Want to make smokey barbecue ribs but don’t have the money for a dedicated smoker?

In this recipe, I’ll show you how you can smoke ribs on a standard gas grill.

I’ll show you two great methods to add smoke, including an easy DIY option that anyone can do.

How to smoke ribs when you only have a gas grill

If you want the best bbq ribs possible, you’ll get the best results cooking on a dedicated smoker.

But if you only have a gas grill, you can still turn out damn good ribs.

The most important step for getting a gas grill ready for smoking is using a two-zone cooking setup.

The basic idea is that you use your grill burners to create a hot zone on one side and a cooler zone on the other where your food will sit.

This is going to ensure that the ribs don’t burn and you can cook them low and slow to allow more smoke to flavor the meat.

We’re not making grilled ribs here!

What ingredients do you need for these gas grill ribs?

• Rack of ribs – You can use baby back or spare ribs. Baby backs are smaller and cook faster, so you can reduce the time the ribs are wrapped by up to an hour.
• Yellow Mustard – Used as a binder to help the rub stick. You can use a splash of water or oil, or no binder at all if your ribs are still moist.
• Dry Rub – You can use a store-bought rub or make your own. I used our ultimate rib rub
  • 8 tbsp smoked paprika
  • 6 tbsp brown sugar
  • 3 tbsp Kosher salt
  • 2 tbsp black pepper freshly ground
  • 1 tbsp ground cumin
  • 1 tbsp mustard powder
  • 1 tbsp garlic powder
  • 1 tbsp onion powder
  • ¼ tsp hot cayenne pepper

• Spritz – I like to use a 50:50 mix of apple cider vinegar and water to spritz the ribs with if they look dry
• Wrap Ingredients – I used a combination of butter, brown sugar, and honey, but feel free to experiment. Some ideas include:
  • hot sauce
  • maple syrup
  • more bbq rub
  • apple cider vinegar
  • different types of butter e.g. Parkay
  • Dr. Pepper.
• Barbecue Sauce – To sauce the ribs with just before you remove them. Use our homemade bbq sauce, or any store-bought option will work.

The best ways to create smoke on a gas grill

There are a few ways to make smoke on a gas grill. Some methods require a smoker box or tube, but if you don’t have either of those, don’t worry—I’ll show you an easy DIY option.

And whichever method you choose, don’t worry about soaking the wood.

1. Wrap wood chips in foil

You can make a foil packet by taking a few handfuls of wood chips and laying them down in the middle of some aluminum foil. I like to use heavy-duty foil to help prevent it from tearing.

Fold one side over and seal the edges once or twice by folding the foil.

After that, take a toothpick and poke several holes in the middle of the pouch so the smoke can escape.  

Place the foil packet directly onto the grates on medium-high heat.

In about 15-20 minutes the wood chips in the foil will start smoking and you can get to cooking.

The foil packets will smoke for about 30-40 minutes so I like to make 2-3 foil packets and have them ready to go so that I can easily replace them once the smoke starts to dissipate from the foil, giving a great flavor to the bbq.

2. Use a pellet smoker tube

If you don’t like the idea of replacing the foil pouch every 30-40 minutes, then I recommend a 12” tube smoker. You fill these tubes with the wood pellets of your choice, light one end, and then they can give off smoke for a solid 5 – 6 hours.

This hexagon tube stays put and won’t roll around your grill top once the pellets start burning off, and they’re super easy to clean out when you’re done.

These tubes can be found in most hardware stores, or you can get this one for pretty cheap on Amazon.

To use them, light the pellets at the open end with a torch or fire starter and let them burn at full flame for about five minutes. 

After five minutes, blow out the live flame and put the smoker tube on the hot side of the grill. This is the side with the burners lit.

You should have a steady stream of rolling smoke

What type of wood to use

Since pork has a fairly mild flavor, you can go with a stronger flavored wood to add a little more smokiness to your ribs.

I decided to use hickory wood chips to give the ribs a nice, strong smoke flavor without overpowering them.

You can also go with milder woods like alder, apple, maple, or cherry.

What type of pork ribs to buy

The two main styles of pork ribs you will see in the store are baby back ribs and spare ribs. You may also see St. Louis-tyle ribs, which are just spare ribs trimmed into a more rectangular shape, usually for competition.

