Baby back ribs are coated with a thin layer of spicy mayo as a binder and then seasoned before slow smoking for a few hours. Then the ribs are slathered with a sweet and savory glaze and caramelized with a blow torch. This is a step-by-step, pic-by-pic, foolproof blowtorch baby back ribs recipe.

This is not our first foray into using a blow torch on ribs.

This was our first attempt at Blowtorched Ribs.

After many years of using that recipe, we decided to improve upon that recipe with this one. We also have a blow torched ribs with a peach twist.

Also, for this recipe, I partnered with my friend and fellow St. Louisan, James Boatright. He’s an alum of the BBQ Showdown on Netflix as well as one of my fellow Live Fire Legends. He is one phenomenal pitmaster and lives only a few miles from me.

There is a short video of this cook at the bottom of this recipe, but as you will see from the stills below, there is sooo much more to this cook.

Stay tuned for when Live Fire Legends goes live Fall of 2024.

Blowtorch Baby Back Ribs Recipe Ingredients:

For the Ribs

• 2 slabs baby back ribs
• Coarse salt
• Spicy mayonnaise
• Your favorite BBQ seasoning (We used Boars Night Out)

For the Spritz

• 1 cup beer
• 1 cup apple cider vinegar

For the Glaze

• 2 tablespoons apple jelly
• 2 tablespoons apricot preserves
• 2.5 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons hot pepper jelly
• 2.5 tablespoons hot honey

First, skin the ribs.

James likes to grab the membrane in the middle of the slab and pull:

I like to grab from the end, with the help of a paper towel for grip, and pull down the length of the slab:

Next up is the binder.

A binder is some sort of liquid used to coat the ribs (or whatever protein you are cooking) that binds the seasoning to the meat. Binders also help create a better bark and can even baste the protein as it cooks. Binders can be liquid like Worcestershire sauce, vegetable oil, or a little thicker like mustard or mayonnaise. Mustard binders are all the rage in the world of BBQ as with these Simple Beef Ribs, but mayo is making a big push as of late such as with these smoked pork steaks.

Which is better?

We answered that question with this Mayo vs Mustard Ribs side-by-side experiment.

In one of the pics above, you see James laughing as I hold up the bowl of spicy mayonnaise or chipotle aioli if you will, which seems to be the natural evolution of the binder and I’m all for it.

What is Aioli?

Aoili (pronounces AH-yo-lee) in it’s most simple form is emulsified oil and garlic. But now flavoring mayonnaise is considered aioli. As a big fan of mayo, I am an even bigger fan of flavored mayonnaise and keep a variety of them in my fridge. Add some adobo or maybe garlic and herbs or whatever jiggles your bobber (the fishermen know what that one means) and make your own Aioli. Or simply pick of the ever growing variety of aioli from the mayonnaise section of your local grocer.

Keep in mind, no matter what binder you use, the finished dish will not taste like vegetable oil or mustard or mayonnaise or whatever.

The vast majority of the binder melts away as the meat cooks.

Season the ribs with salt on the bone side and then slather on a thin layer of the spicy mayonnaise:

Season with your favorite BBQ Rub. We used Boars Night Out:

Pro Tip ~ Always season the bone side first. Why? Because if the meat side is seasoned first, once the ribs are flipped over to season the bone side everything that is touching both the meat and the cutting board will stick to the cutting board which requires a re-application of binder and seasoning. Seasoning the bone side first works because once the ribs are flipped over to season the meat side, the natural bowed shape of the ribs keeps the binder and seasoning up off the cutting board and thus no second application.

Add the salt, binder and seasoning to the meat side next:

Then, prepare the grill.

How to Grill Blowtorch Baby Back Ribs:

Once the ribs are skinned and seasoned on both sides, bring the grill up to temperature to 275F (+/- 25F) in this case, I used a pellet cooker with some oak pellets. For a standard charcoal grill, simply bank the coals and the smoke wood to one side and place the ribs on the side with no direct heat (this is two zone grilling or indirect grilling). If using a kamado, get the coals going, drop in a chunk of smoke wood, place the plate setter between the coals and the cook surface and set in the grill grate and ribs.

For all the grill types, close the lid for 30-40 minutes for the seasoning to set and then spritz every 15-20 minutes with the beer/apple cider vinegar. After 2-2.5 hours, combine the ingredients for the glaze and zap in the microwave for 60-90 seconds to melt the gelatins and make it easier to spread on the baby backs. Slather the glaze on the meat side of the ribs and blast with the blow torch. Make sure to hit the glaze with just the tip of the flames from the torch. Remember, just the tip.

Foolproof Instructions

Now for the step-by-step, pic-by-pic, foolproof grilling process.

I set the Green Mountain Grills Pellet Smoker to 275F and set the ribs in the smoke chamber and close the lid:

While the ribs smoke, get out a food grade squirt bottle and combine the beer and apple cider vinegar to finish phase II of this baby back ribs recipe.

But don’t start spraying just yet.

