The Ultimate 3-2-1 Smoked Ribs Recipe - The Smoked Kings (2024)

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Our 3-2-1 smoked ribs recipe is simple for you to follow and absolutely delivers. Get ready to make the best ribs you’ve ever tasted right on your very own smoker.

The 3-2-1 Method

The 3-2-1 method for smoking ribs is really quite simple. You smoked your ribs for 3 hours at 180 degrees. Next, you wrap them in foil and smoke at 220 for 2 hours. Finally, you unwrap the ribs and put back on the smoker for 1 more hour. That’s it! There are a couple of steps to do in between that will be shared below but overall, that’s how you do it.

This method of smoking ribs has become a hit with at home smokers because it is simple and always delivers a delicious rack of meat. For those who pride themselves on smoke rings this is also one for the books!

It is worth mentioning that these are not competition style ribs. Competition style ribs stick to the bone while still staying tender. The meat you get in these ribs will fall of the bone and to be honest, that’s how most people like their ribs.

Before We Get Started

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3-2-1 Smoked Ribs

Time to walk through step by step our amazing recipe for 3-2-1 smoked ribs. First, lets start with what you need. The equipment you’ll need is a smoker or pellet grill, a cookie sheet, aluminum foil and a basting brush. The ingredients you need are a rack of ribs, Dry Rub Seasoning, apple cider vinegar in a spray bottle and your favorite BBQ sauce.

PREP

Turn on your smoker or pellet grill. Set the temperature to 180 degrees. While your smoker is warming up, you need to prepare your ribs. Start by peeling back the silver skin on the bone side of your ribs. Next, season liberally starting with the bone side and flipping over to the meat side.

PREPARE

Place your seasoned racks of ribs directly into your smoker and shut the lid. Allow to smoke at 180 degrees for 3 hours. Spray your ribs with apple cider vinegar every 30-60 minutes. Remove your ribs and place on a sheet of aluminum foil. Turn up the smoker temperature to 220 degrees. Take your ribs inside and spray liberally with apple cider vinegar and then wrap in aluminum foil. This may take 2 – 3 sheets depending on the size you use. Place on a cookie sheet and then back onto the smoker for 2 hours at 220 degrees.

Now it’s time to unwrap. Bring your ribs inside and remove the foil. Be extremely careful not to burn yourself. With the unwrapped ribs still on the cookie sheet add your BBQ sauce and spread using your basting brush. Return the ribs on the cookie sheet to your smoker and let cook for 1 additional hour.

SERVE

Now you are ready to enjoy your ribs! Remove the cookie sheet from the smoker and serve. The meat is so tender and delicious so make sure you make extra to feed all your guest! If you do have leftovers we suggest removing the meat from the bones and making rib sandwiches.

Let’s get smokin’! Let us know in the comments how your ribs turn out. We’d also love to hear what your favorite seasoning is for this dish.

Notes

Make sure you have enough aluminum foil to fully cover your ribs during the 2 hour phase of this recipe. If you do not fully wrap the ribs, this could cause them to dry.

Try using multiple different sauces for this recipe! We used our homemade Carolina sauce as well as one of our store bought favorites – Charred Ends. You can find it HERE.

The same as the sauce, you can switch up your seasoning for the initial seasoning of the ribs. Dry Rub Seasoning found HERE is our current go to and it works on so many different pieces of meat. I highly suggest trying it as a base for a lot of smoked meat recipes.

Pin To Pinterest For Later

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