By Christie Vanover | Published August 27, 2017 | Last Updated February 16, 2023
The 3-2-1 stands for how many hours you cook each phase.
As with any rib recipe, you have to start by removing the silverskin – that pesky membrane on the back. Then, you slather the ribs with mustard and your favorite rub. This is where the first cook comes in.
Place the ribs on your smoker for three hours.
Pecan, hickory and apple are great smoking woods for rubs.
After three hours, your ribs should have developed a nice mahogany bark, so it’s time to move onto step two. During this process, you’re going to make sure the ribs are nice and moist.
Wrap them in foil with butter, brown sugar, honey and juice. Both apple or grape work great. Set the ribs back on the smoker for two hours.
For the final step, you want to unwrap the ribs and get that lip-smacking candy sauce gloss on the ribs.
Baste them with sauce and place them back on the smoker for one hour.
That’s it. 3-2-1 – your ribs are ready.
Competition St. Louis Style Ribs (3-2-1 Method)
Ingredients
- 2 slabs St. Louis Style Ribs
- yellow mustard
- your favorite rib rub
- 1/4 cup butter
- brown sugar
- honey
- your favorite BBQ sauce
Instructions
- Flip the ribs, so that the bones are facing up. Using a paper towel, pull off the membrane and discard.
- Trim off the bones on each end. They're too small to be used as turn-in ribs. Trim off the flap of meat on the backside. Trim and remove any excess fat.
- Rub the backside with mustard and rib rub. Let rest in the fridge for 15 minutes. Flip and rub the topside with mustard and rib rub. Let rest in the fridge while you heat your grill to 225F degrees.
- Place the ribs on the grill meat side up. Smoke with the lid closed for 3 hours.
- Place two sheets of heavy-duty aluminum foil on the counter. Top with 4-5 pats of butter, 1-2 tablespoons brown sugar, a liberal drizzle of honey and 1/4 cup juice. Place the ribs on the butter, meat side down. To the bone side of the ribs, add 4-5 more pats butter, 1-2 more tablespoons brown sugar and another drizzle of honey. Wrap tightly, crimping up the ends.
- Place back on the smoker for 2 hours.
- Remove from the smoker, and unwrap from the foil. Flip the ribs over. Brush with sauce. Return to the smoker for one more hour.
- Remove from the smoker. Let rest a few minutes and slice. For competitions, select your 6 best bones for the judges.
Notes
Nutrition
This estimate was created using an online nutrition calculator
Where does the other 1/4 cup of juice go?
You use 1/4 cup per slab. The recipe is for 2 slabs.
My first time actually smoking ribs, husband has attempted, but I succeeded! By far the best ribs I’ve ever had, and even better I made them!!
Super cool! Great job.
3-2-1 and you have some juicy ribs that are delicious! Love my Smoker has grill combo! My wife and kids loved the ribs!
Can apple cider vinegar be used instead?
Absolutely. You could even use beer, if you want.
Yes
I am looking forward to this recipe for July 4th..
I am going to try your recipe this labor day weekend.I am a novice and have a master built gas smoker . What should I put in the fluid container??? Water? Juice? Can’t wait!
You probably don’t actually need to add anything to the water pan, but if you decide to add some liquid, I would go with water or apple juice. Enjoy!
OMG…Made your ribs yesterday. They came out fantastic. A big hit for my first time.. Thank You!!! Can’t wait to make them again.
Thanks Cynthia. Way to go! Glad they were a hit.
3-2-1 Ribs in the Traeger……just put step 2 back on the smoker….in 3:15 dinner is served!!! pictures to follow with smoked sweet potato!!!
Can we freeze these? We’re planing on making a few slabs and freeze them so we can take camping with us later
Sure. At the campsite, I would reheat them in a foil packet on the campfire.
Hi,
Girls can Grill! Making your rib recipe tomorrow can’t wait.
Do you keep you temp at 225 the whole time?
Yes. :)
Your*
delisious
Easy to follow and even better to eat ribs. Great recipe!
Do you have a suggestion to smoke ribs ahead of time to still keep them moist and flavourful?
I’m cooking for a large group and I’m going to have to smoke the ribs in batches.
Put apple juice in a cup while smoking. Put in the back of the grill keep juice in it.
Can you do this on a gas grill?
Yes, but you need to cook them over indirect heat. To do that, turn off some of the burners on your grill and cook them on the side where the burners are off. Or, cook them on an elevated rack.
I’m making these tomorrow! I’ll definitely let you know how they come out.
I’ve been making the 3-2-1 smoked ribs now for over 5 years on my Traeger pellet smoker and made some key changes from my recipe as per your recipe for my Labor Day BBQ. The first change was I dropped my temp from 250 degrees down to 225 degrees, the most important change was adding the butter tabs and wrapping in foil meat side down. I’ve always used brown sugar and honey but I used apple juice instead of grape juice and wound up making the best ribs I’ve ever made and the best I’ve ever eaten. This is a fabulous recipe and I’m so glad I came across your web page to have a new go to recipe for all my BBQ’s. Thank You!!!
