Grilling 101: 3-2-1 Ribs

Memphis Style Pork Spare Ribs

Like most things, there's hundreds of cook ribs and far more ways to mess them up than to get perfect, moist, fall of the bone ribs. In this edition of Grilling 101, we'll take an in depth look at one of the most popular (and borderline foolproof) ways of making delicious ribs.

What is 3-2-1?

This is probably one of the most straightforward names out there as it aligns with your steps. 3 hours on the grate, 2 hours in foil, 1 hour back on the grate. Easy. Peasy. And other phrases like it. All told 3-2-1  ribs will take you about 6.5 hours from prep to completion, so make sure you're leaving yourself enough time on this one.

The concept here is that you run low and slow for 3 hours, gaining the smokey flavor from the grill and giving your bark a start. Then your wrap your ribs in tin foil with a little bit of liquid, effectively boiling them and helping keep them moist and delicious. Finally, unwrap them and place them back on the grill, firing it up to a higher temperature to finish them and add a little bark. Some people opt to baste them with bbq sauce at this point.

Sounds pretty easy right? It is. Now if you're looking for competition style ribs and love a more blackened rib that won't fall off the rib - these are not for you. (I'll post another recipe relatively soon for this style.)

What You'll Need

• Pork Ribs (choose either Baby Back or St. Louis/Spare)

• Rub of your choice

  • I use 4 parts brown sugar, 2 parts salt, 2 parts black pepper and 1 part each paprika, onion powder and garlic powder

• Aluminum foil (heavy duty)

• 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar or water

• BBQ Sauce of choice (optional)

How You'll Do it

Step 1:     3 Hour Smoke

1. Fire up the grill to 225F

2. Rub down your ribs as desired

3. Place your ribs on the grill for 3 hours

4. Don't look at them for 3 hours

Some people will spritz with apple cider vinegar starting 1 hour in. I find that unnecessary in 3-2-1 ribs because you’re going to wrap them with liquid in a couple hours anyway. If you’re going to spritz, consider only doing it at the 1.5 and 2.5 hour marks.

Step 2:     2 Hour Wrap

1. Open up your grill

2. Place your rack of ribs on tin foil and wrap around to the top

3. Pour in your 1/4 cup of liquid and seal your wrap

4. Return your ribs to the grill for 2 hours

5. Don't look at them for 2 hours

Note: I actually prefer to go 3-1-0.5, so if you want to cut this time short by an hour and a half, I won't frown upon you. Especially if you're cooking on a ceramic grill which will help retain moisture. 3-1-0.5 will offer you more bark and marginally less fall of the bone tender. Admittedly does not roll off the tongue as easily. 3-2-1 will fall off the bone.

Step 3:     1 Hour finish

1. Pull off your ribs and unwrap them

   1. Remember there's going to be scalding hot liquid in there

2. Return your ribs to the grill. (Here I usually kick my temp up to 275F to help with caramelization.)

3. Baste your ribs with your favorite BBQ Sauce

4. Wait 1 hour or until your ribs hit 190F (whichever comes first)

Step 4:      Eat

Your family and friends will eat and wonder at your incredible rib making prowess. Such delicious. Much wow.