Hot and Fast Smoked Pork Ribs (2024)

January 20, 2017
Keegan
16 Comments

If you are reading this, you probably love smoking ribs, right? So do I! However, I do not always have a lot of time on my hands, and often I am trying to fit too much into a weekend. These hot and fast smoked pork ribs, smoked and braised in butter and bbq sauce, will allow you to fit some great tasting ribs into a tight window on a Saturday or Sunday. You can put these pork ribs on the smoker at 3:00 and serve them at 6:30 with out compromising taste or tenderness. Easy, fast, and delicious…. lets get cracking!

If you prefer watching a video, showing the whole process, check out my video below. It shows how to prep the ribs, proper amount of seasoning, etc….

Basic Process for Hot & Fast Pork Ribs

Pick out a great looking rack of St. Louis or Baby Back Ribs. I prefer St. Louis as they cook more evenly.
Start the smoker, ramping up to a set temperature of 325 F. I use a Flame Boss setup on my Big Green Egg to hold temperature right where I want it. Check out my flame boss review here.
Rinse, Dry, and Trim the Ribs. Do not remove the silver skin on the bone side.
Season with an easy 6 ingredient Rub.
Smoke unwrapped for 2.5 hours. Spritz with apple cider vinegar and water solution at the 1 hour mark, and then every 30 minutes.
Spread the butter and bbq sauce mixture on both sides of the ribs, and then wrap tightly in foil, meaty side down. Place on smoker for 45 minutes.
Remove and let the ribs rest in the foil for 15-30 minutes. Slice and serve!

Want more Amazing BBQ Rubs that will take your Backyard BBQ to the Next Level? Download my favorite Everyday BBQ Rub Recipes below….

Download my Free Everyday BBQ Rub Recipe E-book

I really think you will love these ribs, especially considering how fastyou can make them. If you have any questions, leave me a comment or shoot me an email.

4.75 from 4 votes

Hot and Fast Smoked Pork Ribs

Smoke St. Louis Spare Ribs or Baby Back Ribs in only 3.5 Hours from start to finish!

Course Dinner

Cuisine BBQ, Grilling, smoking

Ingredients

2 Racks Pork Ribs St. Louis Spare Ribs or Baby Back Ribs

BBQ Rub

1 Tablespoon Ground Black Pepper
1 Tablespoon Sea Salt
1 Tablespoon Celery Salt
1 Tablespoon Ground Ancho Chile
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder

BBQ Sauce & Butter Glaze

1 stick Unsalted Butter
1 cup BBQ Sauce Sweet, spicy... whatever you prefer

Rib Spritz / Mop

1/2 Cup Apple Cider Vineger
1.5 Cup Water

Instructions

Pick out a great looking rack of St. Louis or Baby Back Ribs. I prefer St. Louis as they cook more evenly. Usually in the 3-4 lb range. Avoid previously frozen ribs or prepackaged ribs.
Start the smoker, ramping up to a set temperature of 325 F.
Rinse, Dry, and Trim the Ribs. Do not remove the silver skin on the bone side.
Season both sides of ribs with the Rib Rub. Use approximately 1.5 - 2 Tablespoons per rack of ribs.
Mix water and apple cider vinegar together in food safe spray bottle
Melt butter and mix in bbq sauce to create the rib glaze to apply prior to wrapping in foil. Reheat if needed before spreading on ribs.
Smoke unwrapped for 2.5 hours. Spritz with apple cider vinegar and water solution at the 1 hour mark, and then every 30 minutes. Turn the Ribs twice during the process to allow even cooking.
Spread the butter and bbq sauce mixture on both sides of the ribs. Use about 3 Tablespoons on each side of ribs. Wrap tightly in foil, meaty side down. Place on smoker for 45 minutes.
Remove and let the ribs rest in the foil for 15-30 minutes. Slice and serve!

Recipe Notes

Cooking time does vary some with the type of smoker and the size of the ribs. I typically use a big green egg for this recipe, monitoring the temperature at the same grate level of the ribs.

Want more Amazing BBQ Rubs that will take your Backyard BBQ to the Next Level? Download my favorite Everyday BBQ Rub Recipes below….

Download my Free Everyday BBQ Rub Recipe E-book

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Michael

January 3, 2020

Gonna try it tomorrow … but I was curious about your BGE setup where you could pull the smoke plate off with the grill rack so you could add wood chunks during cook. Where do you get that? Never have seen that.

