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Home | Barbeque Ribs on the Charcoal Grill

Barbeque Ribs on the Charcoal Grill

Unless you have a smoker, it can be pretty difficult to make real barbeque at home. But you can come up with something close! While it might not make for prize-winning ‘que, it’s a fun cooking project and the results are really tasty. We’ve tried it with ribs and chicken and both turned out really good! It’s perfect for Labor Day Weekend.

You’ll find a lot of recipes for ribs out there that involve boiling them or roasting them and then finishing them on the grill. This recipe uses the charcoal grill only for minimal mess.

Ingredients & Materials

  • 3–4 lbs pork back ribs or spare ribs
  • Dry rub (use your favorite or our recipe below)
  • Barbeque sauce
  • Heavy duty aluminum foil
  • Wood smoking chips
  • Small aluminum foil pan
Dry rub
  • 2 tablespoons kosher salt
  • 4 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon dry mustard
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

Mix all dry rub ingredients together in a small bowl. Coat ribs thoroughly with dry rub and let sit for one hour or even overnight.

Light a fire in your charcoal grill. Wrap ribs in heavy duty aluminum foil. Seal foil at the top, leaving a small part open to allow smoke to penetrate. Put wood smoking chips in a bowl and soak in water for at least 30 minutes.

When fire is ready, pile charcoal on one side of the grill for indirect heat. Add water to the aluminum foil pan and place next to the charcoal (this creates moisture in the grill). Scatter soaked wood chips on top of the charcoal.

Put ribs on the grill on the opposite side of the grate from the fire. Cover grill with lid and let cook for at least two hours. Check every half hour and add more wood chips or charcoal as necessary. You can let the ribs cook for up to four hours if you have the time—the longer the better.

Remove lid from the grill and ribs from the foil. Place ribs directly over the charcoal to let them get a little more color and smokey flavor. Brush with barbeque sauce if desired.

Remove ribs from grill, slice into sections, and serve with more barbeque sauce.