Texas Spare Ribs

Name: Texas Spare Ribs Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2 racks pork spare ribs; Bear &amp; Burton’s The W Sauce; Meat Church Blanco Seasoning; Cattleman’s Grill Lone Star Seasoning

Jun 25, 2024 • Tom Jackson

Get ready to impress this Fourth of July with these smoky, flavorful pork spare ribs cooked to perfection in the outdoor kitchen on your Yoder Smokers YS640s Pellet Grill. Begin by prepping two racks of pork spare ribs, trimming the edges and squaring off the ends for a uniform shape. Coat the ribs with Bear & Burton’s The W Sauce, then generously season with Meat Church Blanco Seasoning and Cattleman’s Grill Lone Star Seasoning. Smoke the ribs at 250ºF until a beautiful reddish bark forms, usually around three to four hours, and the internal temperature reaches approximately 165ºF. Wrap the ribs in heavy-duty foil and continue smoking until the meat is tender and easily pulls from the bone, an additional one to two hours. After a brief rest, slice the ribs and pour any delicious juices from the foil over them for an extra burst of flavor. Enjoy the perfect blend of spices and smoky goodness with every bite.

WHAT YOU'LL LOVE

Two-rub layering gives the bark real depth: Applying Bear & Burton's The W Sauce as a binder, then layering Meat Church Blanco Seasoning and Cattleman's Grill Lone Star Seasoning on top, builds a more complex bark than a single-rub approach — each seasoning contributes something different to the finished crust.
The wrap at 165°F is the moment everything changes: Pulling the ribs off the smoker once a reddish bark is set and wrapping them tightly in foil traps steam and moisture for the final stretch, pushing the meat through to tender without drying out — the bark is already locked in before you ever close the foil.
Pouring the foil juices back over the sliced ribs: The liquid that accumulates in the foil wrap during the final cook is concentrated rib drippings and seasoning runoff — pouring it over the sliced ribs before serving adds a glossy, intensely flavored finish that no sauce can replicate.
Clean, minimal ingredient list, maximum payoff: Four ingredients (ribs, W Sauce, Blanco, Lone Star) and a pellet grill are all you need — this recipe proves that great spare ribs don't require a complex technique or a long ingredient list.

Texas Spare Ribs Recipe

Tom Jackson

Rated 5.0 stars by 2 users

Cuisine

American

Servings

8

Prep Time

10 minutes

Calories

313

Get ready to delight your friends and family with these smoky, flavorful pork spare ribs, cooked to perfection on your Yoder Smokers YS640s Pellet Grill. Start by trimming and squaring off two racks of pork spare ribs for an even shape. Slather them with Bear & Burton’s The W Sauce, then generously season with Meat Church Blanco Seasoning and Cattleman’s Grill Lone Star Seasoning. Smoke the ribs at 250ºF until a beautiful reddish bark forms, about three to four hours, and the internal temperature reaches 165ºF. Wrap them in heavy-duty foil and continue smoking until the meat is tender and easily pulls from the bone, an additional one to two hours. After a brief rest, slice the ribs and pour any delicious juices from the foil over them for an extra burst of flavor. Enjoy the perfect blend of spices and smoky goodness with every bite, and share the love with your neighbors!

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Ingredients

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Directions

Preheat your Yoder Smokers YS640s Pellet Grill to 250ºF set up for smoking.
Trim the thin edges of the spare rib, and square off the ends of the rack so that there are no ribs protruding.
Slather the ribs on the bone side with one to two tablespoons of Bear & Burton’s The W Sauce and rub into a thing layer, coating the ribs. Season with Meat Church Blanco Seasoning and Cattleman’s Grill Lone Star Seasoning. Flip and repeat the process on the meaty side.
Place the ribs on the second shelf of the grill and smoke until a reddish bark is formed, about three to four hours. The internal temperature will be around 165ºF.
Remove the ribs from the grill and wrap in two layers of heavy duty foil, meat side down.
Return the ribs to the smoker and continue cooking until tender. The foil packet should feel flexible when picked up and when examining the ribs you should be able to see the meat move freely from the bone when twisting the ribs. This usually takes an additional one to two hours.
Let rest for twenty to thirty minutes.
Remove the ribs from the foil. Place them on a cutting board, bone side up. Slice in between the bones. Pour any excess liquid from the foil package over the ribs.

Recipe Note

Recipe FAQ

What's the history behind Texas-style spare ribs?
Texas barbecue traces its roots to the 19th century, when German and Czech immigrants settling in Central Texas brought their smoking and meat preservation traditions with them. While brisket became the signature cut of Central Texas, pork ribs have always been a fixture at Texas barbecue joints — typically seasoned simply with salt, pepper, and maybe a touch of garlic, then slow-smoked over post oak. This recipe reflects that same Texas philosophy: let quality pork and good seasoning speak for themselves, without relying on heavy sauces or complicated techniques.

What's the difference between spare ribs and baby back ribs?
Spare ribs come from the lower portion of the rib cage and are larger, meatier, and have more fat than baby back ribs. They take longer to cook but reward the extra time with richer, more flavorful meat. Baby backs come from higher on the rib cage near the spine and are leaner and more tender to start, but have less fat to render through — spare ribs are the Texas competition choice for exactly that reason.

How do I know when the ribs are done without a temperature reading?
The flex test is more reliable than temperature for spare ribs: pick up the rack with tongs at one end and let it hang — a done rack will bend dramatically and the surface will begin to crack slightly. When you twist an individual rib bone, it should rotate with minimal resistance. Temperature is a guideline (typically 195–205°F for tender ribs), but texture and feel are the real finish line.

Should I remove the membrane from the bone side?
Yes — removing the silverskin membrane from the bone side of the rack before applying the binder and rub allows the seasoning to penetrate the meat from both sides and prevents the membrane from turning into a rubbery barrier during the cook. Loosen a corner with a butter knife, grab it with a paper towel for grip, and pull it off in one piece if possible.

Can I make these indoors?
1 out of 5 — Best on the grill. A 250°F oven can cook the ribs to tenderness and the foil wrap technique works identically indoors. What you lose entirely is the smoke flavor and the reddish bark that forms during the first 3–4 hours on the pellet grill — without wood smoke, you're making oven-braised ribs, which is a different dish with a different flavor profile.

Recipe Highlights

Square off the rack before seasoning, not after: Trimming the thin edges and squaring off any protruding rib ends before applying the binder and rub means you're seasoning the actual final shape of the rack — thin, irregular edges cook faster than the rest of the rack and will burn or overcook if left on during a 4–6 hour smoke.
Apply W Sauce as a thin binder layer, not a heavy coat: One to two tablespoons rubbed into a thin, even layer gives the dry seasoning something to grip without creating a thick barrier between the rub and the meat surface. Too much binder can cause the rub to steam rather than form a proper bark under the smoke.
Wrap meat-side down, not meat-side up: Directions Step 5 specifies placing the ribs meat-side down in the foil. This positions the meatiest surface in the pool of liquid that accumulates in the bottom of the foil packet during the wrapped phase, essentially braising the meat side in its own juices rather than letting the liquid drip away.
Rest 20–30 minutes before slicing: The rest after unwrapping allows the juices to redistribute through the meat and the surface temperature to equalize. Slicing immediately off the smoker releases those juices onto the cutting board — the rest period is what keeps them in the ribs where they belong.