Direct Heat Smoked Rib Tips
These smoked rib tips are cooked hot and fast at 300–325°F for tender, flavorful bites with real bark. Trimmed from pork spare ribs and cooked until perfectly tender, this rib tips recipe delivers deep flavor in about 2 hours.
Equipment
- Direct heat cooker (although a gas grill, kamado-style grill, or traditional charcoal grill can be substituted)
- tongs
- Boning Knife
- Chef's Knife
- Aluminum Foil
- saucepan
- Basting Mop
- Wooden Spoon
- instant read thermometer
- Measuring cups & prep bowls
Ingredients
- 3-4 lbs. (1 package) spare ribs
- ¼ C salt & pepper mix 1:1 ratio plus more as needed
- Worcestershire sauce as needed for the binder
- 2 C Prepared Mop Sauce
Instructions
- Preheat your grill or smoker to 300-325°F. While it comes up to temp, trim any excess fat from the ribs. Then, using a sharp, heavy knife, cut off the lower portion of the ribs—the strip of cartilage and small bones along the top edge. This section is known as the rib tips. See this post to see how I cook the trimmed ribs, but for this recipe, we will be focusing on the rib tips.
- Trim any remaining excess fat from the rib tips and cut off any thin pieces of meat, especially on the ends. Then, apply a thin coat of Worcestershire sauce as a binder, and season both sides generously with salt and pepper or your BBQ rub of choice. Once the smoker is preheated, add the rib tips and smoke them untouched for 1 hour. At this point, flip the ribs and cook for another hour.
- Once each side begins to get a nice, charred exterior, begin to baste the rib tips with the mop sauce, reapplying the sauce every 20 minutes or so.
- Allow the rib tips to continue cooking until the skin has turned a deep mahogany color, and the internal temperature registers ~180 degrees. Once these cues occur, remove the rib tips from the grill.
- Apply the mop sauce one more time and wrap the ribs in aluminum foil.
- Place the rib tips back on the grill until they register ~205 degrees or are probe tender, then remove them from the grill. Allow them to rest for ~15-20 minutes, then remove them from the wrap, slice them up, and serve with more mop sauce. Enjoy!
Notes
- What Rib Tips Are: Rib tips come from the breastbone section trimmed off spare ribs when creating St. Louis style racks. They contain more cartilage and fat, which makes them rich and flavorful when cooked properly.
- Thermometer Tip: Insert the probe into the thickest portion of meat, avoiding direct contact with cartilage for an accurate reading.