-Bob
That’s so awesome to hear. Thanks for sharing the results of your great cook.
I didn’t put meat down after wrapping will this still be ok?
It’ll be fine. You may just need to keep it in the wrap a bit longer.
Made them yesterday..it took 6 hours which I hate but best ribs I’ve made so far. I’m going to try spice mustard next time.
Glad you enjoyed them. Spicy mustard sounds like a fun twist.
Did the brisket last week and turned out awesome will be doing the ribs this week just got all my code3 rubs can’t wait to try cn you use light brown sugar?
Thanks. Yes. Light brown sugar is fine.
does there need to be a temp of the meat and how do you know when there done
I find a temp between 204-207 is usually good. You also know they’re done when they bend and almost break.
In step 3 do you put them back in the foil fir the last hour or directly on the grill?
No. Discard the foil for step 3.
We are new to smoking meat and this was our third attempt at St. Louis ribs. Your method was a winner!! One of the best things I’ve eaten an a while! So good!
Awesome! Congrats on a great cook.
Made this plenty of times in the smoker and it was great! Just wondering, would this recipe work well in an oven?
Sure. It won’t be smokey, but the meat will be tender.
When you wrap it in the foil are you putting the meat down or up?
I put it meat down.
Can you recommend a substitute for the prepared mustard? I’m very sensitive to turmeric. The rest of it looks great!
You can make them without the mustard.
3-2-1 method the last hour is that wrapped
In foil ?
Unwrapped
Tried these today and they turned out great!
Trying this recipe today but making 3 slabs. Would I change anything since your recipe is for 2 slabs?
Not really. Just use the amount of butter, sugar and juice described in the instructions.
I own a camp chef with wifi, I can set the smoke from 1 to 10. 1 being low. When cooking 321 ribs, the first step what smoke setting should I use?
It really depends on how much smoke you personally prefer. You can try your first batch set on 5. If you decide you want more smoke next time, adjust from there.
Your recipes are always straightforward, easy to follow, and most importantly, they always work! Made my first brisket using your method a few weeks ago, everyone loved it. Even friends who told me everyone ruins their first few briskets. I’m making St Louis ribs in my WSM tomorrow.
During the 2 hour foils stage, are you still producing smoke?
No. At this point, you’re done absorbing smoke.
Did I miss where you gave a smoking temperature? Or doesn’t it matter?
For this recipe, heat your grill to 225F.
Thank You!!!! This was amazing!! I’m a begginer and this was EASY!! and…….delicious!
Yay! So glad to hear it.
Christie,
I am a beginner smoker and this will be my first shot at smoking anything. I can’t wait to try your recipe. I have a Masterbuilt 40 smoker. When smoking, how ever so often do you add wood chips during the first 3 hours? How much liquid do you put in your water pan? Can I use a mixture of apple cider vinegar an water? How ever so often in those first 3 hours do you spritz the ribs with fluids? Thanks so much, can’t wait to give you feedback.
I add wood chips at the beginning. If they burn out, I add more.
Fill your water pan with warm water. If it evaporates, add more.
Yes. You can definitely spritz with a water/vinegar combo. I spritz about every 30-45 minutes.
Ours looked done after the two hour wrapped in foil cook. Is the purpose of the last hour just to caramelize the sauce?
Yes. If you feel that you’ve reached the level of doneness you like, You can cut that last hour down to 15 minutes or so, just to set the sauce.
How do I do 321 if we don’t sauce our ribs?
During the last hour, take them out of the foil, and put them directly on the smoker without sauce. I recommend basting them with some of the juices from the foil every 15 minutes or so.
The only thing I changed is the heat recipe. I did an hour 165 then hour at 180 then 1.5 hours at 225 and then wrapped with peach butcher paper and 2.5 hrs at 225. This is for family on the 4th, so I wanted them fall off the bone.
I’ve use Dr.Pepper awesome.
I used a combo of apple juice and cherry coke to spray on the ribs every 30 min during smoke. Then used the remainder of the spray mix in the foil wrap with butter, brown sugar, and honey.
Sounds like a tasty combo.
Doing your menu tonight. Can’t wait till it’s finished.
Hi there Christie..I want to subscribe but the link is dead!! Help!
I sent ahead and added you. Thank you. Please let me know which link is giving you problems, so I can fix it.
Hi Christie,
I was just wondering if you purchase your St. Louis Style Ribs directly from a butcher, or are you using cryovac ribs that have been injected by the manufacturer?
Thanks!!
I usually pick up a slab from Wal-Mart or the local grocery store. They’re usually injected.
Hi there, made these last night they were fabulous. What’s the best way to reheat the leftovers? Foil wrapped on the smoker at 225? If so how long do you think it’ll take?
If it’s just for a quick lunch, I microwave them. If you’re wanting to reheat a whole rack for a crowd, I wrap them in foil and put them in the oven at about 250. Check them after 30 minutes. If they seem dry, add a very small amount of water to the foil and wrap them back up.