Indeed, give the rub a good 45-60 minutes to adhere (or set on the ribs) before spritzing:

Thus, if you spritz before the rub sets, the seasoning is going to wash off and wind up at the bottom of the grill.

After the first spritz, hit it every 15-20 minutes until the ribs are done.

Make the Glaze

After 2 – 2.5 hours of smoking the ribs, combine the glaze ingredients in a bowl and microwave for 45-60 seconds to melt the gelatins:

You don’t have to put the glaze ingredients into ramekins like we did.

That was for the video we shot while cooking this baby back ribs recipe.

Just dump them all into one larger bowl and microwave that bowl before blending the ingredients through.

Our ribs after about 2 hours and 15 minutes in the smoke:

Had to drop a second pic here to show off the guns!

Time for the Blowtorch

Remove the ribs from the smoker and place on a cutting board:

With a sauce brush, slather that glaze onto the slabs of baby backs:

For the blow torch we used one of many propane torches marketed to BBQ enthusiasts. A plumbers torch will work too, but till take a little longer than this monster.

First I will show you what not to do:

The goal is not to get big flames on the ribs.

The goal is to get the glaze to essentially bubble or boil which will thicken it, pull the flavorless water out and leave behind concentrated glaze which should look like this:

Anything that elevates the surface of the ribs will blacken before the glaze sets, leaving little black dots like so, but that’s OK:

It reminds me of the elevated spots on the pizza crust of wood fired pizza.

In both cases, I think the charring is wonderful.

As you can see, the bones showing here let me know the ribs are ready:

That’s Brad, my photographer/videographer in the back in the red. He approves.

This Blowtorch Baby Back Ribs Recipe is done.

All we have left is to slice and scarf (them down):

Slicing:

Now scarfing:

Check that perfect bite!

And some ooey, gooey sliced shots:

Blowtorch Baby Back Ribs Recipe Recap:

The complexity of flavors with this one is wonderful. The rub, the spice from the chipotle mayo/aioli, the sweet jellies, the spicy jellies, the hot honey and the savory Worcestershire all form an incredible level of flavor. Add in the infused smoke plus the thick glaze and that perfect bite makes for a fantastic mouthfeel. This new and improved blowtorch baby back ribs recipe really needs to be on the menu more often at my house. The kids mowed these down.

If you have any questions or comments about this baby back ribs recipe, feel free to leave them below or send me an email.

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Baby Back Ribs Recipe Card:

Print

Blowtorch Baby Back Ribs Recipe

Blowtorch Baby Back Ribs Recipe is seasoned and slow smoked baby back ribs slathered with a sweet and savory glaze which we caramelize with a blowtorch

Course Barbecue, BBQ, Entree, Finger Food, Main Course

Cuisine American, American Fare, Baby Back Ribs, Barbecue, BBQ

Keyword Aioli, Baby Back Ribs, Baby Back Ribs Recipe, Baby Backs, Beef Tallow Sweet Potato French Fries, Binder, Blow Torch, Blowtorch, Blowtorched, Blowtorched Ribs, Caramelize, Caramelized, GMG, Green Mountain Grills, Mayo, Mayo Binder, Mayonnaise, Mayonnaise Binder, Pellet Cooker, Pellet Grill, Pellet Smoker, Pork Ribs, Ribs, Ribs Recipe, Savory, Torch

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 2 hours hours 26 minutes minutes

Servings 6 People

Equipment

• Blowtorch

Ingredients

For Ribs

• 2 slabs Baby back ribs Skinned and trimmed
• Salt
• ½ cup Spicy mayonnaise or aioli
• Your favorite BBQ Rub We used Boar's Night Out

For Spritz

• 1 cup Beer
• 1 cup Apple cider vinegar

For Glaze

• 2 tablespoons Apple jelly
• 2 tablespoons Apricot preserves
• 2.5 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons Hot pepper jelly
• 2.5 tablespoons Hot honey

Instructions

• Skin the ribs and trim any excess fat and then season the bone side with salt and slather with the spicy mayonnaise. Lay the BBQ seasoning down on the thin layer of mayo. Then flip over and salt, apply mayonnaise and seasoning to the meat side.
• Prepare the grill/smoker for 275F (+/- 25F) and place the ribs in the smoke chamber. Close the lid and go make the spritz by combining the beer and apple cider vinegar in a food grade spray bottle
• After the ribs have smoked for 45-60 minutes, and the seasoning has set/adhered, mist the ribs with the beer/cider vinegar and continue to do so every 15-20 minutes until the ribs are done.
• After the ribs have smoked for 2 - 2.5 hours combine the glaze ingredients in a bowl and microwave the bowl for 45-60 seconds to melt the gelatins. Remove the ribs from the grill and place on a cutting board. Lay the glaze down thick over the meat side of the ribs. Light the torch and run the flame slowly back and forth along the length of the slabs. Keep the end of the torch/flame just off the glaze in order to cause the liquid in the glaze to bubble/boil. Once the glaze has thickened, slice and serve.

Video

More Pics of this Cookout:

And of course some clowning:

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