How To Wrap Ribs in Foil - Angry BBQ (2024)

Making ribs at home is an incredibly satisfying experience as it doesn’t take anywhere near as long asbrisketor pork butts but is tasty and you can make it taste pretty much how you want. However, there are still questions that arise throughout the process of making mouthwatering smoked ribs at home.

One of the most common areas of the process that spark questions involveswrapping ribs. Should wewrap ribsand why? Isaluminum foilthe best way towrap ribs? How do we know when it’s time forwrapping? Do we put anything in thewrap, and how long do we keep the ribs in thewrap? We’re going to cover all of that here,wrappingit up in a nice package that unfortunately won’t smell nor taste as good as those ribs coming off yoursmoker. It doesn’t matter if you are using the 3-2-1 recipe or the 2-2-1 method, they both need to wrap the ribs in foil.

Do We Need ToWrap Ribs?

There are people who have beensmokingribs for years who haverecipesand techniques forsmokingdelicious ribs withoutwrappingthem. However, there are risks to this method, mainly drying the ribs out or potentially over-smokingthe ribs. Bywrappingthe ribs, we can help maintain the proper amount ofmoisture, break down the connective tissuemore quickly to cut down on thecooking time, and prevent any chance of making the ribs bitter through too muchsmokeexposure.

IsAluminum FoilThe Best Option ForWrapping Ribs?

There is plenty of debate about whether to usealuminum foilorbutcher paperwhen wrappingbrisketor pork butts. However, there seems to be much less debate when it comes to ribs. Due to the shorter cook times associated with most types of ribs, we want to trap as much heat andmoisturein thewrapas possible which makesaluminum foilsuperior to the more permeablebutcher paper.

Don’t take just my word for it, though. Aaron Franklin, the world-class pitmaster who helped create the basis for Texas-style barbecue that we know and love today, wraps his ribs in aluminum foilas well.

How Do You Know When ToWrap Ribs?

Now that we’ve covered why towrap ribsand why we usealuminum foil, we need to know when towrap ribs. We want to make sure we get plenty ofsmokeflavorwithout too much because once wewrapthe ribs in foil, nosmokewill get to the meat for as long as they are wrapped. We also know that thebarkon the surface of the ribs won’t improve once the ribs are wrapped.

However, we don’t want to wait too long as we can dry the ribs out or even potentially cause sugars in the dry rub to burn. So we need to know when is the best time towrap ribs. Typically, that time comes around three hours into thesmokingprocess. Whether you use the 3-2-1 method which is one of the most common methods forsmokingribs, Franklin’s 3-3 method, or our very ownMichael Haas’ method for not over-cooking your ribs, the three-hour mark is an almost universal mark in the barbecue world. It gives the ribs plenty of time to take onsmokeand color while also developing thebarkwithout the risk of drying out the meat.

There are others who mightwrap ribsafter two hours in thesmoker, but we find that the ribs don’t have enoughsmokeflavorfor our personal preferences in only two hours.

Now you might protest, saying that we often use temperature in relation to when wewrap other meats, and you’d be correct. When wesmokelarger cuts of meat likebrisket, pork butts, or even chuck roasts, we are monitoring the internal temperature and waiting for the stallbefore wewrap. We also use visual cues such asbarkformation to help us determine our timing, but temperature is a big part.

However, when it comes tosmokingmost types of ribs, we aren’t monitoring the internal temperature constantly. A rack ofbaby back ribs,spare ribs, or even beef back ribs is thin enough that we aren’t going to stick a wireless meatthermometerin for constant monitoring. To be completely transparent here, I have never once temped a rack of these thinner ribs throughout the entiresmokingprocess.

Now if you’resmokingbeef short plate ribs, that’s a completely different story. These ribs can feature between one and two inches of meat on the surface of the ribs, so I constantly monitor the internal temperature throughout the entire process. That means I also use the internal temperature as a guideline for when Iwrap.

What Do We Need ToWrap Ribs?

We’ve talked about usingaluminum foilforwrapping ribs, but is that all you need? You can absolutelywrapyour ribs by themselves, but a lot of people, myself included, like adding to thewrapfor moremoistureand moreflavor.

This likely comes out of the competition BBQ world where pitmasters are attempting to impart as muchflavoras humanly (or pork-ly) as possible because judges are only going to take one bite and need to be blown away. We don’t need to take that approach in our backyards, though. We want people to eat plenty of ribs and not feel sick to their stomachs afterward.

That doesn’t mean we can’t learn some lessons from the BBQ competition circuits, though. Adding layers offlavoris not a bad thing as long as we keep things balanced and not overwhelm people.

Butter

So what can we add to thewrap? For starters, adding a couple of pats ofbuttercan add some extra richness to the ribs which is especially good for a lean cut likebaby back ribs.

Sweetness – Honey

If you’re a fan of sweeter ribs, adding a good drizzle of honey or some extra sprinkles ofbrown sugarwill help ensure you get a good, sweet bite. I’m also a fan of adding some extra sprinkles of whatever rub I used on the ribs themselves to further bring thatflavorout.

BBQ Sauce

Some people will even addbarbecue sauceto thewrapfor that extramoisture. Typically, I wait until I unwrap my ribs for the finishing part of thecooking processto addBBQ sauce, but Franklin does not unwrap his ribs until he serves them so he adds sauce to thewrap. Some people will also addapple juiceor applecider vinegarto thewrapin order to ensure there’s plenty ofmoisture.

How Long Do WeWrap Ribs?

This is also a big point of contention when it comes towrapping ribs, and it largely depends on your preferences for the texture of your ribs. Do you prefer your ribs to be fall-off-the-bonetender? If so, you’re keeping your ribs in thewrapfor at least two hours. This is the “2” in the 3-2-1 method. Franklin actually keeps his ribs wrapped for three full hours before testing thetendernessof the meat around the thirdbonefrom the end of the rack.

