321 Ribs
On February 14, 2023 (Updated September 27, 2024)
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321 ribs are a foolproof way to get fall-off-the-bone ribs. The 321 rib method is based on smoking the ribs for 3 hours, wrapping them with liquid for 2 hours, and saucing them for the final 1 hour.
What is the 321 Method for Ribs?
Smoking ribs using the 321 method is one of the most popular ways for a backyard enthusiast to cook ribs. They result in a truly delectable, fall-off-the-bone rib. While many “BBQ purists” will balk at the 321 method, there’s no denying that this meat is juicy, tender, and delicious. So, if you or your guests like meat that comes clean off the bone with every bite, definitely give the 321 rib method a try!
So what is the 321 method for ribs, exactly? It’s an easy way to cook pork ribs! In a nutshell, the 321 method for ribs is just what the name suggests:
- 3 hours in the smoker. Start by placing your ribs directly on the grill grates of the smoker for 3 hours to infuse the meat with that good, smoky flavor.
- 2 hours wrapped. Next up, wrap those smoky ribs in foil (usually with brown sugar, apple cider, butter, and other goodies) for 2 hours to add more flavor and keep that rib meat juicy.
- 1 hour with sauce. Last up, remove the meat from the wrapping and smother them in BBQ sauce. Finish them on the grill for 1 hour to set the sauce and ensure that the meat falls right off the bone.
321 Rib Method
This 321 rib method has gained a lot of popularity with home cooks in recent years because of the flawless results in churning out super tender ribs that fall off the bone every time.
While competition and traditional BBQ cooks will scoff at fall-off-the-bone ribs, the truth is that most people really like them that way. Judges for KCBS won’t give you a winning score, but they also won’t be hanging out in your backyard critiquing what you and your family are eating. So I say, cook what you like!
Sticky, sweet, tender, and oh-so-savory, 3 2 1 ribs are probably the most requested meal I receive for potlucks or family dinners. I tend to fall back on these ribs for gatherings because I know that they will deliver that tender, flavorful porky flavor every time. And sometimes consistency is super important!
One final tip: I highly recommend reading my post on How to Know When Pork Ribs are Done. This will help you determine when to remove the ribs from the smoker in addition to the times suggested.
Ingredients for 321 Ribs
Here’s what you’ll need to make these ribs:
- 1 rack of baby back ribs
- 2 Tablespoons Hey Grill Hey Sweet Rub or Rib Rub
- 1 cup apple cider (or apple juice)
- 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
- 3 Tablespoons salted butter
- 1/2 cup Everything BBQ Sauce (or your favorite BBQ sauce)
My Sweet Rub, Rib Rub, and Everything BBQ Sauce can all be purchased from the Hey Grill Hey Store. If you don’t have any on hand when you go to make this recipe, you can make Sweet Rub using my recipe for Best Sweet Rub, Rib Rub using my recipe Best Dry Rub for Ribs, and Everything Sauce using my recipe for Kansas City BBQ Sauce.
How to Smoke 321 Ribs
I firmly believe that you should cook food the way you like it, and ribs are no different! Do you like your ribs saucy? Put some extra sauce on them (I like using my Everything BBQ Sauce). Do you like your ribs falling off the bone? Follow this 321 rib method! These are your ribs after all. Make them exactly how you like them!
Here’s how to cook your ribs using the 321 method:
- Preheat. Fire up the grill and preheat to 180-200 degrees F. Prepare the ribs for smoking while the grill preheats.
- Prep the ribs. Using a paper towel, grip the corner of the membrane on the back of the ribs, and pull to remove it. Next, season both sides of the ribs liberally with Sweet Rub or Rib Rub.
- Smoke for 3 hours. Start with exposing the seasoned ribs to 3 hours of heavy smoke over low heat. I prefer fruit woods (apple or cherry) when smoking pork, but other hardwoods (hickory and alder) also work really well with ribs.
- Wrap for 2 hours. After the initial 3-hour smoke, foil the ribs with a liquid of your choosing (I used apple cider, dark brown sugar, and butter) and cook at 225-250 degrees F for 2 more hours. After the braising period, Iook for great retraction of the meat from the bones. You want the bones to be exposed on the end at least 1/4 to 1/2 an inch.
- Sauce and smoke for 1 hour. Lastly, baste the ribs in your favorite BBQ sauce (my Everything BBQ Sauce or Apple Jalapeno BBQ Sauce are delicious!) and return them to the grill for a final hour to finish the ribs and set the sauce.
- Rest and enjoy. Remove the ribs from the smoker and rest for 10-15 minutes. Slice into individual ribs and serve! I like to put extra sauce on the table for guests who enjoy their ribs extra saucy.
More Ribs Recipes
Are you a rib fan like me? Then you’ll absolutely love these other rib recipes on Hey Grill Hey:
321 Rib Recipe
Follow the recipe, and let’s make some really good food! Hey Grill Hey is here to help you make better BBQ, feed the people you love, and become a BBQ hero. Head on over to Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube! for more behind-the-scenes action!
