Dry Rub Grilled Baby Back Ribs

3 half racks of grilled baby back ribs on a white platter

5 from 166 votes

Dry Rub Grilled Baby Back Ribs

For years I thought Grilled Baby Back Ribs were difficult to make. As it turns out they couldn't be easier to make. Using a dry rub adds a lot of flavor and can be adjusted to the seasonings you enjoy. Add in your favorite barbecue sauce and you've got ribs better and less expensive than ordering out.

Prep Time20

Cook Time2 45

Resting Time2

Total Time5 5

Course: Entree

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 819kcal

Equipment

Barbecue Grill

Ingredients

2 racks baby back ribs **1½ - 2½ pounds per rack
1 cup barbecue sauce your favorite brand

Dry Rub

⅓ cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon sea salt
2 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon oregano

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Dry Rub

Mix all the seasonings together in a small bow. Use a fork to beak up any lumps.

Baby Back Ribs

Coat both sides of the racks with the dry rub. Rub the seasonings into the meat.
Cut 8 sections of foil approximately 15 inches by 18 inches. (or if you’re using the 12-inch roll of foil, make the sections 12 inches by 15 inches)
Wrap each section in one piece of foil, tucking the end pieces in to make a package.
Repeat this process with another piece of foil for each half rack. Place the rack in the opposite direction so the seams aren't running the same way.
Place the dry-rubbed ribs in the refrigerator for two hours to allow the dry rub to penetrate into the meat.
Preheat your grill to 350 degrees F. Set up the grill for indirect heat, leaving one area unlit.
Place the ribs on the unlit section of the grill. This will allow the ribs to cook slowly using indirect heat. Close the grill and leave the ribs alone for 1 hour. At this point rotate the foil packages switching the ribs in the front with the ribs in the back of the grill. Close the grill and allow the ribs to finish cooking until an internal temperature of 180-190 degrees is reached.
Carefully unwrap the ribs. Coat them with your favorite barbecue sauce and place them back over direct heat on clean and oil-coated grill racks to finish the grilling process. Flip the ribs once to finish caramelizing the barbecue sauce on both sides. This will only take a few minutes.
*If there is any juice in the foil packets, add it to your barbecue sauce before coating the ribs.
Serve the ribs with your favorite sides and enjoy!

Notes

The ribs I purchased already had the membrane removed from the back of the racks so I didn't have to do this before coating with my dry rub. It's important to remove this part of the ribs before cooking.

At one end of the rack, slide a dinner knife under the membrane and over a bone.
Lift and loosen the membrane until it tears.
Grab the edge of the membrane with a paper towel and pull it off.
The membrane may come off in one whole piece, or you may need to remove it in smaller pieces.

If you have trouble regulating the temperature of the grill, you may have to adjust your cooking time. A 400 degree grill will only take 2 hours, and a 300 degree grill will take an extra 30 minutes to cook. So keep an eye on the grill temperature!

Rotate the foil packages halfway through the process, switching the ribs in the front with the ribs in the back. Don't open the grill often to check on things, trust in the process.

The ribs will be fall-apart tender at this point so make sure to either oil the grill or use grill pan spray before placing the sauced ribs back on the grill to brown and get those lovely grill marks.

Nutrition