How to Smoke Ribs in an Electric Smoker

Glazed rack of St. Louis-style pork ribs on a wooden cutting board, cooked in an electric smoker with visible bone pullback and a caramelized BBQ sauce finish.

How to Smoke Ribs in an Electric Smoker

Classic juicy, tender pork ribs cooked in the electric smoker.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 5

Total Time 5 30

Servings

Calories 783kcal

Author Jordan Hanger

Ingredients

1 rack St Louis cut ribs St Louis refers to spare ribs that have been trimmed into a uniform rectangular shape
2 tbsp BBQ rub Use our ultimate rib rub or your favorite store-bought rub.
3 tbsp butter
2 tbsp honey
¼ cup BBQ Sauce Use our homemade bbq sauce or your favorite store-bought sauce.

Instructions

Trim your ribs by removing any loose flaps of meat or excess fat along the edges.
Flip the ribs over and remove the thin membrane on the bone side. To do this, slip a butter knife under the membrane between two bones, then grip it with a paper towel and peel it off in one piece.
Season with bbq rub making sure to get the edges and both sides.
Add wood chips to your electric smoker and fill the water pan, then heat your smoker to 225°F.
Place the ribs in your smoker and smoke them until the bark is set and the internal temp of the meat is about 175°F.
On two sheets of aluminum foil place a few pats of butter along with a nice drizzle of honey, put your ribs on top, meat side down, and place back into your smoker for up to 2 more hours or until the internal temperature reaches 195°F.
Unwrap the ribs from the foil, place them meat side up and brush on bbq sauce. Then turn the temperature up to 275°F for 20 more minutes.
Remove ribs from the smoker, let them rest for a few minutes before slicing between the bones, meat side down for cleaner cuts.

Notes

Choose the type of rib that you prefer or experiment with each to find your favorite.

How do I remove the membrane from the ribs? Check out our article here on how to remove the membrane.

What type of wood should I use? I used pecan wood chips as I love the way it flavors pork. It’s not too strong and has enough punch to give you a noticeable taste.

Nutrition