How Long to Cook Ribs on a Gas Grill

Updated on January 1st, 2024

Although producing an authentic barbecue flavor when cooking ribs on a gas grill might be difficult. Gas grills are fantastic for hot and fast cooking but not so great for turning a rack of ribs into tender, smokey barbecue, there are a few tips and a recipe you can use to cook ribs on your gas grill.

Even if you use a gas grill, you can achieve smokey, tasty ribs. Remember that a gas grill cooks more quickly, so you will need to adjust the temperature to cook low and slow. Read on as you learn how to cook ribs on a gas grill, paying attention to how long to allow it to cook.

Ribs Nutrition Facts

Tips on how to cook ribs on a gas grill

Prepare the Ribs – It is uncommon to locate nicely prepared store-bought ribs. Before you start cooking, you’ll need to conduct some basic trimming. A rack of ribs with a square form and a consistent thickness throughout is ideal. Make sure the ribs are clean and free of any loose meat, fat, or bone.

Remove any excess scraps or fat from the rack, but don’t remove all of it; only the thicker pieces should be removed. The benefit of the fat isn’t as substantial because these ribs are cooked faster than they would be in a smoker. You need fat to keep the meat moist, but you don’t want the ultimate result to be too greasy. After trimming the ribs, rinse them with cold water and pat them dry with paper towels.

Rub the Ribs – It is time to rub the ribs once they have been cut and cleaned. An excellent rib rub adds flavor to the meat without overpowering it. You can cover the back and front of the meat, as well as the sides and ends, with the rub.

Try to apply as much rub as will stick, then wipe away the excess. The ribs’ natural wetness will hold all of the rubs you will need. You can rub the flesh up to an hour before cooking, but any longer will change the texture, giving it a ham-like flavor and texture.

Then wrap the rack snugly in plastic wrap and handle it gently if you need to return it to the refrigerator after applying the rub. Ideally, the ribs should be on the grill within 10 to 20 minutes of being coated with the rub.

Smoke Bombs – While you may be able to give these ribs a bit of smoke, the flavor will not be overpowering. Cooking ribs on a gas grill comes with a price. To make smoke, you can try tossing in a couple of smoke bombs.

Place ½ cup of damp, but not wet, wood chips on a piece of foil to begin. Then wrap the wood chips with a single piece of foil on one side. To let the smoke out, you will need to poke many holes in the foil.

To create indirect heat, place the smoke bombs under the cooking grate as near as possible to the burner you’re using. You will need to get the grill hot enough to start the wood combustion process. Turn lower the heat, you can set the ribs on the grill, and close the lid once you see smoke coming out of the smoke bombs.

Cook Ribs on a Gas Grill – To cook ribs without drying them out or overcooking them, you will need indirect heat. You have to reach temperatures of up to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

You need to utilize one of the burners on either end of a barbecue with burners running front to back. Assume you’re using the left-hand burner. This means you should drop your smoke bombs right on top of the burner (and under the cooking grate).

On the grate to the right of the hot burner, the ribs will be placed. Set the rack of ribs near the hot burner but not over it if it is short enough to run parallel to the burners. Otherwise, you may need to arrange it on the grill in a more diagonal position, which will necessitate rotating the rack of ribs to level out the cooking.

Proceed to place the rib rack bone-side down on the grill, close the lid, and adjust the temperature to 300 degrees F. You should allow 30 minutes for the ribs to cook well. Don’t open the lid since keeping it shut will keep as much smoke in as possible.

After 30 minutes on the grill, check to see if the ribs have browned on both sides. Continue grilling for another 10 to 15 minutes if they appear raw on the surface; otherwise, carry on to the second phase.

Wrap the Ribs up – Wrap the ribs in foil securely to keep the juice inside the packet. After pouring in the apple juice, you’ll want to make it as watertight as possible.

Return the securely wrapped ribs to the indirect grilling place on the grill. Close the cover and raise the temperature of the grill to roughly 375 degrees Fahrenheit. The apple juice will boil at this temperature, tenderizing the ribs and cooking them quickly.

After 30 minutes of steaming in foil, it’s time to remove the ribs from the fire and unfold them.

How long to cook ribs on a gas grill

You should wrap the tray in aluminum foil and lay it on the side of the grill where there are no coals or flames. Cook the ribs over indirect heat for about 3 hours, or until the internal temperature reaches 180 to 190 degrees.

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Yield: 4 servings

Cooking Ribs on Gas Grill

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Ingredients

• 4 pounds of pork ribs, cut into 6-inch sections
• 2 cups of barbeque sauce, or to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat a gas grill to 300 degrees F on one side.
2. Then water should be poured into a small metal can or container. Cover with aluminum foil and cut many slits with a knife in the foil.
3. Proceed to place on the grill's preheated side.
4. Close the grill and place the ribs bone-side up on the unheated side.
5. Go on and cook for an hour and a half. Cook for a further 1½ hours or until the rib flesh shrinks back from the bones.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 1880Total Fat: 141gSaturated Fat: 42gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 62gCholesterol: 476mgSodium: 1863mgCarbohydrates: 58gFiber: 1gSugar: 47gProtein: 96g