Fall Off the Bone Baby Back Ribs

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Kansas City Style - Kansas City style baby back ribs are known for their tangy, sweet, and smoky flavor. They’re typically dry-rubbed with a blend of spices and then smoked low-n-slow until they’re tender. The ribs are then finished off with a thick, rich barbecue sauce, with molasses or brown sugar. The combination of that smoky tenderness and the flavorful sauce is what makes them a classic favorite!

The Goal - Let's be honest, most of us who crave BBQ ribs think about the juicy, tender meat falling off the bone right? So many times, we find ourselves at the mercy of so many variables that could go wrong after putting our hearts into prepping and cooking it. Is it tough and dry so we have to drown it in BBQ sauce to compensate? I have made these failures many times and each time I tried something different until I found the one that works for me, and it has never let me down since. The true secret to smoking outstanding baby back ribs lies more in the temperature than in the rubs or sauces (we will get into that later). We’re going to focus on temperature rather than time, because that’s the key element. Once you taste these ribs, you’ll see exactly why.

The Prep - I usually get my baby back ribs at Sam’s Club. You can’t beat the deal of getting two full racks for around $25 at the time of this writing. Take the ribs out of the packaging and rinse it in cold water. Then dry them with paper towels good. The drier the ribs are, the easier it will be to pull the membrane off the back. You can also use a paper towel to help get a grip. Once dried, flip the ribs on the back side and use a butter knife on one side to lift up the membrane. You may need more paper towels to grab it to get a start since it still might be slippery. Peel it back slowly while moving from side to side so it doesn’t put too much pressure on the whole membrane. This helps peel it off in one shot instead of ripping into pieces. Once the membrane is off, flip the ribs back over and prepare for the rub.

The Lesson Learned - I first started out by following the 3-2-1 method and found myself struggling with perfecting the perfect baby back ribs. 6 hours was just not enough time to break the meat down where they fall off the bone. Let’s be real here, no two meats will be the same. Some meats are tougher, larger, heavier and raised differently from farm to farm. If they are not the same, then why are we following a standardized timed cook? That alone sets you up for failure. Baby back ribs need time to break down, but we cannot put a time on what that happens. I learned to tell my guests that the ribs will be ready when the temperature tells me it’s done. Just to give you a ballpark time on smoking these fall off the bone ribs is more around the 9-hour timeline. I start them in the smoker at 9am and pull them off once the final temperature hits between 200-205 degrees, which is around 6pm or 7pm. So, relax, grab your favorite drink, and let's dive into perfecting those baby back ribs that are sure to impress your guests!

Most recipes will tell you to use mustard or other binders and season both sides of the ribs but I found a better way that works by using olive oil and have been doing this for some time now. Why am I wasting rub on the back side of baby back ribs when there is absolutely no meat there? I know you must have thought that as well. Forget the mustard and save your rub for the top. Spray the top side of the ribs with olive oil and drizzle some honey and give it a good rub so the rub sticks. Then graciously cover the top side of the ribs with your rub. Cover the ribs with wrap and put them in the fridge overnight.

Take out the ribs the next morning and add more rub to the top since most of it would have penetrated into the meat. Wait 30-60 minutes as you get the smoker ready. You will want to use fruit pellets like apple or cherry since it will add that sweet BBQ flavor.

The Cook - This is where the most important step begins to having that fall off the bone you are achieving. Remember how we talked temperature? Well, we are going to sacrifice time for temperature…. all good things come in due time. Set your Traeger or any electric smoker to 180 degrees…yes, 180 degrees for two hours. Your ribs will suck up the smoke much better at a lower temp. Place the ribs meat side up in the smoker and crack open your favorite beverage, you earned it. Spray the ribs with straight apple juice every 60 minutes so we don’t let those bad boys dry out. After 2 hours, bump the temperature to 200 degrees. You are going to leave these ribs on until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees. The total time will vary, but should be around 3 to 4 hours for this step…. but again, this can change. We are relying strictly on the temperature, not the time. Check multiple spots on the ribs with a meat probe for accuracy. If one side of the ribs are 160 and the other side is 155, it’s ok to move to the next step.

To BBQ Sauce or Not? – Ok, this is debatable… I prefer NOT to add any BBQ sauce of any kind for many reasons. I don’t believe in putting A1 sauce or ketchup on a filet mignon. Why ruin the natural flavor of such a prime meat? Same goes for baby back ribs. Once you add BBQ sauce and smoke it, you just committed to the taste. Number one, this recipe is so damn good, the rub alone makes the flavor where you don’t need to hide the true taste by covering it up with sauce. Second, with so many flavors of BBQ sauce out there and different people have different pallets, if they want to spice it up or add a different flavor, they have that option to do so.   

The Wrap - Once temp hits 160 degrees, put the ribs in a large 13x20 aluminum pan and 1 stick of butter cut into ½ inch blocks and place it on top of the ribs, drizzle more honey, brown sugar, you can even add in some maple syrup which will add a nice touch to the taste buds, and ¼ cup of apple juice. DO NOT add BBQ sauce. Wrap it nice and tight to seal it off to keep all the steam inside the pan. This is where the breakdown of the meat happens. Put the pan in the smoker and bump the temperature to 225. Leave the ribs in the pan for about 3 hours before checking the temperature with a probe. When the internal temperature reaches between 200 to 205 degrees, take the pan out of the smoker and let it rest for a minimum of 30 minutes before tearing the seal off. This will give it more time to render in its juices for maximum taste bud explosions. You will not need to put these ribs back on the smoker rack as it will not only have that natural bark already, but it will fall apart on you.  

The Presentation & Taste – You will know right away when you try to pick these ribs up with tongs and put them on a plate. You will see that the bones will pull out and there will be no meat attached to them. I’ll typically offer a variety of barbecue sauce flavors, so guests can choose their preferred taste whether it’s hot and spicy or another flavor they enjoy.

Accomplishment & Joy - What I love most is seeing the joy on my friends and family’s faces when they take their first bite of my baby back ribs. That’s the reason why I created this website and why I chose this recipe as my first post. I want you to feel like you are the BBQ pitmaster amongst your family & friends.  

Kansas City Baby Back Rub

• 3 tablespoons white granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons Kosher salt
• 2 tablespoon course black pepper
• 2 tablespoons paprika
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder