Easy Pellet Smoker 321 Ribs

Time to break out the bibs cause we’re gonna eat ribs! If you haven’t tried the 321 method for St. Louis cut ribs then check out this easy recipe. The ribs are going to smoke unwrapped for 3 hours, then wrapped for 2, then unwrapped and sauced for 1 hour. You will need about 30 minutes or less prep time so in total this is a long weekend cook. So grab some beer and buy the listed ingredients, and follow the directions for some delicious ribs.

Ingredients

• 1 rack st. Louis cut ribs
• 2 tbsp yellow mustard
• 3 tbsp BBQ rub
• 1/2 cup BBQ sauce
• 1/2 stick butter
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp tiger sauce

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Directions

First, get your smoker started at 235 F with cherry and hickory wood pellets. If you have a smoke tube, get that lighted as well with cherry and hickory pellets.


To prep the ribs, first lay them meat side down and use a boning knife to trim off any extra fat. If there are any fractional bones at the ends, trim them off as well. Next use a butter knife to work it under the membrane and then use a paper towel to grip it and pull off the membrane.


Spread some yellow mustard everywhere to act as a binder for keeping the BBQ rub on the ribs. You won’t taste the mustard so don’t worry about that. Next put down a first layer of a salt pepper garlic based rub such as Killer Hogs AP rub. Next add a rub that has paprika and brown sugar such as Meat Church Holy Voodoo.


Flip the ribs over and check the meat side for excessive fat to trim off. Next repeat the mustard and rub application steps on the meat side.


When the smoker reaches temperature place the ribs in the smoker and push the ends towards each other to compact the ribs as much as possible. Smoke the ribs for one hour, then spritz them with apple juice, cider or apple cider vinegar to keep them moist. You can add other flavors to your spritz but you probably won’t taste it. Continue to cook for one more hour and repeat the spritz step. Continue to cook for one more hour and on this third hour, it’s time to wrap the ribs.


Pull 2 sheets of heavy duty aluminum foil. Place slices of butter on the center of the foil. Add some honey, brown sugar, and splash on some Tiger Sauce. Place the ribs meat side down onto this mixture. Add some butter, dry rub, and Tiger Sauce to the bone side of the ribs. Wrap them tightly in the first sheet of foil, then wrap them again in the second sheet. Place the ribs meat side down in the smoker and continue to cook them for two more hours.


After two hours, pull the ribs and unwrap them. Place them back on the smoker meat side up. Glaze them down with your favorite BBQ sauce and let them cook for 1 more hour until they reach 195 F. You may need to increase the smoker temp a little bit to 250 F to get this done within an hour. When you pull the ribs, let them rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

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