For this recipe, I trimmed up some spare ribs. You can’t go wrong with either style. Depending on the size of the ribs you choose, you might want to modify the time the ribs spend wrapped.

For example, with a small rack of baby back ribs, you could wrap for just one hour, especially if you prefer a firmer texture.

Gas Grill BBQ Ribs: Step-By-Step Recipe Instructions

I find the 3-2-1 cooking method is the most forgiving way to make fall-off-the-bone ribs which is what most people like eating.

1. Setup your gas grill for smoking

Whenever smoking on a gas grill, be sure you have enough propane in the tank. Long cooks generally use less than a quarter of a tank, but having a full-sized tank on standby is always good practice. 

Turn on the burner that is on the far side of your grill to medium heat and and place either your foil packet with wood chips or smoke tube onto the grill grates.

If you have a digital thermometer, insert it now and close the lid. It will take about 15-20 minutes for the temperature to reach a steady 225°F – 250°F and for the wood to start smoking, so in the meantime, you can get your ribs ready.

If you quickly overshoot your target temp, turn your dial down. If after 20 minutes you are still only at 180°F, turn your dial-up. If you’re having a hard time getting your grill to 225°F – 250°F, you may have to consider turning on additional burners if you have them.

This may seem tricky, but once you’ve played with your grill a little bit you will know exactly where your burners need to be to cook at your desired temp.

2. Trim your ribs and remove the membrane

While the grill is coming up to cooking temperature, you can prep the ribs.

To prep, I make sure the ribs are all squared up and any excess fat is trimmed off.

If the rack of ribs is too long and won’t fit the grill, make sure you trim them down to fit. You can also pull the membrane off the back which allows more bbq rub to penetrate giving you a little more flavor.

3. Season your ribs

For these ribs, I used our ultimate pork ribs rub. It has excellent color, isn’t overly salty so you can apply a lot of the rub and not worry about it being overpowering.

Feel free to use whatever rub you have on hand.

If your ribs seem dry you can rub a little mustard or oil onto the ribs to help the rub stick better to the meat.

Usually, ribs are wet enough that I don’t have that problem so I usually skip the binder.

I season the backside first, flip and season the top side making sure that every inch of the meat is thoroughly coated.

4. Get the ribs on the grill

Once your ribs are prepped and seasoned and your grill temperature is holding steady it’s time to get them on the grill.

If you’re using a smoke tube, you could light it and add it at this step, but with a foil pouch I like to add it earlier while the grill is coming up to temperature.

When you are happy that smoke is rolling, place the ribs on the grill over the grates that have the burner turned off.

If you have a larger gas grill, move them away from the heat source as much as you can. This will help the ribs smoke for longer before they are cooked through. 

The temperature on a gas grill can vary, and many of them run hot. You want to shoot for around 250°F. For the best results, use a probe-style thermometer, as the built-in dome thermometer on your grill isn’t super accurate.

If you notice your ribs drying out, feel free to spritz them with water, apple juice, or a mixture of both to keep them moist.

Don’t forget to add additional packets of foil filled with wood chips once they stop smoking, and leave them for up to three hours. 

4. Wrap the ribs

Once the ribs have smoked for around three hours, it’s time to wrap them.

A good way to tell if your ribs are ready to wrap is if you can scratch the surface of the rib with your finger without any of the rub coming off.

When you are ready to wrap, take two layers of foil, overlapping half, and add a few pats of butter, a good drizzle of honey, and some brown sugar.

Then, place the ribs meat side down, wrap them with foil tightly, and place them back on the grill the same way. You can stop worrying about producing smoke at this point.

After about two hours, open the foil and check on the ribs. If you see the bones pulling back, it’s a good sign.

5.Uncover and sauce ribs for one hour

After two hours in aluminum foil, remove the ribs from the grill and open up the foil.

Flip the ribs back up so the meat side is up, and make a little boat with the edges of the foil so the liquid doesn’t spill all over the grill.

Let the ribs cook like that for about 20 minutes before you sauce them. This will allow some of the excess moisture from the top of the ribs to dry off so you don’t have a soggy bark. 

At the 20-minute mark go ahead and sauce your ribs with your favorite bbq sauce. I used Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce and brushed on two layers then left them on the grill to finish for another 30-40 minutes.

6. Remove and serve

Remove the ribs and let them rest for a few minutes before you move them to a cutting board and slice them.