This post was originally published in April 2015. We recently updated it with more information and helpful tips. The recipe remains the same.
321 Ribs
Video
Equipment
- 1 Smoker I highly recommend this pellet grill!
Ingredients
- 1 rack baby back ribs
- 2 Tablespoons Hey Grill Hey Sweet Rub recipe in notes section
- 1 cup apple cider apple juice also works
- ¼ cup dark brown sugar
- 3 Tablespoons salted butter
- ½ cup Everything BBQ sauce recipe in notes section
Instructions
- Preheat. Prepare your smoker by preheating it to 180 degrees F.
- Prep the ribs. Use a sharp knife to lift up the corner of the membrane on the back of the ribs. Using a paper towel, grip the membrane and pull firmly to fully remove the membrane. Trim any excess fat off the ribs as needed.
- Season. Liberally season both sides of the ribs using Hey Grill Hey Sweet Rub, starting with the bone side.
- Smoke. Place the seasoned ribs on the smoker and close the lid. Leave them to smoke for 3 hours (The ribs should be somewhere around an internal temperature of 165 degrees F at the end of these 3 hours).
- Make the braise. Tear off a large piece of aluminum foil and place it on a large working surface. Transfer the ribs to the foil bone side up so the bones don't tear through the foil. Sprinkle the ribs with the brown sugar, top with the butter cut into small pads, and then pour in the apple cider. Tightly crimp the foil together to create an airtight seal.
- Continue smoking. Return the wrapped ribs to the grill and increase the temperature in the smoker to 225 degrees F. Let the ribs braise for 2 hours in the foil.
- Sauce. Carefully remove the ribs from the grill and place them on a large working surface. Open the foil package (be careful of hot steam) and use tongs to remove the ribs and place them back on the grill, bone side down. Discard the foil and excess cooking liquid. Next, brush the ribs with Everything BBQ Sauce (or your favorite BBQ sauce).
- Finish smoking. Return the unwrapped, sauced ribs to the smoker. Close the lid, and continue smoking for an hour (or less!) or until the ribs reach around 200 degrees F and the sauce is sticky and set.
- Rest, slice, and enjoy. Remove the ribs from the smoker and rest for 10-15 minutes. Slice into individual ribs, and serve with extra sauce, as desired.
Notes
- Purchase it from the store HERE: Sweet Rub
- Make it from scratch using this RECIPE: Best Sweet Rub Recipe
Everything BBQ Sauce
- Purchase it from the store HERE: Everything BBQ Sauce
- Make it from scratch using this similar RECIPE: Kansas City BBQ Sauce
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Thank you for an easy to understand great recipe and cooking method. I have bookmarked this page!!!
I’ve used this twice now and both times they were good but tough, I have a pittboss pellet smoker and the temp is pretty much spot on. I’m only doing baby backs for 6 hours total and it’s getting really frustrating. I’ve had p say cook at a hotter temp and others say low but longer. What on earth am I doing wrong ? HELP !!
I usually don’t put them back on after the wrap. Unless I sauce them. If I do sauce them, I only put them back on the smoker for about 15 min to set the sauce
I had the same experience. I ended up doing 3-2-2 this time just to get them done enough (I stuck a meat thermometer in after one our in the last phase and was only at 160…ribs should be closer to 190 if you want to be able to twist the bone free of the meat).
I’ve done lots of ribs (not doing 3-2-1) and the smoke temp is 225 the entire time. I’ll return to that temp next time.
I had baby backs which have less fat than the other cuts too. I think I’d do better to have higher temp for less time to retain more moisture.
Once done from smoking at 215 to 225 , are you allowing for the meat to start pulling back from the bone
On the ends ? Are y’all cooking them wrapped in tin foil with your choice of a liquid, such as beer or a wine of your choice ? Or even a small amount of your favorite
Liquor. (The alcohol evaporates very quickly from either, leaving the flavor of your chosen spirits to faintly cut into
Your meat. Times will stay the same .( this part of the process helps tenderize to that fall off the bone stage that you’re looking for.
You should continue with your cooking times as this recipe is calling for in these directions. ( if you are following the 321 directions, continue to do so. I’m just trying to help, in areas that some people kinda fudge on a little. Also, I saw where one person wasn’t exactly thrilled with the internal temperature of the ribs. Even though your internal temperature isn’t exactly where the directions here call for ,as long as the meat has started to pull back from the end of the bones half an inch to three quarters of an inch minimum, your meat has more than reached a safe internal temperature. If it hadn’t reached a safe internal temperature ,your meat would still envelop the bones and wouldn’t even look like it was realeasing from the bone. Once you get use to cooking ribs, that one sign, tells you that the bone temperature is actually cooking the meat causing it to realease from the bone. Just trying to let those of you understand that there is ” some ” squirming room when cooking ribs and some other cuts of pork. But when smoking ribs, some slabs have a little more meat, or less meat on the bone.
