When it comes to the best of the best tailgating foods, there are few that 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, but at Inside Tailgating, we’ve talked to the experts and found some of the tastiest and most popular rib recipes. Here are our reader’s favorite ribs 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 BBQ 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-to-8 hours depending on the grill and size of the rack of ribs. But trust us, it’s worth the wait. Enjoy!
Baby Back BBQ Ribs
Ingredients
- 4 Tbsp Granulated Garlic
- 2 Tbsp Paprika
- 2 Tbsp Kosher Salt
- 1 Tbsp Onion Powder
- 2 Tsp Black Pepper
- 2 Tsp Dry Mustard
- 1 Tsp Durkee Ancho Pepper
- 1 Tsp Cumin Seed
Mixture
- 1 Cup Red Wine Vinegar
- 1 Cup Water
- 3 Tbsp Soy Sauce
- 1 Tbsp Garlic
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 recipe from our friends at Stubb’s Barbecue. Mmmm Mmmmm!
Stubb’s Sweet Baby Back Ribs
Ingredients
- 2-4 Tbsp Stubb's BBQ Spice Rub
- 1/2 Cup Stubb's BBQ Sauce (Hickory Bourbon, Sticky Sweet, Honey Pecan or Smokey Mesquite is recommended)
- 2 Racks Of Baby Back Ribs
- 3 Cups Wood Chips
Smokin’ Hot 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.
Charcoal Grill Ribs
Ingredients
Ribs
- 1 Rack St. Louis Style Spareribs
- 2 Tbsp Yellow Mustard
Rib Rub
- 2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
- 1 Tbsp Paprika
- 1 Tbsp Kosher Salt
- 1 Tbsp Ground Black Pepper
- 2 Tsp Chili Powder
- 1 Tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 Tsp Onion Powder
- 1 Tsp Cayenne Pepper
Mop Sauce
- 1/3 Cup Beef Broth
- 2/3 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
- 3 Tbsp Butter
- 1 Tbsp Honey
- 1 Tbsp Brown Sugar
- Your Choice Of Smoking Wood Chips
Cooking ribs can be intimidating for the average guy or gal to attempt, much less feature at a rockin’ tailgate party for family and friends. So we are turning to Jen Miller from “Jen Reviews” for advice. On her website, www.jenreviews.com, in which she reviews everything from healthy and delicious recipes to the latest baby gear to makeup to living room furniture, she simplifies how to smoke ribs in a charcoal grill in this delicious recipe, by Matt Pineda, breaking it down into step-by-step instructions complete with photos so you can’t mess this up. Anything with this much brown sugar, honey, and butter has to be good.
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.
Busha Browne Jerk Smokey BBQ Ribs
Ingredients
- 2 Racks Pork Ribs, trimmed and cut in half
- 4 Oz Busha Browne Authentic Jerk Seasoning Rub
- 6 Oz Busha Browne Jerk Smokey BBQ Sauce
- 2 Tbs Olive Oil
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!
LA Galbi (Korean Short Ribs)
Ingredients
Ribs
- 3-4 Lbs Cross Cut Beef Short Ribs (1/3 Inch Thick)
Marinade
- 1/2 Cup Soy Sauce
- 1/2 Cup Water
- 1/4 Cup Sugar
- 2 Tbsp Honey
- 1/4 Cup Rice Wine or Mirin
- 2 Tbsp Sesame Oil
- 1/2 Korean/Asian Pear, grated
- 1/2 Medium Onion, grated
- 3 Scallions, thinly sliced
- 2 Tbsp Minced Garlic
- 1 Tsp Minced Ginger
- 1/2 Tsp Black Pepper
- 1 Tsp Sesame Seeds, optional
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 newest 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. You should try it out the next time you have some meat that needs a good rub. It truly goes great with just about anything.
Big Time BBQ Rub
Ingredients
- 1/2 Cup Salt
- 1/2 Cup Turbinado Sugar
- 1/4 Cup Granulated Brown Sugar
- 1 Tbsp Granulated Garlic
- 1 Tbsp Granulated Onion
- 2 Tbsp Paprika
- 2 Tbsp Chili Powder
- 2 Tbsp Black Pepper
- 2 Tsp Cayenne
- 1 Tbsp Thyme Leaves
- 1 Tbsp Ground Cumin
- 1 Tsp Ground Nutmeg
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.