Smoking baby back ribs on a pellet grill

How To Smoke Ribs Using the 321 Method

1. Prepare the ribs
2. 3 Hours of Smoking Unwrapped
3. 2 Hours of Smoking Wrapped
4. 1 Hour of Smoking Sauced Up

Step 1: Preparing The Ribs

For this first step, we’ll need to peel off the underside (or bone side) of the rack of ribs’ membrane.

Then, we use rib rub or BBQ sauce on our baby back ribs.

For this ribs recipe, I highly recommend only using a rib rub during the first step. Apply the rub and let it sit at room temp.

We should wait for at least an hour so that the flavor has time to penetrate into the meat before smoking.

Preheat Your Smoker

During the prep stage, you should set your smoker’s temperature to 225°F, which is the optimal temperature when using the 3-2-1 method.

Type of Wood To Use

I recommend using hickory when smoking ribs. It adds a subtle bacon-y taste but won’t overpower the ribs’ natural flavors either.

Hickory wood comes in logs, chunks, chips, and pellets, so you should be able to find them for any type of smoker.

Read More >> Best Wood for Smoking Ribs

Stripping the Membrane

Here’s an important step to making flavorful ribs.

Before you season the ribs, take a few minutes and pull the membrane (also called silver skin) off the bone side of the ribs.

If you skip this step, smoke cannot penetrate the underneath side of the ribs and you’ll be missing a lot of flavors!

Step 2: 3 Hours of Smoking Unwrapped

Now that your smoker is preheated to 225°F, it’s time to smoke the ribs for three hours directly on the rack bone side down.

We can also put ribs on any grill and add smoke to simulate a smoker if that’s more convenient.

Read More >> How To Use a Smoker Box on a Gas Grill

During this 3 hour smoke, don’t mess with them. Remember the saying:

“If you’re lookin’, you ain’t cookin’.”

Step 3: 2 Hours of Smoking Wrapped

The next two hours are spent tenderizing the meat.

First, we wrap the ribs in aluminum foil to allow the meat to steam while being cooked.

This steam will break down the connective tissues, making the meat tender.

We should also pour about ⅓ cup of apple juice or apple cider vinegar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, and a few tablespoons of butter.

These liquids work great for that tender result you’re looking for (and they’ll taste great).

The brown sugar will add that nice caramelized color and add a touch of sweetness.

Similar to the three hours of smoking, we should keep the temperature at 225°F when cooking for two hours.

Here, you’ll still place these bone side down.

Pro Tip >> If your ribs are cooking in the foil for more than 2 hours, they will become mushy. Make sure to set a timer.

Step 4: 1 Final Hour of Smoking Sauced Up

It’s time to sauce and smoke one final time!

For the last hour of smoking our ribs, we need to continue to cook them at 225°F meat side up after brushing on our preferred BBQ sauce.

Let the steam escape by removing the foil. Now, we’ll be able to see that the meat is beginning to fall off the bone ribs as they become more tender.

This is why we need to be careful when we’re lifting the smoked pork ribs from the foil.

They’re so tender that they may fall apart.

Use a sauce brush to apply the BBQ sauce after placing the pork ribs on the smoker rack. Apply a generous amount of sauce to make it tastier.

Now, we wait for the final hour by the smoker or grill. Get your sides ready because it’s almost chow time! Your BBQ ribs are almost ready.

Read More >> How To Reheat Ribs Without Drying Them Out (5 Easy Steps)

Top 24 smoking baby back ribs on a pellet grill