Because one end of the slab didn’t give you your spot on temperature, if the whole slab looks basically the same as far as the meat pulling back off of the bone, you can say that it’s safely cooked. ( using the meat releasing from the bone method , will keep it simple for baby back ribs as well as St.Louis style .
Hope this helps for those who were still unsure, even when the directions weren’t real complete, they were but
Sometimes you just needed that “what if question ” answered.
Thank you for that explanation, it was very helpful, for a ‘noob’!
This recipe is for the meatier St Louis style ribs. Baby backs won’t take as long.
Baby Backs take less time to cook. Consider 2-2-1
I had similar experience with my Camp Chef grill…not so much that the ribs were tough they just didn’t seem like the fat rendered out of of them and they were greasy. I increased the temperature for the “2” to 275 and left it on 250 for the last hour (instead of 220) and it definitely helped on my grill.
Can I do the first 3 hours of smoking the night before? I’m working a large batch (8 racks) for a luncheon and I’d rather not get up at 4 a.m. day of…
If so, would you wrap and fridge?
You can smoke and wrap them the night before and keep in the fridge. I don’t blame you for not wanting to get up at 4 in the morning!!
I smoked both St. Louis and babyback using a slight variation to this method. I didn’t put any sauce on the ribs at the end – it wasn’t necessary. They were fabulous – smokey/tender/juicy and slide-off-the-bone awesome! This is going to be my go-to method from now on.
Awesome Lisa!! Sounds like you have mastered the ribs!!
I use a similar method (3 2 1) with st. Louis style ribs with no sauce. Just dry rubs and an apple cider beer as the liquid. But with baby back ribs i use a (4 1.5 .5) method to keep the bones from falling apart. same dry rubs and liquids though.
In step 2, you mention putting ribs bone side up and apply brown sugar, butter, and liquid. Sorry, I’m new to this as well, but do they go into smoker this way? The liquid will eventually make its way to the meat side of the ribs even though you put the ingredients on the bone up side?
Yes, you will wrap them and put them in the smoker that way. All that flavor will penetrate through the meat and make it tender and delicious.
This looks absolutely delicious! Can’t wait to try it on the pellet smoker! Great article!
Thanks Mackenzie!
Do you use the smoker the entire time? I’m new to all of this and just want to make sure. You mentioned smoker in the first round and then grill the next two rounds. Is it all the same? I cannot wait to try this, thank you!
Yes, you will use the smoker the whole time, sorry I tend to use the terms interchangeably
We absolutely love this rib technique! Thanks Hey Grill Hey!
As a note to above question, and to save wear/tear on our pellet smoke, we have been doing the 2 hour wrap foil cook inside on our kitchen’s convection oven. It’s particularly nice during winter months here in Central Illinois. Helps heat the house a bit. Either way, this 3-2-1 is the best! Enjoy!!
DK on the Farm, I Central IL
Used your instructions with 2 slabs of saint Louis ribs. Famous Dave’s rib rub with birch beer as my liquid and applewood rub with black cherry for liquid. No bbq sauce. Was not necessity. Thank you very much.
Sounds absolutely delicious!
My Dad the family pork lover said I could do the same thing any time lol. And it was my first try.
Probably the best thing I’ve ever smoked. This is an amazing recipe! Every one here thinks i am a master chef or something now. Thanks so much for giving away your secrets for all of our benefit. Keep up the fantastic work, and thanks again!
Thanks for the awesome review, Adam!
I made these today. All I can say is OMG. Best ribs I’ve ever made. Used my electric smoker with apple and cherry wood. Thx Hey Grill. Definitely a winner.
I’m pumped it worked out so well for you! That’s awesome!
Just curious how many wood chips did you add over the 3 hours and for how long before refilling the chip tray? Also did you soak the chips?
I don’t generally use wood chips but my advice is to keep the chip tray full for the first 3 hours and that’s it. There’s no need to soak your chips!
My first time ever smoking baby back ribs. Followed instructions to the letter. AMAZING ribs! Look no further for a great, no-fail rib recipe. I’ll be making this again and again. I don’t know how to send you a photo of our ribs.
All your recipes have worked great; but this one takes the cake!!
can you use peach butcher paper instead of aluminum foil when cooking the baby back ribs?
If you’re going to use any butcher paper at any time it would be at the end. The point of crutching halfway through is to help break down any remaining cartilage and toughness and butcher paper isn’t going to do that – you need the foil. Then – the last hour restores the bark.
Butcher paper will help maintain the temperature without mushing the bark or drying out the meat – if you need to keep the meat on the smoker longer than intended, such as a cook that went way faster than expected.
Agreed. I just tried this with peach paper for this set amount of time and the meat isn’t quite done. Stick with the foil.
Absolutely… Tin foil makes steam, I’m smoking / grilling the ribs, not steaming them.
Foil doesn’t cause steam… air pockets do. The reason for foil is to tightly wrap them so that it minimizes steam and only will braise.
you need to watch for the boiling juices in the foil. hold the ribs horizontal and don’t dump the juices on your flip flops and socks and then need a doctor. ribs were awesome thought. safety first!