Reply
1. Keegan
  See Also
  The Secret to Perfectly Tender Barbecue Pork Ribs
  
  January 3, 2020
  Hi there! So, the setup I use is sold at the ceramic grill store online. This is the one I use, but they have a bunch of options…. https://ceramicgrillstore.com/collections/big-green-egg-large-accessories-by-ceramic-grill-store/products/large-adjustable-rig-r-and-b-combo-bge
  
  Reply
Jackie K

February 3, 2020
Curious why you leave the silver skin on?

Reply
1. Keegan
  
  February 3, 2020
  For these hotter cooks, I think it actually helps retain moisture and the membrane pretty much goes away. You can try it either way and I think you will be fine. This topic is always a personal choice… one that people sometimes feel strongly about. I do not notice a big difference.
  
  Reply
Paul

May 4, 2020

I just tried this recipe yesterday after usually going low and slow. But I had missed the window to start in the late morning.
Applewood gave the ribs a nice sweet smoky layer to go with the spritzing. I kept temps at 325-350 and the 3 racks were so in 3 hours.
This really turned out nicely. The family was going for seconds which is the best sign of a good result.
Thanks for sharing!

Reply
1. Keegan
  
  May 4, 2020
  Hi Paul…. thanks for letting me know how they turned out… I’m glad the ribs turned out tasty! Its always fun to hear that!
  
  Reply
Daywalker

May 24, 2020

I typically use the low and slow method for ribs but, to hell with that; who has all that time with hungry kids running around, never ending chores to do, etc? I grilled a couple baby backs this way a week ago and they turned out excellent; even better than the low and slow method. Leaving the membrane on goes against everything we’re taught so I was skeptical about that. However, the ribs definitely turned out better because of that. They retained more moisture and the parts of the membrane that didn’t disappear entirely was turned into a thin flaky layer, sort of like seared fat on a steak but much thinner, which was truly awesome. I will rarely, if at all, ever go back to the low and slow method for ribs. This tasted so good that I’m pulling my GMG Jim Bowie grill out today and grilling four more slabs this same way again today (plus it’s Memorial weekend). Thanks for the recipe.

Reply
1. Keegan
  
  May 24, 2020
  Thanks for the comment! I am glad the ribs turned out great! Have a great long weekend… Keegan
  
  Reply
Brian

October 16, 2020
I’ve been using your smoked butt recipe for the BGE and love it. Wanted to try your ribs recipe next. For the BGE, do you need to use the indirect convector? I know for the butt, it dripped into the drip pan of beer. What about for ribs? Thanks! (and, I’m a cookie so I apologize if this question is dumb lol)

Reply
1. Keegan
  
  October 16, 2020
  Hi Brian, I would definitely have the Egg setup with the deflector installed for indirect cooking. I would also generally get in the habit of having a drip pan below the meat, in this case and pretty much any smoking session you setup. It never hurts in my opinion. I think it matters less with short cooks like this, but would still use it. Thanks for checking out the site! -Keegan
  
  Reply
Hannah J Parrish

January 10, 2021

Whenever I want to thaw meat, I always use cold tap water. Cover it, change the water every 30 minutes until thawed. I thawed some bacon yesterday, and it only took about 20 minutes in the water. I would imagine that ribs would only be 30-45 minutes… if they’re not completely thawed by then, they’d be pretty darn close and you could toss them on the egg.

Reply
Harold Goodman

July 26, 2021
Most excellent video and advice!! Got babybacks on right now!!!www

Reply
Geoff Green

August 6, 2023
I have always been told to remove the silver skin as leaving it on results in an undesirable texture when eating. I’m curious as to why you recommend to leave it on?

Reply
1. Keegan
  
  August 6, 2023
  I have gone back and forth on this, but when I go hot and fast, I like to leave the membrane. It mostly disappears during the cook, I think it holds in a little moisture during the cook as well. But… with all things…. you should try it both ways to see what you think. -Keegan
  
  Reply
James blake

October 28, 2023
Ive this a couple of times and and they turn out good but a little crisp on the bottoms. Any guess what I’m doing wrong?

Reply
1. Keegan
  
  October 28, 2023
  Are you using a green egg with a water pan below the ribs, or what is your setup? You could try flipping the ribs more frequently during smoking and spritzing more often. That would be my first suggestion for an experiment. I have also found the green eggs to be pretty sensitive to the type of heat deflector you are using. For example, the adjustable rig I use from ceramicgrillstore.com does behave differently than standard green egg heat deflector. So… you could try doing the same process you are doing, except dial the temperature down 25° or so.
  
  Reply