Grilled Beef Ribs

Delicious grilled beef ribs don’t need to cook all day to be fall-off-the-bone tender. Get my delicious barbecue ribs recipe as well as oven instructions.

If you’re looking for a fantastic grilling recipe, you’ve got to try these Grilled Beef Ribs. When slow-cooked on the grill, they get so tender and flavorful. They are perfect with BBQ sauce and your favorite grilled veggies. I’m sharing information about this type of rib as well as both grilling and oven-baked instructions.

Scroll down to read more about how it all comes together or click here to jump straight down to the recipe.

What Kind Of Beef Ribs To Use

For this recipe, we’re using beef back ribs. They are usually sold as a full rack like in the picture below that has two ribs cut off of it. You’ll be cutting the rack into individual ribs with one bone running through each one, very similar to the kinds of pork ribs that you might be more familiar with.

If you have a different kind of ribs, don’t worry! Follow my recipe for beef short ribs instead which benefit from a braising cook method or Flanken ribs which can also be grilled. Or if you have pork, you can use my baby rack ribs recipe or my Instant Pot ribs recipe which can be used for spare ribs as well.

How Many Ribs Do I Need Per Person?

Two racks of beef back ribs typically serves 4-5 people. There are 8 ribs per rack, so that works out to 3-4 ribs per person. That may sound like a large portion, 3-4 of those big, chunky ribs. But there’s a lot of bone to these, and less meat. Note that if your store sells the beef ribs individually cut instead of in racks, you’ll want 16 ribs.

How To Grill Beef Ribs

For amazingly tender meat that will fall off the bone, and some delicious smoky flavor, cooking low-and-slow on the grill is the way to go. If you would prefer to cook them in the oven, scroll down for those instructions.

Start by prepping your grill and heating one side of it on low heat, about 275°F. Remove any membranes and excess fat from the ribs and cut them into individual ribs. Sprinkle salt evenly over the ribs.

Cook the beef back ribs over indirect heat by placing them on the side of the grill that is not heated. Close the grill and cook for two hours. After two hours, brush the ribs with barbecue sauce if you’d like. Continue cooking until the meat can easily be pulled off the bone, 30-60 minutes more. Let them rest for five minutes and then it’s time to dig in!

Note: If you like a bit more char on your ribs, you can turn up the grill to high at the end of the cook time. Transfer the ribs over to the direct heat and cook for just 2-3 minutes per side at the very end. Then take them off and let them rest as usual.

Kinds Of Barbecue Sauce

While you don’t HAVE to use, barbecue sauce, I think BBQ ribs are amazing and very much encourage it. Use your favorite store-bought sauce or try one of my homemade recipes. I have a basic BBQ sauce that is very adaptable as well as a Sweet and Smoky BBQ Sauce.

Oven-Cooked BBQ Beef Ribs

Don’t have a grill or just prefer to cook inside? Use these instructions instead.

Preheat your oven to 300°F. Cut racks into individual ribs. Season with salt. Bake the ribs on a large baking sheet in a single layer uncovered for an hour, the meatiest sides up. Then tightly cover the ribs with aluminum foil and continue to cook for another 1.5 hours.

Brush on BBQ sauce. You can serve them like that, or, put them under the broiler for a couple of minutes per side to get a bit of char.

Make-Ahead Ribs

Whether you’re cooking the ribs in the oven or on the grill, you can absolutely do them ahead. What I like to do is to do the low-and-slow part a day or two in advance. That’s the part that takes the longest so getting it out of the way is a great idea.

Make-Ahead Ribs Using The Oven: You’ll cook them as instructed above for the 2.5 hours. Let them cool, brush them with sauce, and then cover and refrigerate until about 30 minutes before you want to serve them. Then, take them out of the fridge, let them sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before either putting them under the broiler or onto a hot grill. You’ll turn them as they darken, turning to char all sides a bit, and to heat them through. Serve.

Make-Ahead Ribs Using The Grill: You’ll cook them as instructed below for the 2 hours, then brush with sauce, then cook for 30-60 more minutes until very tender. Let them cool and then cover and refrigerate them until about 30 minutes before you want to serve them. Then, take them out of the fridge, let them sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before either putting them under the broiler or onto a hot grill. You’ll turn them as they darken, turning to char all sides a bit, and to heat them through. Serve.

More Great Grilling Recipes

You can browse my complete collection of grilling recipes, but here’s some other great grilled meats for you to make. Enjoy! -Christine xo

• Perfect Grilled Chicken
• Grilled Pork Loin
• Grilled Shrimp Skewers
• Lobster Tails on the Grill
• Grilled Tomahawk Steaks
• How to Grill Tri-Tip