Tender, succulent St. Louis-Style Ribs are cooked low and slow in the oven and finished on the grill. The flavor of these ribs is the best! Easy recipe.
Grilling season is upon us and an all time favorite is of course ribs. I find they can be tricky to grill well, leaving them succulent and moist but still with the proper charring to remember it IS summer. I have a tried and true recipe to share for St. Louis Pork Ribs.
The June/July 2011 issue of Saveur magazine is devoted to barbecuing of all types. There is a great chart in the middle of the issue with a small write up on different cuts of meat. They describe St. Louis ribs as: “These are pork spareribs that have been trimmed of the rib tips, skirt meat and the point so that the shape is neat, and uniformly rectangular. St Louis ribs are long and slender with a nice amount of meat on them’.
I personally find them to have just the right amount of fat to add fabulous flavor but not to overwhelm the digestion (ribs can be very rich).
How to Make St. Louis-Style Ribs – Step-by-Step
These ribs are cooked long and slow first in the oven then on the grill.
This allows the flavor to develop and to keep them from drying out.
STEP 1: Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil.
STEP 2: Sprinkle the ribs with salt, pepper and a spice mix . Refer to the photos below for guidance on coverage.
STEP 3: Cook the St. Louis ribs in the oven for 3 hours, flipping the ribs over once halfway through.
STEP 4: About 15 minutes before the 3 hours is done, preheat the gas grill to low temperature.
STEP 5: Grill the ribs approximately 30 minutes over low heat to finish them. Flip once after 15 minutes.
PRO TIP: have a clean food-safe spray bottle of water handy to ensure no flare ups or charring of the ribs.
What Rub to Use
For these ribs I used a Penzey’s spice blend called ‘Mural of Flavors‘.
It contains:
- Shallots
- Onions
- Garlic
- Lemon Peel
- Citric Acid
- Orange Peel
I recommend using a rub for pork preferably with some citrus ingredients.
This will bring out the natural flavor of the ribs vs. taking over with strong spice flavor.
You can also make your own Dry Rub for Ribs. Its easy and full of smoky, sweet and spicy flavor.
How Many People will a Rack of Ribs Feed?
A typical rack of St. Louis-Style Ribs is around 2 to 2 1/2 pounds and will serve 3-4 people.
I prepared 2 racks for 4 diners expecting leftovers. There was an ample amount.
They were delicious when served over the following days, reheated, for 2 additional meals.
Make it a Meal!
- Broccoli Salad
- Slow Cooker Barbecue Beans with Bacon
- Grill-Smoked Creamy Potato Salad with Bacon
- Monster Cookies
- Rhubarb Fool
- Peruvian Pisco Sour Cocktail
More Grilling Recipes You’ll Love!
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- Ultimate Burger Grill Guide
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Recipe
GRILLED ST. LOUIS-STYLE RIBS
Ingredients
- 1 rack St. Louis style ribs
- Salt
- Pepper
- Penzey’s spice blend: Mural of Flavors or comparable spice blend*
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Put ribs on a foil lined baking sheet. Salt, pepper and sprinkle spice mix amply on both sides of rib rack.
- Place in the oven for 3 hours. Flip once halfway through.
- Preheat a gas grill to low temperature to finish on low direct heat for approximately 30 minutes. Flip once. Ensure no flare ups or charring.
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published: June 9, 2011
Christine @knapkins_com says
Toni, your ribs are just in time for the summer BBQ season! Interested in submitting your food photos to a Knapkins battle?
🙂
Christine
rosemarried says
I love you for posting this recipe (as if I didn't love you enough already!). My dad just asked me about cooking ribs for my mom's birthday this weekend, and I've never attempted them! My grandpa always made them, but he's getting older now and isn't cooking much. So, then, I must carry on the tradition. I was nervous about which method to try, but this looks simple and delicious. Thanks for sharing!
Erin says
I love ribs! These look amazing!!
My Kitchen in the Rockies says
That was a big deal to my daughter that Secretariat's owner is local. She convinced me to watch the movie with her a few weeks ago.
Can't believe you went on this funny looking bus to tour your hometown! You are so funny.
This is exactly how I make my ribs and they come out perfect every single time. I am looking forward to the Colorado Springs Farmers Market opening next week and to visit my farmer who sells the best pork ribs ever. His pigs live outside on pasture.
DiannG says
This is my all time favorite blog of yours. I LOVE ribs and have always been intimidated about cooking them. Your recipe is easy and I can't wait to try it. Your photos were great and made me drool!
Raquel @ Erecipe.com says
I love ribs and specially when it grills…yummy!
Karen Harris says
Being a Texas girl you know I love me some ribs. These look soooo good and even better because there's not a drop of sauce baked on which in my opinion ruins a great piece of meat.
Lizzy says
Toni, your ribs look FABULOUS!!! So meaty and perfectly cooked. I will try your rub this summer~
lawrence says
I found that smoking St louis pork ribs with off side charcoal fire.
I cooked them 4.5 hrs and with very juicy out come.
plus I dry rubbed them with my secret dry rub wrapped with cello
film overnite.
I did put in oven for about 1hr. at about 350 to dry out a little.
NO SAUCE
Barbara | Creative Culinary says
I consider myself relatively skilled on the grill but it was only 2 summers ago that I tried ribs; they seem to have an aura about them that insures either fabulous success if you have the rib grilling secrets or dismal failure if you don't and so it always sounded too risky for me.
But I wanted to give it a shot and I must say…so glad I did. Your technique is similar to mine but for one thing. I put the ribs into the large roasting pan I have for a turkey and cook them on the grill with ambient heat. The pan sits on one side of the grill and the heat is on the other side. Nice if you don't want to heat up your kitchen but does require a grill that is large enough to accommodate. I bought some ribs a couple of weeks ago; seeing this article now has me hankering for them bad; they look, hmm, in a word? Delicious.
AND…I knew the owner of Secretariat was in Colorado (just watched the movie and the credits say that); just had no idea she was in Boulder! Cool.