Be careful not to shred the meat or tear the bark. Heat-resistant gloves work great for this instead of metal tongs.

Slice carefully between the bones. All there is left to do is to tuck into some smokey, delicious, and tender ribs straight from your gas grill!

Print

Smoked Ribs on a Gas Grill

Finger-lickin' low and slow smoked ribs using the 3-2-1 method on a gas gril

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 6 hours hours

Total Time 6 hours hours 20 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Calories 795kcal

Author Joe Clements

Ingredients

• 1 rack pork ribs Baby back or spare ribs are both fine, if using baby back you can adjust the wrap time down to two hours.
• 2 tbsp mustard Is optional but helps the rub stick to the ribs
• 2 tbsp bbq dry rub You can use our ultimate rib rub
• ¼ cup barbecue sauce You can use our homemade bbq sauce or a store bought sauce.

For the wrap

• 3 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tbsp honey

Instructions

• Prepare gas grill for two-zone cooking at 225°F – 250°F. Add wood chip foil pouch or smoke tube to the hot side of the grill. See above for more detailed instructions.
• Trim excess fat off ribs and remove any loose bits of meat. Remove the membrane from the back of the ribs and apply dry rub evenly over both sides of the ribs.
• Once grill is heated and wood is smoking, place ribs uncovered on the “cool side” of the grill away from lit burners.
• After 3 hours, remove the ribs and place meat side down on foil with pads of butter, a drizzle of honey and brown sugar and wrap tightly.
• Place the wrapped ribs back onto your grill meat side down for up to two hours.
• After 2 hours, unwrap. Turn the ribs meat side up on top of the aluminum foil unwrapped for another 20 minutes.
• Apply one or two layers of BBQ sauce, and let them cook for an additional 30-40 minutes. The bbq sauce should firm up and be nice and tacky instead of runny.
• Remove the ribs from the grill, let them rest for 10 minutes and slice to serve.

Video

Notes

Adding Smoke to a Gas Grill

1. DIY Foil Pouch:

• Create the pouch: Place a few handfuls of dry wood chips (such as hickory, apple, or cherry) in the center of a piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Fold the foil around the chips to create a sealed pouch.
• Poke holes: Use a fork or toothpick to poke several small holes in the top of the foil pouch to allow the smoke to escape.
• Place the pouch: Position the foil pouch directly over one of the burners on the grill. Preheat the grill on high until the pouch starts to produce smoke, then reduce the heat to the desired cooking temperature.

2. Pellet Smoke Tube:

• Fill the tube: Fill a pellet smoke tube with your choice of wood pellets. Pellets are available in various flavors like hickory, mesquite, and apple.
• Light the pellets: Use a propane torch or lighter to ignite one end of the pellet smoke tube. Allow the flame to burn for about 10 minutes until the pellets are well-lit and produce a steady stream of smoke.
• Place the tube: Position the pellet smoke tube on the grill grates over one of the burners. Ensure it is placed securely so it won’t roll around.
• Preheat and cook: Preheat the grill with the pellet smoke tube in place until the desired cooking temperature is reached. The tube will continue to produce smoke for several hours, infusing the ribs with a rich, smoky flavor.

Creating a Two-Zone Setup:

• Turn on one or two burners on one side of the grill while keeping the other side off to create indirect heat. Place the smoke tube or foil pouch on the lit side.
• Position the ribs on the unlit side to cook them indirectly, allowing the smoke to circulate and infuse the meat without direct exposure to the flame.

Managing Smoke and Temperature:

• Monitor the temperature to maintain a consistent cooking environment, ideally around 225°F to 250°F. Adjust the burners as necessary.
• Add more wood chips as needed throughout the first three hours to maintain a steady stream of smoke. If using foil pouch, have extra pouches ready to go. 
• Don’t smoke while ribs are wrapped as the smoke flavor will not penetrate the aluminum. For the final unwrapped stage you can add more wood if you wish, but most of the smoke flavor will absorb during that first stage of the cook.
• Avoid opening the lid frequently, as this lets out smoke and heat, which can extend cooking time and reduce the smoky flavor.

Nutrition

Calories: 795kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 36g | Fat: 62g | Saturated Fat: 23g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g | Monounsaturated Fat: 22g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 205mg | Sodium: 454mg | Potassium: 619mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 308IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 53mg | Iron: 2mg