Rib Lovers Get Your Tongs Ready! Here’s Our Master Guide To The Best Tailgating Ribs

When it comes to the best of the best tailgating foods, few hold the place of a good rack of ribs. Ribs are great for tailgating because they are filling, made on the grill, and are easily eaten with your hands (even if they are a little messy). Perfecting the most delicious rack of ribs is a tall undertaking, especially if its your first time, but at Inside Tailgating, we’ve talked to the experts and found some of the tastiest and most popular rib recipes using various grill types and cooking methods, so anyone can pull them off.

Here are our reader’s favorite grilled ribs recipes to try at your next tailgate. Grab your portable grill, tongs, and of course, some wet wipes, and let’s get grilling!

Baby Back BBQ Ribs

There is probably no rack of ribs more famous than classic baby back ribs. These tender, juicy ribs are the perfect tailgating food for meat lovers because they’re filling and easy to eat with your hands. There are tons of great recipes for baby back ribs, but we’re partial to this classic Alabama recipe.

A while ago we provided you a recipe for Armadillo Eggs, which is the perfect spicy appetizer to get your juices flowing. Now it’s onto the main course, where we give you a recipe for another Alabama favorite—baby back barbecue ribs.

Follow these directions closely to get ribs that literally fall off the bone when you sink your teeth into them. And hopefully, you won’t get that annoying Chili’s song in your head while making your preparations. The total cooking time is 4–8 hours depending on the grill and size of the rack of ribs. But trust us, it’s worth the wait. Enjoy!

Stubb’s Sweet Baby Back Ribs

Stubbs is definitely one of the best store-bought BBQ sauces on the market and one of our team’s favorites at Inside Tailgating. We even got to spend a little time with Rocky Stubblefield, the grandson of the founder of Stubbs, C.B. Stubblefield, recently. He gave us a ton of tips and tricks on how to master your BBQ dishes. Now we’re sharing the tastiest rib sauce recipe using Stubbs BBQ sauce. We’re sure you’ll love it!

What better time to cook up some delicious ribs for your family, friends, and sports-watching buddies at your next tailgate? We offer another great grilled ribs recipe from our friends at Stubb’s Barbecue: baby back pork ribs. Mmmm Mmmmm! (Bonus: Try these Stubb’s Cowboy Beans, Stubb’s Spiced Asparagus Spears, or Stubb’s Jalapeno-Cheddar Corn Bread as the perfect side dishes to go with your ribs!)

Charcoal Grill Ribs

Never grilled ribs before but definitely want to give it a try? We called in an expert to help get you started. She’ll walk you through the basics of grilling ribs and even shares one of her famous ribs recipes. This is a great recipe for people just starting out, but it’s tasty enough for pit masters to enjoy as well.

Busha Browne Jerk Smokey BBQ Ribs

Jerk seasoning and sauces are a really aromatic, spice combination. They are made with a blend of herbs and spices, balanced perfectly between warm and sweet and smokey and spicy. The best part is jerk goes great on all of our favorite tailgating foods including BBQ ribs.

At the next tailgate gathering, we’re making it a bit smokey and spicy with this Jerk Smokey BBQ Ribs recipe. We know our friends and family will be impressed with our skills for sure.

This recipe is a big fan-favorite with guests. Busha Browne products are sold nationwide and online. For more information visit www.bushabrowne.com.

Korean BBQ Short Ribs (LA Galbi)

If you’re looking for tailgating food that will impress your guests, you definitely want to make Korean BBQ short ribs. Koreans, like Americans and Australians, are absolute masters at BBQ’d and grilled dishes. These tasty ribs are sure to be a hit among your rib-loving tailgating friends and also make just a great dinner recipe when cooking at home. 

We turned to www.koreanbapsang.com for this traditional Korean recipe for LA Galbi (Korean Short Ribs) and we dare you to try it! We’re sure you’ll love them!

Big Time BBQ Rub

All pit masters know the importance of a good dry rub. Partnering with Ray Lampe, we’ve found probably the best rib rub for tailgating. Using common spices and herbs found in your pantry, you can whip this rub up ahead of time.

Our friend Ray Lampe, Dr. BBQ has so many great recipes many of which appear in one of his cookbooks the NFL Gameday Cookbook. One of the basic ingredients for many of those culinary treats is one of his signature dry rubs, which is simply amazing. We highly recommend you try out this spice rub recipe the next time you have some meat that needs a good rub. It truly goes great with just about anything. 

These are our favorite ribs, we’d love to know what your favorite rib recipes are in the comments or by tagging us on  Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. 

You’ll also need some tasty sides to go with those ribs. We’ve got you covered. We share tons of recipes from tailgaters all over the country to help you plan the tastiest menu. We have all your tailgating food needs covered.