ribs