How-To Guide: Grilling Ribs on Charcoal
Grilling ribs on charcoal is a favorite summertime treat. To get tender, juicy, "fall-off-the-bone" BBQ ribs, the barbecue needs to get kept "low and slow". And if you like a smoke flavour, add BBQ wood chips or chunks. It's mostly preparation work to get those perfect ribs.
First, if you're going to use wood chips
Trimming the Ribs
We use back ribs because they're meatier and they cook faster (we're
an impatient bunch!) but you can use side ribs too if you prefer. Set
aside about 5-6 hours for back ribs, or 6-7 hours for side ribs. Prepare
the ribs by taking off the membrane on the bone side of the ribs - just
slip a knife under one end and jiggle it around a bit to loosen it up.
Then take a paper towel, grab the membrane and steadily pull it off.
Once that's done, you'll want to trim the ribs. Remove any loose or hanging
bits, which will only burn if left on. Generously sprinkle the ribs, front and
back, with your favourite dry rub (buy one, or check out our
recipes for BBQ rubs). There's no need to put
the rub on in advance - it's not a marinade - doing it just before you throw
the ribs on the grill is good enough.
Settings up the Grill
Now set up your barbecue for indirect heat. That is, you want to
make sure that the ribs don't sit right on top of the charcoal. Indirect
heat will allow the ribs to cook for a long period with a lesser chance of
burning before they're done. Crank up the heat at first, so that you can
easily scrub the cooking grate clean. Then lightly oil the grate with a
paper towel, holding the paper towel with tongs
If you're using wood chunks or chips, now's the time to throw them on top of the charcoal (or use whatever method recommended by your BBQ manufacturer).
Barbecuing the Ribs
These instructions are for back ribs. If you're using side ribs, add another 1/2 hour or so of cooking time to each step. Cooking time will vary depending on how thick the ribs are. You'll know when they're done because they'll start falling apart!
- Put the ribs bone-side down on the BBQ and close the lid. Keeping the lid down is critical to keep moisture in, let heat circulate to cook the ribs evenly, and to let the smoke from the wood chunks/chips circulate. Flip the ribs about 1.5 to 2 hours later, and again close the lid and let them cook for another 1.5 hours.
- Since we want the ribs to cook for a while longer, but we also don't want them drying out too much, now's the time to wrap them. Take them off the grill and wrap loosely with foil (you can just wrap with regular foil, but heavy-duty, vented grilling foil is awesome for this). Put them back and cover the lid, letting them cook for another 1.5 to 2 hours. Turn them once.
- Now uncover them again and put them back on the grill to finish them off for another hour.
- If you want to use BBQ sauce as well, this is when you'll add it. Put it on in layers so that you get the sauce baked on and loads of flavour. Brush the sauce onto one side, turn the ribs over and brush on more. Repeat several times, depending on how much sauce you like.
- See if it's done. With most meat, we'd recommend using a meat thermometer
to check the temperature and ensure the meat is safely cooked (pork is safe when it's cooked to 160 degrees F). The problem with checking ribs is that the thermometer can't touch bone, and that's tough to do! So with ribs, we pick up the rack by the middle. The two ends should hang down loosely, and better yet, the ribs should start falling apart (this is what we strive for, that perfect 'fall-off-the-bone' done-ness!).
Even though these instructions might seem a little long, grilling ribs on charcoal gets easier and easier the more you do it. It's actually pretty straight-forward and the results are delicious! For people who prefer to baste their meat with BBQ sauce throughout the cooking period, we do have another method of making grilled BBQ ribs. You can also check out more BBQ pork recipes as well as some great side dishes for the BBQ.