Now this is an instance of the type of rib playing a factor in length of time.Baby back ribswill take less time to cook than a rack ofspare ribs, St Louis-style or not. If you like to bite into your ribs and have to tug to get the meat to come off thebone, Michael would recommend that yourbaby back ribsstay in the foil for around an hour,spare ribssomewhere around an hour and a half. Then you’ll unwrap and finish them on thesmoker. This is where you can add some of your favoriteBBQ saucewhich will set up and take on somesmokeflavorwithout burning.

If you’re not completely sure about the differences between the types ofpork ribs, don’t worry. You can check outour full breakdown ofpork ribsfor some more information. You’ll even get some information on country-style ribs (which aren’t really ribs at all, sorry for the confusion!)

If you’resmokingthose aforementioned beef short plate ribs, you’re going to keep them wrapped until they reach an internal temperature somewhere around 203°F and the meat isprobetender. If you want more information on beef ribs, check out our article onthe types of beef ribs.

How ToWrap RibsIn Foil, AKA TheTexas Crutch

One of the biggest concerns withwrapping ribsin foil is the potential for the foil to tear. If that happens, all that steam, heat, andmoisturecan leak out and jeopardize the quality of your ribs. If you look below Michael’s take on Aaron Franklin’sspare ribsrecipe, he provides photographic evidence of what happens if the foil tears. Suffice it to say, it’s not pretty.

So there are two major points to keep in mind whenwrappingyour ribs. One: you need towrapthe ribs as tightly as possible. This helps trapall the naturaljuicesandliquidand heat, helping break down all the connective tissue inside the ribs. Two: you need to prevent tears in the foil.

One way to do this is by using heavy-dutyaluminum foil, and real heavy-duty foil at that. You don’t want to go to the dollar store and buy their “heavy-duty” foil. It’s not really heavy-duty. You want to get the good stuff. It’s also helpful because it’s usually wider so you can protect the ribs more.

The other way to do this is simply bywrappingthe ribs in a doublelayer. This is my usual method, and my experience is that I haven’t dealt with a loss of heat ormoistureduring thecooking process. Regardless of which way you go, do everything you can to make sure your foil stays tight and intact.

InstructionsForHow ToWrapYour Ribs

1. Lay out a sheet ofaluminum foilthat is approximately two and a half times the length of yourrack of ribs. If you’re using two sheets like myself, do this twice.

2. Prep the foil with theingredientsyou want to be in yourwrap. For myself, this is where I lay down a few small pats ofbutter, drizzle with honey, and then shake some extra rub in the very middle of the foil. If you aresmokingbeef ribs, omit the honey orbrown sugar. Notice that the shiny side of the foil is up and the dull side is down. The dull side will allow heat to flow through while the shiny side will reflect the heat into the ribs.

3. Laythe ribsmeat sidedown onto theingredients.

4. Take one end of the foil and bring it over the ribs, sealing that end of therack tightly. Ensure that the foil conforms to the exact edge of the ribs.

5. Take the opposite end and repeat the process so the two ends of the foil overlap over the middle of therack of ribs.

6. Take the top and bottom edges of the foil and fold them tightly over to seal the entirerack of ribs. Ensure that the foil is tight to every edge of the ribs.

7. Repeat the above process with the secondlayerof foil if you are using two layers.

8. Return thewrapped ribsto thesmokerkeeping the meat side down. This helps further tenderize the meat.

WrappingIt Up

Yes, I could not resist thewrappingpun for leading off my final thoughts. When you aresmokingyour ribs, regardless of whether it’s pork or beef ribs, make sure you arewrappingyour ribs tightly withaluminum foiland ensuring that you keep the foil from tearing. If you are able to do that, you can delivertender, moist ribs whether you prefer some chew or fall-off-the-bonetender. Just don’t tell Michael that’s your preference.

FAQs:

Question: Can ISmokeRibs On My Charcoal Or GasGrill?

Answer: Just because you don’t have a traditional offsetsmokeror a new pelletgrilldoesn’t mean you can’tsmokeribs at home. I learned how tosmokeribs on my Char-Griller Premium Kettle. You need to learn how to set up yourgrillfor indirect heat. On a gasgrill, that will be lighting one burner and placing your meat on the other side of thegrill. On a charcoalgrill, that will look like piling your charcoal in one spot and arranging your meat away from the heat.

On your gasgrill, I recommend using afoil packetorsmokerbox of your preferredwood chips. If you’re new to usingwood chips, check outour guide complete with photos.If you’re using a charcoalgrill, you can usewood chipsin the same manner or you can use wood chunks to deliver even more woodflavor. If you’re unsure of when you should be usingwood chipsor wood chunks, check out ourbreakdown of the similarities and differences.

Question: Why Don’t WeWrap RibsBone SideDown?

Answer: If we keep the ribsbone sidedown in thewrap, we aren’t keeping the rib meat immersed in theliquidinside the foil. The meat sitting in thejuicesand the extraingredients we put in thewraphelp tenderize the meat. If we keep thebone sidedown, we lose that added benefit.

Question: After WeWrapThe Ribs, Can WeBakeThem In TheOvenTo Finish?

Answer: Using anovenfor barbecue might seem wrong, but it’s a nice trick for finishing meat. Once your ribs (or any meat) is wrapped inaluminum foil, it’s not going to take on any extra smokeflavor. If you intend on keeping your ribs wrapped for the rest of thecooking process, you absolutely can throw them in theovenso you don’t have to worry about tending to yourgrillorsmoker. I would put abaking sheeton the next rack down just in case anything happens to the foil to protect the bottom of youroven.