Dad's Weber Kettle Ribs are some of the best ribs he has ever made and they are actually really easy to make.
If you don't have a grill you can even make them in your oven!
This Page Contains Affiliate Links. For more Info See My Disclosures here.
Prep the ribs
Prepping baby back ribs is actually really easy. All you need to do is remove the silver skin on the back and then season them.
To remove the silver skin cut up a corner with a sharp knife and get a paper towel. Grab the skin with the towel and rip.
It takes some practice but once you get the hang of it it is pretty easy.
Dad seasons his ribs with garlic powder, onion powder, sea salt, black pepper and paprika. Just sprinkle a nice coating all over the ribs.
Smoking on a Weber Kettle
A Weber Kettle is the classic round charcoal grill you all remember. It is not a smoker but you can set it up to smoke and it is not too hard to do.
What you are going to do is set up for 2 zone cooking. You want a hot side and an indirect side. There are a few methods for achieving this.
Dad went with the simple charcoal on one side and a water pan on the other.
Once the ribs are prepped and the grill is set up and up to temp set them on the indirect side and cook for 2-3 hours at 250-275 degrees.
Wrapping the ribs
There are lots of ways to make ribs but one of the easiest is to cook them low for a while and then wrap them in foil to let them steam and tenderize.
This is mainly a time-saving method. You could cook them low and slow for an extended period and achieve the same result, probably a better one.
However, it just takes too damn long. Wrapping the ribs also gives you the chance to add in some additional flavor.
After the 3 hours Dad pulls his ribs and wraps them with butter, brown sugar and honey. Just make sure you seal them up nicely and don't let juices and steam escape.
Place them back on the grill and bump the temperature up to 300-350. Cook them for another 1-2 hours.
Glaze and finish
After the ribs have cooked in the tin foil take them out and place them back on the indirect side. It is time to glaze them with your favorite BBQ sauce. Dad likes to make his own, the recipe is here. Get a nice coating of sauce on the ribs and cook them for another 30 minutes to one hour. A lot of this will depend on how hungry you are!
How to tell if ribs are done
A great way to tell ribs are done is to see if they have pulled back from the bone. When you have a nice section of bone showing that means the ribs are basically done.
I don't have a grill...
No problem! Just follow all the steps of the recipe in your oven. Use the same temps, times and methods (minus the charcoal and wood). If you want to try and get a smoky flavor you can use liquid smoke when you wrap the ribs. The oven instructions are in the notes of the recipe card.
Weber Kettle Smoked Ribs
Equipment
- Charcoal Grill
- Spray Bottle
- Apple wood chunks
- Charcoal
- Aluminum Foil
Ingredients
For the ribs
- 3 lb Pork spare ribs
- 1 tablespoon Garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon Onion powder
- 1 tablespoon Sea salt
- 1 tablespoon Black pepper
- 1 tablespoon Paprika
- ½ Stick Butter
- ½ Cup Brown sugar
- ⅛ Cup Honey
- 1 Cup Apple Juice
- 1 Cup BBQ sauce
Instructions
- Remove the silver skin from the backside of the ribs. Refer to the video if you have questions.
- Coat the ribs generously with garlic powder, onion powder and paprika on both sides.
- Set your weber kettle up for indirect grilling/smoking using your favorite method.
- Place the ribs on the indirect side and cook them for 2-3 hours at 250-275 degrees. Every 30-45 minutes open the grill and spray the ribs with a mixture of water and apple juice.
- After the ribs have cooked for 2-3 hours take them off the grill and wrap them in tin foil with ½ cup brown sugar, ⅛ cup honey and ½ stick of butter. Use the video for tips on how to wrap the ribs.
- Return the ribs to the cold side of the grill and bump the temp up to 300-350 and cook for 30 minutes to an hour.
- After that time remove the ribs from the tin foil package and place them back on the indirect side. Baste them with your favorite BBQ sauce and cook for another 30 minutes to hour.
- Remove the ribs and rest them after cooking for at least 10 minutes then serve!
Video
Notes
- Prep the ribs the same as the recipe and place them on a foil-lined baking sheet.
- Cook in a 275-degree oven for 3 hours.
- Wrap them the same as in the recipe. You can add 1 teaspoon of liquid smoke if you want to achieve a smoky flavor.
- Cook them at 350 for 2 hours.
- Take them out of the foil and baste with BBQ sauce. Return to the oven for an additional 30 minutes to an hour or until they have reached your desired tenderness.
- Let rest for at least 10 minutes and serve.
Nutrition
Looking for the original Dalgona Recipe?
Dad's original Dalgona Whipped Coffee Recipe can be found here. Try it out and then compare it to the mocha version and let Dad know which one you like better!
Did you know Dad is on YouTube?
Go check out Dad's youtube channel for all kinds of great cooking videos and food-related content.