Smoked Riblets Recipe: How to Smoke Riblets
Written by MasterClass
Last updated: Mar 14, 2024 • 2 min read
Riblets are small, bone-in ribs cut from a rack of pork ribs. You can make fall-off-the-bone riblets for an appetizer or main course.
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What Are Smoked Riblets?
Smoked riblets are bite-sized, bone-in pork ribs. Cooks smoke riblets with a dry rub, then typically slather them with a mixture of apple juice and barbecue sauce before serving. You can use different types of wood to impart different smoke flavors, such as hickory or applewood. You can also prepare smoked riblets with different dry rubs and spices, like a Kansas City-style dry rub or Cajun-spiced ribs.
Riblets vs. Ribs: What’s the Difference?
Riblets are the smaller, bone-in pieces cut from a slab of ribs. Riblets are not to be confused with smoked rib tips, spare ribs, St. Louis cut ribs, baby back ribs, or a boneless cut of the meaty underside of a rack of ribs.
Smoked Pork Riblets Recipe
makes
prep time
45 mintotal time
3 hr 45 mincook time
3 hrIngredients
Note: The total time does not include 35 minutes of inactive time.
- 1
Preheat a smoker or pellet grill to 225 degrees Fahrenheit.
- 2
Remove the riblets from the refrigerator. Use a paper towel to pat them down thoroughly to remove excess moisture. Allow the riblets to rest at room temperature for 20 minutes.
- 3
Using a pastry brush or your fingers, brush the riblets with a thin layer of olive oil.
- 4
In a large bowl, whisk together your dry rub ingredients. Combine the salt, pepper, paprika, brown sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, mustard powder, and cumin until incorporated.
- 5
Sprinkle the rub over the riblets and use your fingers to massage the seasoning into the meat.
- 6
Place the riblets directly onto the smoker grates over indirect heat, close the lid, and smoke them until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a rib reads 150 degrees Fahrenheit, about 2–3 hours.
- 7
In a small bowl, whisk together the bbq sauce and apple juice. Using a pastry brush, slather a ¼ cup of bbq sauce over each rib. Close the lid of the smoker and continue to cook the riblets until the sauce is thick and the internal temperature reaches 180–185 degrees Fahrenheit, about 30 additional minutes.
- 8
Using tongs, remove the riblets from the smoker and let them rest for 15 minutes before serving.
- 9
Wrap leftover riblets in aluminum foil and refrigerate for up to 5 days.
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