Barbecue Ribs on a Charcoal Grill

By Derrick Riches, About.com Guide

With the grill set up for smoking we can add the ribs. I have two racks so it will be a tight fit. Space the ribs as well as you can. One tip to remember is to push the ends of the ribs together once on the grill. Meat shrinks as it cooks and you don't want the rack to stretch. This can make the ribs tough. By scrunching up the ribs you won't have to worry about this.

The cooking method I am using for these baby back ribs is a 3-1-1 method. This means three hours smoking, one hour cooking wrapped in foil, and then another hour unwrapped to finish off. You do not need to use this method and can simply grill the ribs unwrapped through the whole process. However, wrapping will steam the ribs and make them more tender.

Because the heat is to one side of our cooking area, it will be important to rotate the ribs as they cook to keep the heat even. I will be flipping and switching the two racks I am cooking after 1 1/2 hours. If you do not wrap the ribs, continue flipping and switching them every 1 1/2 hours.

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• Getting Ready - Barbecue Ribs on a Charcoal Grill
• Preparing the Ribs - Barbecue Ribs on a Charcoal Grill
• Rubbing your Ribs - Barbecue Ribs on a Charcoal Grill
• Preparing the Charcoal Grill - Barbecue Ribs on a Charcoal Grill
• Putting the Ribs on the Grill - Barbecue Ribs on a Charcoal Grill
• Wrapping the Ribs - Barbecue Ribs on a Charcoal Grill
• Finishing the Smoking - Barbecue Ribs on a Charcoal Grill
• Barbecue Sauce - Barbecue Ribs on a Charcoal Grill
• Serving up the Ribs - Barbecue Ribs on a Charcoal Grill

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