Smoked St. Louis-Style Ribs Recipe | Traeger Grill
Missouri is famous for its smoked St. Louis-style ribs. Known for their rich marbling, deep smoky flavor, and perfect balance of tender meat and satisfying chew. These ribs are generously coated in a flavorful dry rub, then slow-smoked with real hardwood until the fat renders and the meat develops a deep mahogany bark.
Unlike fall-off-the-bone ribs, St. Louis-style ribs have just the right amount of resistance, pulling cleanly away from the bone with every mouthwatering bite. Slathered in a sticky, sweet, and tangy barbecue sauce that caramelizes beautifully over the heat, these ribs are the kind of meal that makes you want to roll up your sleeves and dive in.
This is part of my Forks in the Road: Recipes From Across America series, where week by week, I’ll explore the foods and flavors of America and recreate the most popular recipes from all 50 states.
Why Missouri is known for its ribs
Missouri, particularly St. Louis, has a deep-rooted barbecue culture that makes it famous for its ribs. St. Louis-style ribs gained prominence due to the city’s history of meatpacking and its love for grilling and smoking pork. Unlike other BBQ styles, St. Louis ribs are trimmed in a specific way—removing the sternum, cartilage, and rib tips—resulting in a uniform, rectangular rack of ribs that cooks evenly and presents beautifully.
St. Louis is also known for its unique barbecue style, which is a mix of slow smoking and saucing. Unlike Memphis, which leans toward dry-rubbed ribs, St. Louis-style ribs are typically coated in a sweet, tangy, and sometimes spicy sauce—often a tomato-based Kansas City-style sauce with a balance of vinegar, brown sugar, and spices. This results in ribs with a sticky, caramelized crust that pairs perfectly with the smoky flavor from the wood-fired cooking.
The city’s barbecue culture has been shaped by a blend of Southern and Midwestern influences, making it a hotspot for BBQ lovers. St. Louis is home to legendary BBQ joints like Pappy’s Smokehouse and Bogart’s, further cementing its reputation as a rib capital. Whether served with a side of potato salad or baked beans, these ribs have become a signature dish of Missouri’s food scene.
What Are St. Louis-Style Ribs?
St. Louis-style ribs come from the belly of the pig, making them meatier and fattier than baby back ribs, which are cut from higher up on the ribcage. The extra fat content means more flavor, and when smoked properly, these ribs develop a smoky flavor and a beautiful bark on the outside.
Let’s Gather Up the Ingredients
Organizing all of your ingredients ahead of time not only streamlines the cooking process but also ensures you have everything required to complete the dish successfully. You can find the exact amounts in the recipe card below.
For the Ribs:
- Rack of St. Louis-style pork ribs
- Yellow or Dijon mustard (binder)
- BBQ sauce (use your favorite brand or try my homemade version)
- Apple juice
- Apple cider vinegar
- Butter, cut into small pieces
For the Dry Rub:
- Garlic powder
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- Paprika
- Onion powder
- or BBQ rub of choice
Now Let’s Get Cooking
Prep the Ribs
Remove the membrane and any sinew, small chunks of fat, and the flap of meat on the backside of the spare ribs.
Pat the ribs dry with a paper towel and rub a thin layer of yellow mustard over both sides.
In a small bowl, mix all the dry rub ingredients. Apply generously to both sides of the ribs.
Smoke the Ribs
Preheat your Traeger grill (or any pellet grill or electric smoker) to 225°F.
Place ribs meat side up on the smoker grates
Smoke for 3 hours uncovered, letting the rub form a bark.
Wrap and Tenderize
Lay out a double layer of aluminum foil or butcher paper and place the ribs meat side down.
Pour apple juice and apple cider vinegar over the ribs.
Add butter pieces, then wrap the foil tightly to create a sealed packet.
Place the wrapped ribs back in the smoker and cook for 2 more hours.
Sauce and Caramelization
Carefully unwrap the juicy ribs and place them back on the smoker for the last hour.
Brush with your favorite BBQ sauce.
Smoke for an additional hour, allowing the sauce to caramelize.
Rest, Slice, and Serve
Remove ribs from the smoker and let them rest on a cutting board for 10 minutes.
Use a good sharp knife to slice into the rib meat between the bones.
Serve with extra BBQ sauce and a side of potato salad.
Tips for Success
It’s difficult to test the internal temperature of ribs because the thin cut of meat and bones are so close together. However, they are done when their internal temperature reaches 190° to 203°. It’s better to test the doneness by how they look and feel.
Appearance:
- Deep mahogany or reddish-brown color
- A slight bark or crust on the exterior
- Meat that has pulled back from the bone by about 1/4 to 1/2 inch
- Some separation between the individual ribs
Feel/texture:
- When you pick up a rack by one end, it should bend easily and might even develop small cracks in the bark
- If you twist a rib bone, it should start to come clean from the meat with minimal resistance
- The meat should be tender but not completely falling off the bone (contrary to popular belief, competition-style ribs should hold to the bone until bitten)
- When you take a bite, the meat should come away cleanly, leaving a bite mark
A common test is the “bend test” – pick up the rib rack with tongs in the middle. The rack should bend significantly and may develop small tears on the surface, indicating that the connective tissues have broken down properly.
FAQ: Everything You Need to Know About St. Louis Ribs
Using the 3-2-1 method, these ribs take about 6 hours to smoke and 30-45 minutes to rest, so plan accordingly.
A sweet and tangy sauce with a little spice works best. Kansas City-style BBQ sauce is a popular choice, but you can also use a vinegar-based sauce for a little extra tang.
Yes! While the cooking process remains the same, baby back ribs are leaner and will cook slightly faster.
Classic BBQ sides like potato salad, baked beans, and macaroni salad are perfect companions to these amazing ribs.
Yes! Follow the same steps but bake at 250°F. You won’t get the same smoky flavor, but they’ll still be delicious.
Related Posts
Smoking St. Louis-style ribs is a labor of love, but the result is worth every minute. Whether you’re a first-time cook or a seasoned pitmaster, mastering the perfect rack of ribs on a pellet grill or electric smoker is an achievement worth celebrating. Whether you’re making them for Father’s Day, a summer cookout, or just because you have a hankering, these ribs are sure to impress. Fire up the smoker, grab a cold drink, and enjoy some of the best BBQ Missouri has to offer!
If you are enjoying my Forks in the Road series, check out more of the classic recipes I have adapted from around the United States.
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Smoked St. Louis-Style Ribs Recipe
Equipment
- electric smoker or pellet grill
Ingredients
For the Ribs
- 1 rack of St. Louis-style pork ribs
- 2 tablespoon yellow or Dijon mustard binder
- ½ cup favorite BBQ sauce
- ¼ cup apple juice
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons butter cut into small pieces
For the dry rub
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- or BBQ rub of choice
Instructions
Prep the Ribs
- Remove the membrane and any sinew, small chunks of fat, and the flap of meat on the backside of the spare ribs.
- Pat the ribs dry with a paper towel and rub a thin layer of yellow mustard over both sides.
- In a small bowl, mix all the dry rub ingredients. Apply generously to both sides of the ribs
Smoke the Ribs
- Preheat your Traeger grill (or any pellet grill or electric smoker) to 225°F.
- Place ribs meat side up on the smoker grates.
- Smoke for 3 hours uncovered, letting the rub form a bark.
Wrap and Tenderize
- Lay out a double layer of aluminum foil or butcher paper and place the ribs meat side down.
- Pour apple juice and apple cider vinegar over the ribs.
- Add butter pieces, then wrap the foil tightly to create a sealed packet.
- Place the wrapped ribs back in the smoker and cook for 2 more hours.
Sauce and Caramelization
- Carefully unwrap the juicy ribs and place them back on the smoker for the last hour.
- Brush with your favorite BBQ sauce.
- Smoke for an additional hour, allowing the sauce to caramelize.
Rest, Slice, and Serve
- Remove ribs from the smoker and let them rest on a cutting board for 10 minutes.
- Use a good sharp knife to slice into the rib meat between the bones.
- Serve with extra BBQ sauce and a side of potato salad.